Reviewing the Astros Talent Infusion

Prospects Acquired by Houston Astros in 2012

The rebuilding Houston Astros were extremely active on the trade market this summer. Let's review the 15 new players that were added to the organization.

Bobby Borchering, OF: Acquired from Arizona for Chris Johnson. Hit just .189/.273/.389 with four homers, 10 walks, 36 strikeouts in 95 at-bats for Double-A Corpus Christi after the trade, .236/.303/.453 overall between the two organizations. Struggled badly in Double-A, hitting .163/236/.308 with 63 strikeouts in 172 at-bats. He's still quite young at age 21 but his approach isn't working.

Colton Cain, LHP: Acquired from Pittsburgh for Wandy Rodriguez. Posted a 5.55 ERA with a 25/18 K/BB in 36 innings for High-A Lancaster in the California League, 21 hits. Nothing special with his performance, but at age 21 he still has time.

Kevin Comer, RHP: Acquired from Blue Jays in 10-player trade. Threw just six innings in the Astros system for Greenville in the Appalachian League after coming over as one of the players-to-be-named in early August. Overall he posted a 4.56 ERA with a 34/10 K/BB in 49 innings in the Appy with 53 hits allowed. Velocity is down from high school peak, but didn't turn 19 until early August. Control is a positive.

Chris Devenski, RHP: Acquired from White Sox for Brett Myers, another guy who was a PTBN. Average velocity but has a decent secondary arsenal with a slider and change, made five starts for Lexington in the Low-A Sally League, with a 38/16 K/BB in 29 innings. Threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts in his last start on September 1^st. Overall, posted a 3.86 ERA with a 92/35 K/BB in 91 innings in Low-A this year, 86 hits. Grade C type.

Matt Dominguez, 3B: Acquired from Marlins for Carlos Lee. Hit .298/.347/.398 in 45 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City after the trade, hitting .279/.303/.465 in 86 major league at-bats so far. Remains a defense-first type player. If he can hit .250 with some power he'll have a long career due to his glove.

Robbie Grossman, OF: Acquired from Pirates for Wandy Rodriguez. Walk-oriented, hit .267/.371/.422 with 18 walks, 43 strikeouts in 135 at-bats for Corpus Christi after the trade, .266/.376/.410 with 77 walks, 10 homers overall in Double-A. Starting to remind me of Rich Becker.

Matt Heidenreich, RHP: Acquired from White Sox for Brett Myers. Posted a 3.93 ERA with a 26/7 K/BB in 34 innings for Corpus Christi. Overall, he went 12-5, 3.95 with a 97/25 K/BB in 146 innings for three teams this year, with 154 hits allowed. Scouting reports match the numbers, doesn't burn radar, relies on command of his sinker, another Grade C guy.

Marc Krauss, OF: Acquired from Arizona for Chris Johnson. Raked after the trade (12-for-29) in Double-A but stumbled after promotion to Triple-A, .123/.203/.123 in 57 at-bats for Oklahoma City with 20 strikeouts. More successful than Borchering overall, but older at age 24 and needs to make more adjustments.

Joe Musgrove, RHP: Acquired from Blue Jays in 10-player trade. Threw nine innings for Greenville after the trade, giving up 14 hits, four walks, and seven runs, with 10 strikeouts. Hard to know what to make of him at this point, just pitched 17 innings this year. He posted a 19/4 K/BB but scouting reports were only lukewarm and his stock seems down from high school with health/velocity questions. Just 19 of course.

Rudy Owens, LHP: Acquired from Pirates for Wandy Rodriguez: Went 2-3, 4.34 in eight starts in Triple-A with 23/14 K/BB in 46 innings, 43 hits. Overall Triple-A line: 10-8, 3.48 with a 108/39 K/BB in 163 innings, 155 hits. Nothing left to prove at this level, should get an extensive look for the rotation or long relief next spring.

Carlos Perez, C: Acquired from Blue Jays in 10-player trade. Played well at Lancaster, hitting .318/.368/.409, throwing out 47% of runners and is still just 21. He needs to hit outside the Cal League, but his defensive potential will buy him a lot of patience with the bat.

Rob Rasmussen, LHP: Acquired from Marlins for Carlos Lee. Posted a 4.80 ERA with a 44/18 K/BB in 54 innings for Corpus Christi, with 58 hits allowed. Overall, 4.25 ERA with a 119/54 K/BB in 142 innings between High-A and Double-A. Erratic, continues to mix good starts with poor ones. I continue to believe he has more potential than he's demonstrated to this point in his career.

David Rollins, LHP: Acquired from Blue Jays in 10-player trade. 3.48 ERA with 25/9 K/BB in 31 innings for Lexington, 27 hits. Overall, posted a 2.98 ERA with a 100/45 K/BB in 109 innings in Low-A this year. At age 22 in Low-A he doesn't excite scouts, working with so-so stuff, but he's been effective to this point in his career and has a chance to surprise us.

Blair Walters, LHP: Acquired from White Sox for Brett Myers. Hit hard at Lancaster, 7.62 ERA with 34/15 K/BB in 39 innings, 49 hits. He was strong in the Sally League but had a lot of problems adapting to High-A, hit hard for Winston-Salem before the trade as well. Overall, posted a 5.00 ERA with a 127/37 K/BB in 137 innings, 148 hits. K/BB shows potential, but at higher levels he probably fits best in relief.

Asher Wojciechowski, RHP: Acquired from Blue Jays in 10-player trade. Looked good in the Texas League: 2.06 ERA with 34/14 K/BB in 44 innings, 30 hits allowed. Overall posted a 3.09 ERA with a 110/36 K/BB and just three homers in 137 innings this year. He looks like the most talented arm that the Astros acquired this summer and we could see him sometime in 2013.