Following the release of Ty Wigginton, the Astros are scrambling to replace the productive third-sacker. So far, the best option that they have been able to come up with is the light-hitting, rapidly aging Aaron Boone. Boone is best remembered for his postseason heroics with the Yankees, but last season saw him hit just .241 with the Nationals. The platoon of Boone and Blum will be a far cry from the .285 average and 23 home runs of Wigginton, but there are a few young players in the Astros system worth keeping an eye on.
1. Drew Sutton (INF-Corpus Christi) The youngster was selected by MLB.com as Houston's Organizational Player of the Year after hitting .317 last season with 20 homers and 69 RBIs in the Texas League. He has raised the bar even higher with his play in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .397 with four homers and 16 RBIs through 58 at-bats for Scottsdale. His confidence grows with every at-bat. Though he was mainly a second baseman, his ability to play multiple positions has increased his value and his bat might find its way into the Astros lineup.
2. Chris Johnson (3B-Round Rock) Johnson split time between Corpus Christi and Triple-A Round Rock last season. He hit .324 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs in 84 games for Corpus Christi. He has been productive in the Arizona Fall League, as well, hitting .296 for Scottsdale.
3. Mark Saccomanno (1B-3B-Round Rock) Saccomanno, who hit .297 with 27 homers and 84 RBIs for the Triple-A Round Rock Express this year, was called up on September 8th and hit a home run in his very first major league at-bat. That moment, along with the fact that Mark was a star at Klein Forest High School in Houston and also at Baylor, have the potential makings of a Houston legend.
Watch closely to see how these three progress and keep your fingers crossed that Ed Wade finds a way to ink former White Sox third baseman Joe Crede.
Keywords: Ed Wade, Houston Astros, Joe Crede, Mark Saccomanno, Round Rock Express, Ty Wigginton
