Say what you will about Houston Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow; you can’t deny his success. Taking the helm in time for the 2012 season, the Mexican-born former engineer and tech maven stepped behind the curtain and conjured up an eventual 2017 World Championship team out of the ashes of a pitiful shell.

Stirring a mysterious brew of shrewd draft picks, daring free agent signings, and an unparalleled application of deep data-driven stats, one of his most recent wand-wavings brought about Yordan Alvarez.

Sending journeyman pitcher Josh Fields to the Los Angeles Dodgers the first day of August 2016, Luhnow pulled the just-signed 19-year-old Cuban native out of his hat before tipping it to his international scouting staff for identifying a monster-in-the-making that no one saw coming.

Having just acquired backstop Martin Maldonado (for the second time in a year) from the Chicago Cubs for Tony Kemp at the trade deadline in late July, a barely-detected deal sent the suddenly superfluous catcher Max Stassi to the other Los Angeles team, the Angels.

In return, the Astros received two large 18-year-old left-handed power-hitting outfielders. Apparently, the mad scientist has set about cloning the favored-by-many AL Rookie of the Year candidate, just in case one Yordan Alvarez ends up not being enough.

The Dominican First Baseman

Raider Wesly Uceta signed at 16 with the Angels out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for $500,000 in 2017. According to Baseball America, Uceta is a “physical [six-foot], thick-framed lefthanded hitter who projects to grow into power, although he is still learning to hunt for the right pitches to drive.

“He has a balanced swing with plenty of bat speed. Uceta is already heavier than his listed weight of 215 pounds and projects to move to first-base long term.”

Ben Badler, from spring of 2018, added that Uceta had spent time training with Amaurys Nina, noted Dominican head of the academy in Santo Domingo that bears his name: “Uceta [is] a big, thick-framed hitter whose calling card is his above-average raw power. Uceta generates power without loading up his swing too much, relying on his strength to muscle balls over the fence in BP.

“Uceta’s swing has natural loft, although in games he doesn’t always take a power hitter’s approach and instead shoots balls the other way. Uceta has a power-over-hit profile, and once he learns which pitches to target and pull for damage, he should show more game power.

“Uceta moves better underway than his body type suggests, but he’s still a 40 runner who will have to work hard to maintain his mobility to stay in the outfield and avoid a move to first base.”

“If he grows into his body,” Prospects1500 imagines, “he could be a steal for the [Astros],” while FanGraphs takes to the gridiron for this thumbnail: “A big, strong, left guard build on an 18-year-old. Has pop, but perhaps no position.”

The Venezuelan Right Fielder

Another physical, left-handed hitter, Rainier Andres Rivas signed (also at 16) for $200,000 out of Venezuela in 2017 and made his stateside debut in 2019. Baseball America: “A sizable 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Rivas has plenty of natural lift and power in his swing and a patient approach.

“He walked more than he struck out in the Dominican Summer League this year before moving to the Rookie-level Arizona League [in early July]. Rivas is a below-average runner, and will have to watch his fitness to avoid a move to first base. He has a strong enough arm to potentially play right field.”

Badler adds this: “[Rivas] has shown a patient approach to put together quality at-bats, with his power sticking out more than his pure hitting ability. A corner outfielder, Rivas is a below-average runner with a strong enough arm to potentially play right field.”

FanGraphs: Rivas is a “slightly less big and strong version of Uceta.”

Timing Is Everything

It’s important to see the timeline of how the trade of Stassi for Uceta and Rivas unfolded. Yordan Alvarez made his MLB debut June 9, after laying waste to Pacific Coast League pitching for a full year –the last half of the 2018 season with the Fresno Grizzlies, and with the AAA Round Rock Express since spring. Stassi was sent packing for Rivas and Uceta at the trade deadline on July 31.

So, in the nearly eight full weeks between when Alvarez hit his first big league homer in just his second plate appearance and the day Luhnow made the Stassi trade, The Beast had an opportunity to show Luhnow and his Astro brass a .333 average, 12 home runs, a .417 on-base percentage, and a .689 slugging percentage, to produce a palpitation-inducing 1.106 OPS in 135 at-bats.

With MLB debuts probably three to five years away for both Rainier Rivas and Raider Uceta, their future in the Houston system is nothing if not unclear.

IT’S ALIVE!

As each develop, both in their respective games and physiques, Luhnow may decide that one is a better fit for the Astros than the other. A lot, of course, depends on the team’s structure toward the middle part of the next decade. One or both of Rivas and Uceta could actually only end up being groomed as eventual trade assets.

But, I doubt it. The mad scientist is happy in his lab, having unearthed his two latest incarnations of a promising duo of power-hungry sluggers.

Time will tell if, like Alvarez, Rivas and Uceta will end up devouring fastballs and destroying ERAs in a Houston Astros’ uniform. Until such time, the two youngsters have a Beast unleashed they can look up to for inspiration.