Drawing scant attention with the announcement, A.J. Reed retired on March 4 — about one week into spring training games — when concern about the coronavirus grew around the country.

Reed told a Terre Haute, Ind., television station of his situation. A short story on the station’s website and the entry on Minor League Baseball’s official transactions page are the only available declaration of Reed’s decision.

In a way, the quiet end embodied Reed’s career. He saw the sport’s pinnacle before plummeting to its lowest point. Once the Astros’ top prospect, Reed concluded his career with a whimper as a strikeout-happy non-factor with the Chicago White Sox.

In 2016, when the magazine rated Reed as the Astros’ top prospect, Baseball America wrote he “has a chance to become one of the rare players who can produce above-average on-base and slugging percentages thanks to selectivity and excellent power.”

That year, making his highly anticipated major league debut, Reed totaled six extra-base hits in 141 plate appearances. He made 199 career major league plate appearances. Seventy-one ended in a strikeout.

The Astros did not summon Reed for a September call-up in 2017 or 2018. His weight and conditioning were often problems. Frustration grew visible. Houston designated him for assignment last July to clear a spot for pitcher Jose Urquidy on the 40-man roster.

The White Sox scooped Reed off waivers, only to option him after he struck out 21times in 14 big league games. Two weeks later, he was outrighted off their 40-man roster.

Reed authored one of the most decorated college careers of all time, terrorizing the Southeastersn Conference as a two-way player. He won the Golden Spikes Award as a junior, slashing .462/.588/.962 at Kentucky. Reed's career ERA as a member of the Wildcats’ starting rotation? 2.83.

Now, at 26, Reed is a former baseball player. The finality cements Reed as one of the worst draft picks during the Jeff Luhnow era and underscores the dearth of first-base options in the Astros’ system.

Mark Appel will forever claim the top spot among Luhnow’s bad picks. Brady Aiken could be in the conversation, too, but the compensation pick from that fiasco did produce Alex Bregman in 2015.

After choosing Aiken first overall, the Astros selected Reed with the 42nd pick in the 2014 draft, one that — as time continues to pass — appears more bleak for Luhnow and his longtime assistant general manager Mike Elias.

They did not sign Aiken or fifth-round pick Jacob Nix. The most established major leaguer selected is actively aiding a division rival. J.D. Davis broke out last season for the Mets after being blocked for years in the Astros’ system.

Josh James, a 33rd-round pick, remains the class’ crown jewel and a testament to Houston’s ability to discover talent late in drafts.

Eight of their 41 selections in 2014 reached the major leagues. The most successful — 16th-round outfielder Ramon Laureano — is worth 5.9 wins above replacement for the Oakland A’s. Three Decembers ago, Luhnow opted to trade Laureano to Oakland instead of protecting him from the Rule 5 draft.

Dean Deetz — one of the pitchers Luhnow protected instead of Laureano — was an 11th-round selection in 2014. He incurred a drug suspension in 2018, and the Astros designated him for assignment last season. Houston outrighted him off its 40-man roster in January, but Deetz remains in the organization. He has tossed 3 ⅓ major league innings.

Whether Laureano had a place in Houston’s short-term plans is debatable. He made his major league debut in 2018, when George Springer, Josh Reddick and Marwin Gonzalez were entrenched in the lineup. Now, Springer, Reddick and 2019 free-agent signee Michael Brantley are all scheduled to depart in free agency following the 2020 season.

Laureano posted an .860 OPS last season with Oakland but struck out in 25.6 percent of his at-bats. The league average was 22.6 percent. But offense is secondary for Laureano, who possesses one of baseball’s best outfield arms and consistently manufactures highlight-reel throws. He has made 19 outfield assists in 169 games. With upper-level outfield depth thinning, Laureano’s presence could have been invaluable.

For now, Myles Straw and Kyle Tucker exist as capable backup options who, ostensibly, will see an increased role in 2021. The Astros want Yordan Alvarez to play more outfield, but whether persistent knee pain will allow it remains a serious question.

Touted outfielder Derek Fisher, the 37th pick in the 2014 draft, was traded away in July after not producing despite constant chances. He, like Reed, was strikeout-prone. When he made contact, Fisher hit the baseball harder than most in the organization. He averaged a 92.2 mph exit velocity in 2018 and 88 mph in 2017 — years in which his strikeout rate was 48.8 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively.

Luhnow said last year the team “under-assessed” Laureano’s defense. He expressed regret for not protecting him on the 40-man roster. The haul Luhnow received from Toronto for Fisher seems more uninspiring each day, too.

Starter Aaron Sanchez arrived with an injured shoulder and was not offered a contract this past winter. Joe Biagini has been, at best, underwhelming as a middle reliever. Prospect Cal Stevenson was shipped away in January for Austin Pruitt — the final transaction Luhnow executed before he was fired.

To add outfield competition, the Astros experimented with 6-foot-7 Taylor Jones in left field for parts of last season at Class AAA Round Rock. Jones found his offensive stroke last year — slugging .501 with 50 extra-base hits — while manning three defensive positions.

For the organization’s health, it seems Jones must remain a primary first baseman. Starter Yuli Gurriel will be a free agent following 2020. Seth Beer, once considered the first baseman of the future, was shipped to Arizona in the Zack Greinke deal.

And Reed, the former first baseman of the future, now doesn’t play the sport at all.

chandler.rome@chron.com

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