By joshjacksonmilb

By Josh Jackson

If you’ve ever wondered if it’s a little awkward to be a top prospect for a last-place team, wonder no more. The answer is, um, yeah. Yeah, it is. Just. a. bit. awkward.

Astros prospect George Springer, who’s been tearing the cover off the ball for Triple-A Oklahoma City, told me after the first of his two recent two-homer games over the last few days that he enjoys being discussed as an exciting part of a rebuilding organization but that he dislikes the way those conversations tend to undercut current Astros players.

“It’s always exciting be a place where there’s this huge amount of talent, especially at the top of the organization here,” he said. “But you have to understand, too, the guys who are up there now, they’re still professional baseball players and I have an immense amount of respect for them.”

We had occasion to talk about it more on Tuesday night, and I asked if — given the respect he has for current Astros players — it bothers him that the club is often singled out as an example of a struggling team, even in popular satire.

“Yeah, it’s just tough to be in that position. But it’s an extremely talented team and a talented organization as a whole. I’m just happy to be part of it,” he said. “Guys here [in Triple-A] and guys there [in the Majors] both have to go out and play their own game every day, and this game is not easy. It gets harder as you go up, too. All the guys here — myself included — have the utmost respect for the guys up there.”

On Tuesday night, Round Rock broadcasters mentioned the possibility of Springer soon becoming one of “the guys up there.”

“I don’t know what league George Springer belongs in,” one broadcaster said after Springer’s second homer in that game, “but it’s not the PCL.”

The guys in Round Rock’s booth aren’t the first to speculate on the likelihood of Springer getting promoted to the Majors sooner rather than later. The way he’s playing lately, they’ll hardly be the last, either.

What does Springer do with all the chatter that’s only going to get louder and louder?

“You just ignore it,” he said. “You control the things you can control. You play, have fun, and whatever happens happens. It’s not easy, but you’ve got to brush it off.”