Reed envisioned as everyday 1B after his call-up
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A.J. Reed arrived at Chukchansi Park in Fresno early on Friday for extra work only to get no work done at all. Tony DeFrancesco, manager of the Astros’ Class AAA affiliate, summoned his first baseman into his office and delivered the news — Reed had two hours to catch a flight to Kansas City.
Baseball’s top first baseman prospect met the Astros there on Saturday, the latest potential franchise cornerstone to matriculate to the major leagues. Reed, a 6-4, 275-pound slugger, adds more thump to an already dangerous lineup, a lefthanded threat who can hit for both average and power behind the likes of George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa.
“What we’re hoping for is an everyday first baseman,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “That would be a good outcome for the club. And I think he’s got the chance to be that guy.”
Manager A.J. Hinch will ease Reed into life as a big leaguer. He started him at designated hitter Saturday against the Royals so Reed could focus on getting his bat up and running. He didn’t collect a hit in his first game, but he walked twice, scored two runs and recorded an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the Astros’ 13-5 victory.
Reed, who batted sixth on Saturday, became the first member of the Astros’ 2014 draft class to debut for the team. When he plays his position for the first time, the 23-yearold will become the youngest first baseman in the majors.
The Astros did not summon Reed to platoon with Marwin Gonzalez at first base and Evan Gattis at DH. Save for the occasional day off, Reed will play regularly against righthanders and lefthanders.
Hitting same-sided pitching has been a question mark surrounding Reed. But according to him, his at-bats against lefthanders have vastly improved since the beginning of the season, his first in Class AAA.
Reed described his major league call-up “something that you dream about your whole life.” About 20 of his family members made the six-hour drive from his hometown of Terre Haute, Ind., to Kauffman Stadium to see his debut.
Prospect Paulino punished by team
David Paulino has not pitched in a week and is not scheduled to start Sunday for Class AA Corpus Christi.
But the touted starting pitching prospect’s inactivity is not due to the Astros giving him extra rest. Paulino is serving a suspension imposed by the team for an undisclosed length of time.
Asked Saturday about the suspension, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Paulino “violated a team policy.” Luhnow did not elaborate as to the nature of the violation but said “it wasn’t anything major.” The suspension shouldn’t be for an extended period of time, according to Luhnow.
“We’ve got rules and every once in a while rules are violated and we have to enforce them,” Luhnow said.
Paulino was placed on the temporary inactive list June 22, interrupting his stellar season with Corpus Christi. The 6-7 righthander has a 1.86 ERA and 0.931 WHIP in 58 innings spanning 13 appearances. He has 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
Baseball America ranked Paulino as the Astros’ third-best pitching prospect and seventhbest overall prospect entering the season. The 22-year-old Dominican is in his first season in Class AA.
Odds and ends
The Astros will face two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, now with the Los Angeles Angels, on Tuesday for the first time since 2012. The former San Francisco Giants star has a 5.00 ERA through two starts, both against Oakland. He pitched well in a win in his Angels debut but struggled in a loss Thursday. …
Before playing in Tuesday’s Texas League AllStar Game in Springfield, Miss., Astros prospects Alex Bregman and Derek Fisher will participate in the league’s home run derby. Bregman’s 14 home runs for Class AA Corpus Christi is tied for the third most in the league. Fisher is right behind him with 13 homers. …
Brady Rodgers lowered his ERA to a Pacific Coast League-best 2.83 with 7 1⁄3 innings of onerun baseball on Friday for Class AAA Fresno.