During the National Anthem, he’d normally be standing in one of the outfield positions he’s played for a decade, since back in high school. But, before the first pitch of the second game of the Houston Astros’ Futures Weekend series with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, Myles Straw had his cap off and was standing next to Round Rock Express second baseman Jack Mayfield, between the pitcher’s mound and second base.

Thinking nothing of it, but still wondering about this odd placement, I continued talking to fans, Sunday, March 31 in the concourse of Dell Diamond, home to the Astros’ newly-reacquired Triple-A franchise.

Two minutes later, I noticed the #1 jersey in home whites standing at the shortstop position. At about that same time, I heard the PA announcer intone, “At shortstop for the Express, Myles Straw.”

While not earth-shattering news to non-Astros fans, staunch followers of the 2017 World Series champs would find this news dangerously tantamount to pulling Jose Altuve from second base on the parent club and announcing his new slot in the starting rotation.

A Mystery Unfolds

But, there was no announcement. Only speculation. A check with the Express’ media guide showed Straw listed as one of six infielders, joining Alex De Goti, Taylor Jones, Mayfield, AJ Reed, and Nick Tanielu.

The outfielders had unexpectedly swelled to five with the addition of Drew Ferguson, previously selected by the San Francisco Giants in the recent Rule 5 draft, but after a rough spring, was returned to the Astros, and subsequently, the Express. With Ferguson joining Straw, the Round Rock outfield consisted of Yordan Alvarez, Derek Fisher, and Kyle Tucker, five altogether.

An apparently unacceptable glut precipitated Straw’s move from the outfield to the infield.

I hunted down a team executive and quizzed him, only to discover the team received their player assignments Wednesday afternoon, March 27, and they, too, were surprised to see Straw listed officially as an infielder/outfielder, with no explanation or directive from the Houston front office.

On Saturday, March 30, when the Express were in Corpus Christi for Game 1 of the Futures Weekend two-game set, CBS Sports ran with an article, citing the Houston Chronicle‘s Chandler Rome, of Straw’s move to the infield. This, despite the fact that Rome featured “outfielder” Straw in his Chronicle article on Wednesday, March 27, the day Round Rock announced the new Straw assignment.

Straw doesn’t appear to have ever played anywhere but the outfield in his scholastic playing days. Baseball Reference has Straw with one game at the shortstop position for Houston’s then-AAA Fresno Grizzlies, last year. That’s one game (which he didn’t start at SS, but was inserted later in the game) out of 242 games played in his four years in the Houston organization. Every other game saw him somewhere in an outfield position.

I reached out to Ross Jones, Straw’s St. Johns River State College (Palatka, FL) head baseball coach to see if Straw played any position for him but outfield. He said he didn’t, but “the Astros sent him to their instructional league, and to the Arizona Fall League in the fall of 2017 to learn to play the infield.”

And, the current head baseball coach at Straw’s Braden River High School in Bradenton, the pitching coach when Myles was there, Craig Page, weighs in with this bombshell:

“He did not play any infield for us, but we did use him as a closer. He would come in from CF and throw submarine. He threw really well from down there, and had a great mindset for closing games. When he has come back in the off-season, he has worked with our infield coach because he mentioned there was talk of him playing the infield. I believe he has played infield at the lower levels early in his career.”

Speaking to Straw’s situation specifically, even if the Astros felt that Myles’ outfield play might suffer with a move to the infield, it’s a die worth rolling to A) provide more flexibility for Round Rock and Houston moving forward and B) getting him up to the ‘Stros in the first place, wherever he plays.

A Hard Diaz Night

Conspiracy theorists in the Astros’ universe will want to know that the Straw assignment was announced by the Express a full two days before Aledmys Diaz, filling in for the then-ailing Carlos Correa on Friday, March 29, uncorked a wild throw from his shortstop position.

The errant toss was instrumental in costing the Astros and starter Gerrit Cole win #2 for the season the day after Houston beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day.

Astros Prefer Players Be Like Gumby (Just Not Green)

The Astros, in general, and manager AJ Hinch, in particular, prefer their players to be exceedingly flexible and able to play more than one, even two extra positions. All the better to play percentages and favor key matchups, as well as creating more opportunities to make the big league club.

Similar to the team’s moving then-second baseman Tony Kemp to a virtual full-time outfield spot two years ago while in AAA, the Astros no doubt have made the executive decision to provide the “Say Hay Kid” an extra opportunity to ascend to the big leagues by having him adopt another position.

The introduction of left field to Kemp (as well as earning his position with repeatedly solid play) has won him a spot to start the season, his first Opening Day Houston roster.

Fans will remember the insertion of Myles Straw into the Astros’ 2018 playoff run as a literal secret weapon, having the speedster pinch-run in key situations before the Boston Red Sox passed them on their way to world dominance.

Straw’s Full Plate

Myles Straw is nothing if not compliant, and he’s proving himself to be exceedingly pliable, too, in Houston’s system. In the spring of 2018, covered extensively in this space, Straw was tutored by none other than perennial AL hit king Jose Altuve on the efficacy of adding power to his game: The 5’5″, 160-pound second baseman encouraging the 5’10”, 180-pound slap hitter to imagine the fences are closer than they appear.

It’s worked for Altuve, author of two dozen homers in each of two recent seasons (2016 and 2017), but the 28-year-old has had time to work up to that lofty dinger total. Myles, only 24, is still growing into the slap’n’speed player he naturally seems to be.

Related: Myles Straw Slaps and Steals. Good Enough in a Homer-Hungry System?

You’ll see Straw in Houston this season… somewhere on the diamond and at some point on the calendar. When you do, watch for this new Straw wrinkle:

Whether leading off first or in the field between pitches, he’ll jump straight up in the air, twice, from a standing position. At the top of each leap, he bumps his ankles together before landing.

Not sure of the meaning behind this, other than keeping loose, but it’d be fun to watch that move at Minute Maid Park.