Profile of Astros outfield prospects Daz Cameron and Stephen Wrenn

The Tri-City ValleyCats, New York-Penn League affiliate of the Houston Astros, are off to a 10-11 start, four games behind the first place Connecticut Tigers. Two players that are leading the way for Tri-City are: Daz Cameron and Stephen Wrenn. Daz Cameron, the son of former All-Star Center Fielder Mike Cameron, was drafted Competitive Balance round A in 2015, and Stephen Wrenn was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

Unfortunately as I was putting this article together Daz Cameron was diagnosed with a broken left index finger that has ended his 2016 season. What was supposed to be an optimistic outlook on Cameron and Wrenn's seasons is now a recap for Cameron. Both players are outfielders- Cameron in center and Wrenn in left. Daz Cameron is considered a top five prospect in the Astros farm system, while Wrenn is just starting to make his mark.

Daz Cameron began the year with the Quad Cities River Bandits and struggled immensely. He hit .143/.221/.221 with only six runs batted in through his first 77 at-bats. Once he was demoted to Tri-City Cameron's season turned around. Since his demotion he is hitting .278/.352/.418 with two home runs and 14 runs batted in. In particular his last ten games have helped turn his season around. Cameron hit .359 with two home runs and six runs batted in in his final ten games. He is a top prospect that after a slow start to 2016 appeared to be coming into his own and growing into his potential. Unfortunately Cameron was hit with a pitch this past Wednesday, this ending his season with the aforementioned injury. Hopefully 2017 will be the start of Daz Cameron jump-starting his professional career.

Stephen Wrenn is just out of Georgia University and began his professional career in Tri-City. In his junior season at Georgia, Wrenn hit .297/.364/.435 with a 19.6 strikeout percentage and a 7.9 walk percentage. Through his first 81 at-bats with Tri-City Wrenn is hitting .333/.415/.704 with seven home runs and 21 runs batted in. While he has shown power and overall he has gap-to-gap power, his speed and on-base ability lead me to profile him more as a top of the order hitter. His walk totals have been low, but with further development in the Astros system I think he can get those numbers back up. The early returns have been good for Houston's sixth round selection in this year's draft.

The next three months could have been an exciting time for the ValleyCats and their fans with a dynamic duo of Daz Cameron and Stephen Wrenn in the outfield, but Cameron's injury has robbed them of that. However, there is still a reason for intrigue and that is the start of Stephen Wrenn. There is no doubting the ability of Daz Cameron and his future potential, but if Stephen Wrenn can build off his start to 2016 and beyond then the Astros will have yet another solid outfield bat in their system.