He was the only one of the five players the Houston Astros received at the end of July who was absent from the welcoming press conference. In fact, the Astros introduced former Toronto Blue Jays pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini, as well as Zack Greinke, and the newly-reacquired Martin Maldonado at this presser. But, no nametag featured the name of Cal Stevenson.

Granted, Stevenson is a minor leaguer and was drafted just two Junes ago. But, while the millionaire veterans were gathered at the draped table, Stevenson, an outfielder, was packing his bags in Fort Myers, Florida, where his High-A Dunedin Blue Jays were playing.

Destination: 35.0527° N, 78.8784° W, Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of the Astros’ Advanced-A Carolina League Woodpeckers.

Stevenson came to the Houston organization, July 31, along with pitchers Biagini and Sanchez from Toronto, in exchange for outfielder Derek Fisher.

The Coach Navigates the Four C’s

Born and raised in the northern California city of Fremont, the brother of Cody, Carter, and Cameron attended John F. Kennedy High School, where he was a four-year letter winner in baseball under his father and head coach, Jim Stevenson.

Kennedy was once attended by Randy Ready, the 13-year, six-team MLB utility player who became a short-list candidate for Astros manager in 2009. The post had been vacated by Cecil Cooper and was eventually filled by Brad Mills.

Cal not only helped the Titans to three consecutive Mission Valley Athletic League championships, but the 5’9″, 170-pounder earned all-league selections as a utility player in 2014.

“…To Become a Better Individual”

The left-handed-hitting and throwing Stevenson was drafted in 2016 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 36th round. In an effort to improve his draft position, he chose to attend college… actually three of them:

The University of Nevada, Reno, where he played for current Arizona coach Jay Johnson, followed by Chabot Community College in Hayward, CA, and finally, a reunion with Johnson at the University of Arizona. Stevenson has said that he chose Arizona “to become a better student, baseball player, and individual.”

At Nevada, Stevenson hit .359 with 13 doubles, four triples, 55 runs scored, 25 RBIs, and 10 steals and was named 2015 Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year. He posted a team-high 26 multi-hit games for the Wolf Pack and logged a .433 on-base percentage.

At Chabot, Stevenson hit .287 in 42 games for the Gladiators, with 26 RBIs, 57 runs scored, and 21 stolen bases. He was named First-Team California Community College Athletics Association.

For the Arizona Wildcats, Stevenson was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection, leading the conference in runs scored (61) and walks (48). He finished the 2018 season with a .311 batting average with 11 doubles, three triples, four home runs, and 30 RBIs.

He hit .302 in conference play with a .421 OBP while posting 19 multiple-hit games, including a trio of three-hit games.

Blue Jay Way

Now 5’10” and 175 lbs, Stevenson, 23 in September, was drafted by Toronto in the 10th round of the 2018 draft. In his year-and-a-half in the Blue Jays’ organization (rookie league in 2018 and High-A Dunedin before his trade deadline deal to Houston), Stevenson hit a solid .325 in 149 games.

A whopping 114 walks not only overtook his strikeout count (76) but swelled his OBP to .439.

He won’t be asked to chase in runs, but for the record, he batted in 81, while scoring 132. Touching home plate will be his Astro raison d’être going forward. So will stealing bases, which he did to an 82% clip in Toronto’s system (32 in 39 attempts).

Astros Go The Extra Myles?

To quote the voice of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Matt Sabados, “A guy with these numbers coming into the Astros’ system is going to be awesome.”

Hard to disagree, Matt, but from this vantage point, Stevenson looks for all the world like a lefty Myles Straw, who’s exactly the same size as Cal but with five more pounds. From what Astro fans have seen of Straw at AAA Round Rock, as well as the 2018 playoffs and his brief regular season forays in Houston, a team can’t have enough Myles Straws.

However, with a high contact rate and speed to burn, some pundits aren’t sold on Stevenson’s projectability:

“[Stevenson’s] tools are indicative of a bench outfielder,” insists Jays From the Couch, with the following scouting thumbnail: “Plus runner, above-average bat, no clear defensive position, great makeup.” Written before the 2019 season, JFTC asserted that “we may have to wait until Stevenson gets a taste of High-A to know if the Jays have really found something.”

Stevenson’s 90-game “taste” of the Florida State League’s High-A Dunedin the first three months of 2019 shows that the Astros, anyway, have really found something: A dynamic spark plug, who can pile on the extra bases, while also setting the table for a team’s sluggers.

Stevenson collected 100 hits in his 336 ABs, for a .298 average, which still ranks second in the FSL, more than a week after he was traded away. His nine doubles, four triples, and five homers show some gap pop to go with his speed, which got him 11 steals in 17 attempts.

Scoring 59 runs (tied for third) complemented his 50 RBIs, while 50 walks (fourth in the league) to 52 strikeouts yields a BB/K ratio that’s unheard of. His league-leading .388 OBP helped contribute to a sizable .780 OPS, ranking third in the FSL.

Stevenson’s off to a slow start at Houston’s High-A Fayetteville in the Carolina League. After just seven games, he’s hitting .192 in 26 ABs, but true to form, he’s stolen two bases, walked five times, while whiffing just three times through games of August 12.

Blue Jays’ director of player development Gil Kim had this to say about Stevenson: “He’s a smart player, a very skilled, alert, aggressive base runner, and a solid defensive outfielder. He always gets a good read off the bat, and he is one of the strongest players in our whole system when it comes to baserunning and defense.

“He’s also got great awareness and control at the plate. It was a nice pickup by our scouting department to recognize someone who can play the game as well as he can.”

Spoken just like someone in the Astros’ front office about the newly-acquired outfielder, now more than ready to earn his rightful place at the table.