Why hasn't GM Tim Purpura or Assistant GM Ricky Bennett promoted some of the Astros best prospects. Outfielder Hunter Pence, who got was placed on the DL yesterday with strained quadriceps, has been tearing up the South Atlantic League with some ridiculous numbers (.345 BA, 23 HR, 52 RBIs, .421 OBP). Lefty Troy Patton has been filthy (4-0, 0.98 ERA, 68.1 IP, 42 H, 17 BB, 78 SO). Righthander James Barthmaier also has been unbelievable (6-1, 1.77 ERA, 71.1 IP, 41 H, 31 BB, 72 SO). All three of these are currently in Lexington which is the Astros low Class A team. They all at least should be in advanced Class A Salem or maybe in Pence should be in Double A. Pence is old for Class A since he is 22. Baseball American even has the trio in their weekly Prospect Hot Sheet, Patton is #1, Pence is #2, Barthamaier is #17. No wonder when the Astros call up their top prospects their like 27 years old while every other teams top prospects are like 23. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/hotsheet2005.html
Signed, Tim Redding, Carlos Hernandez, and Roy Oswalt Cosigned, Lance Berkman, Richard Hidalgo, Wade Miller, and Billy Wagner
Pence's numbers aren't that impressive given his age and the level of competition. The reality is that while the Astros are conservative with their prospects, it's not like the 27, 28 year old guys they bring up are the next coming of Pujols or A-Rod. The great talents develop quickly, middle-of-the-road guys like Everett or Lane take a little longer to become major league ready.
While I agree the Astros tend to be very conservative with their prospects, developing players isn't exactly a science. Alot of people thought we were being too conservative with Chris Burke (age 25) who was tearing up the minors. Now he's batting below .200. I trust the Astros developmental program, they certainly know more about this stuff than we do. They probably want to see them fulfill a full season with a single team though .. But I agree, we're not talking about promoting these guys to the majors, move them up a notch.
I do agree that a player putting up big numbers should be moved up assuming he's mature enough to handle it. At age 22, a good prospect should not be in low A ball if he's tearing up the league.
All of those stats are pretty impressive, although I would worry about the high # of walks that Barthmaier kid has made in only 70+ innings. He probably just doesn't quite have his control together yet.
In the past slow development has occured for a couple of reasons: Bagwell and Biggio(Move all first basemen to outfield and Burke plays 2nd) Astros have had a crowded outfield(Not the case anymore) Astros have been in contention almost every year and prefer veterans for those races.
