Or at least some new horses will be entering the stable.  On the heels of a horrible road trip last week, and a choke-job at home against the Rangers this weekend, the Astros moved decisively yesterday, calling up almost every promising player they had at Round Rock.  The new guys probably won’t be the catalyst for a drive to the World Series, but they will provide a taste of what the 2012 Astros could look like.  Let’s take a look at who’s coming to Houston:

Jason Castro - Catcher:  Castro is the Astros’ much-heralded 1st round draft pick from 2008.  After a stellar career at Stanford, he’s shot up the minor league ladder quickly.  In Round Rock this year, he’s been hitting a respectable .268 with some power.  That average will likely drop once he starts facing major league pitching, but he has all the tools to be a consistent, productive hitter. 

In addition, he’s got a strong arm, and a well-developed approach to calling a game.  Provided that the pitching staff becomes comfortable with him quickly, he could be an able replacement for the surprisingly good Humberto Quintero, with an even stronger contribution at the plate. He’ll face a bit of a learning curve, so don’t over-judge based on how he plays for the next couple weeks.

Chris Johnson - Third Baseman: Here’s the impact addition.  Since the Pedro Feliz stop-gap appears to be a ghastly failure in almost every measure, and Johnson’s been hitting like a house on fire in Round Rock, the lineup upgrade could be significant.  At the moment, Johnson’s batting average sits at .329 with 8 homers and a solid .932 OPS; even with a drop-off against big league competition, he should be better than Feliz.

His glove isn’t anything to tell your kids about, but since Feliz’s defense has been less than advertised, too, it won’t be a liability.  Johnson won’t be an All-Star any time soon, but he could be a solid, reliable third baseman for the foreseeable future.

Jason Bourgeios - Outfielder:  The other Jason in the call-up will likely be primarily used as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement.  He, too, has been tearing it up at AAA, with a .345 average and speed to go with it.  Were it not for the continued brilliance of Michael Bourn, he could make a legit case for the starting CF job.

Though he’ll be a bench player for now, the tantalizing possibility around his call up is that if, by some miracle, the ‘stros find a taker for Carlos Lee (and his plus-sized contract), Bourgeois could become an everyday starter, either in left or in right if Hunter Pence slides over to LF. 

Brad Mills has promised that all three will get playing time, but Castro will get the most out of the three, especially with Quintero possibly headed for the DL after getting clubbed in the head with a backswing on Sunday.  Johnson will get to platoon with Feliz until some sort of shoe drops and he gets the full-time gig.  As mentioned above, Bourgeios won’t start (for now) but will get some opportunities for spot starts and pinch hitting.

The youth movement is now officially afoot.  Anyone who has been complaining about Drayton holding on to the past for too long, or being to enslaved to the big-money free agents he’s spent on should shut the hell up.  Moreover, the Garage Sale sign is officially in the yard with these moves, too, so expect the rumor mill for Lee, Berkman and especially Oswalt to heat up in coming weeks.  These call-ups don’t mean that the Astros will be better this year, but they certainly mean that they’re looking to be better in 2011 and beyond.

photo: flickr user unISOnPhotography

Filed in News and tagged astros, baseball, jason castro, sports

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