It hasn’t gotten any attention because of Billy Hamilton’s record-breaking stolen base numbers, but a second prospect cracked triple-digit steals in the minors this season.
Delino DeShields Jr., whose father played 13 seasons in the majors and was once traded straight-up for Pedro Martinez, stole 101 bases in 135 games between two levels of Single-A in the Astros’ farm system.
Like his dad, DeShields Jr. is a second baseman with very good on-base skills and amazing speed, and in addition to all the running the No. 8 overall pick in the 2010 draft hit .287 with a .387 on-base percentage at age 19.
Hamilton broke the all-time minor league record by stealing 155 bases in 132 games and was thrown out 37 times for a success rate of 80.7 percent. By comparison DeShields stole 101 bases and was thrown out 19 times for a success rate of 84.2 percent.
