Bregman gets the call from Astros

The Astros announced that they will call up top prospect Alex Bregman prior to Monday’s game versus the Yankees. The Houston Astros made the call Sunday afternoon and say he’ll join the club on Monday.

He played his last 18 games with Fresno, batting.333 with six home runs, 15 runs batted in and 17 runs scored. Originally selected in the first-round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of LSU, Bregman was taken with the No. 2 overall pick behind only fellow shortstop Dansby Swanson.

This season, between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno, Bregman was hitting.306/.406/.580 with 20 home runs and 61 RBI. It wasn’t a question of if, but when would Alex get brought up to the Major League Baseball club. In fact, he will be the first position player from his draft class to debut in the majors and just the third player overall, following starting pitcher Carson Fulmer of the Chicago White Sox and reliever Koda Glover of the Washington Nationals.

Baseball America rates Bregman as the game’s eighth-best prospect, meanwhile, and praised his “simple, level swing”, bat speed and patience after last season (subscription required and recommended). “Bregman is also a decent defensive shortstop who could stay at the position for some teams but will likely end up at second base long-term”.

I talked to Bregman at this year’s Futures Game and came away impressed with his confidence and poise, which should serve him well in Houston.