The dictionary defines a “Nova” as “a star that suddenly becomes thousands of times brighter and then gradually fades to its original intensity.” Allegorically speaking, I guess those last few words refer to his retirement, so we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Freudis Nova, nonetheless, is becoming a bright rising star, already.

He’s only 18, and while he’s toiling in the very basement of the Houston Astros’ minor league system, people who should know about these things seem to think his career trajectory will rise to nothing short of a “star.”

Rarified Air

In the organizational firmament that is the Astros’ Top 30 Prospect list, Nova ranks at a stratospheric number five. How? When? When could he have done anything to rank higher than pitchers David Paulino (eighth, and has tasted life in the big leagues) and rising star Rogelio Armenteros (#12)? How is he listed above fellow infielder JD Davis, who opened the season on the Astros’ roster, and ranked ninth?

The right-handed batting and throwing shortstop is actually the third-ranked position player in the Astros’ organization, behind minor league superstars Kyle Tucker, who can’t get to Houston soon enough after a blistering spring, and the fourth-ranked rocketing power hitter Yordan Alvarez.

Millennial Nova

While it may seem that Freudis Nova has arrived from out of nowhere, he actually was born in Azua, Dominican Republic, on the 12th day of the year that will make anyone reading this feel older: 2000.

Nova was being scouted and was due to sign with the Miami Marlins for $2.5 million out of the Dominican, but any proposed deal disappeared when he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in February 2016.

After passing several subsequent drug tests, the Astros inked him for $1.2 million five months later, a “deal” made possible by Nova’s unfortunate test results, but two positives should result: Lesson learned by the young shortstop, plus a more wallet-friendly deal for a potential superstar in Houston’s employ.

Comparison Hopping

The best prospect from their franchise-record $17.5 million spending on bonuses and penalty taxes for international players in 2016-17, he has drawn favorable comparisons by scouts to Boston’s 34-year-old Hanley Ramirez and former late-1990s Marlins star Edgar Renteria, according to MLB.com. It was that signing period that also landed the Astros star Cuban lefty Cionel Perez, in December 2016. He sits just behind Nova on the Astros’ Prospect List, at number six.

Related: Astros Promote Cionel Perez To AA Corpus Christi

Freudis Nova is 6’1″ and 180 pounds, oddly solid for a young 18-year-old, as well as for a shortstop. But, one look at Houston’s All-Star at the same position, Carlos Correa, shows a player who’s broken the shortstop mold at 6’4″, 215, with power. The Ramirez comp is probably due to Nova’s contact rate. The 6’2″, 235-pound Ramirez is a former batting champ, leading the NL in hitting (.342) in 2009, as well as logging several years with homer totals in the 20s and 30s, and twice can boast about stolen base totals over 50.

The Renteria comp puts Nova into a more plausible body type, as the 2010 World Series MVP (and five-time All-Star) played at 6’1″, 200. He, too, enjoyed high contact rates, ranking fourth in NL batting average twice (.330, .332) in his career. He had three years of stolen bases in the 30s, and one season with 41 (1998).

MLB.com’s introduction to Nova: “Houston loves Nova’s tools as well as his performance in various analytic measures of strength, speed and condition. He has bat speed and loft in his right-handed stroke, shows promising plate discipline, has the quickness to steal bases, and the tools to stay at shortstop. He batted .247/.342/.355 as a 17-year-old in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League (DSL Orange team) in 2017 and could jump to low Class A (Tri-City Valley Cats, New York-Penn League) for his U.S. debut this season.

Adding to Nova’s numbers from the DSL are eight of 11 successful steals, six doubles, four homers, 30 runs scored, and 16 RBIs in 166 ABs. He walked 15 times while striking out 33 times.

“‘He’s so explosive,’ Astros farm director Pete Putila said. ‘He’s a legitimate shortstop with power and contact and speed. He drew walks in the DSL and when he chases, he still barrels the ball. He has a good mindset. He’s not distracted, he keeps working.'”

Rarified Heir?

He’s begun the 2018 season at Houston’s extended spring training complex at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, where his parent club holds its spring camp. He’ll likely smoothly transition to the rookie Gulf Coast League (GCL) Astros (whose home is that spring location), and/or Houston’s short-season Class A Tri-City. The Houston powers-that-be will be in no hurry to rush him along, considering his age, and a guy named Correa firmly entrenched at his position at Minute Maid Park.

He’s years away from anything close to his major league debut (say, 2022, coincidentally the first year Carlos Correa is eligible for free agency), but being in the Astros’ system seems to point the way for Freudis Nova to being referred to, at some point in his career, as a “Super Nova.”

Looking at you, Astros marketing department!