Jon Singleton struggled in his first taste of the majors last season, but the 23-year-old first base prospect has been crushing Triple-A pitching this season and now the Astros are calling him up for a second go-around.
Singleton batted .168 with 134 strikeouts in 95 games as a rookie last year, which was bad enough to create concerns about his long-term potential after ranking among Baseball America’s top-100 prospects in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
But it’s hard to argue with his Triple-A production this year, which includes hitting .280 with 17 homers, 17 doubles, and a .940 OPS in 70 games while drawing 47 walks compared to 60 strikeouts. Singleton also had similar numbers at Triple-A last season, so he absolutely deserves a chance to show that he’s better than the rookie ugliness.
It’s unclear how much action Singleton will see or how long he’ll stick with the Astros, because Evan Gattis and Chris Carter have been serving as Houston’s everyday designated hitter/first baseman duo.
For now he takes the roster spot of veteran reliever Chad Qualls, who was placed on the disabled list.
