Jon Singleton gets a second shot with the Astros
After strong start at Triple-A, the club promoted him Friday. Before seeing an MLB pitch, Singleton signed a rare extension that included $10 million of guaranteed money, worth up to $35 million if team options kick in.
By
Dave Brown
•
2 min read
The Jon Singleton experiment resumed Friday when the Houston Astros called him up from Triple-A Fresno, where he was having some of the best results of his professional career.
Coming in with big expectations and an unusually large contract for a rookie, Singleton failed in 2014 during his first stint with the Astros, batting .168 with a .620 on-base plus slugging percentage and 134 strikeouts in 362 plate appearances. It seemed like those expectations, plus the demands of major-league pitching, were just too much for him at 22 years old.
A year later, with the Astros doing surprisingly well in the standings but lacking punch in the lineup, here Singleton is again. He's not in the lineup for Houston's game against the Yankees on Friday night, but general manager Jeff Luhnow said that won't necessarily be the norm, even with Chris Carter and Evan Gattis on the roster.
From the Houston Chronicle:
"I think having the left-handed power bat who can play first base can complement what we have right now," Luhnow said. "He'll probably eat into a little bit to Carter's playing time and probably eat into a little bit of Gattis' playing time. We think he's a bat that can help us right now."
Despite his struggles in the majors, Singleton started off just fine at Fresno this season, batting .280/.387/.553 with 17 homers in 313 plate appearances. Luhnow notes that Singleton has used his power to all fields, basically replicating what he did in the minors a year ago. His strikeout levels haven't been bad, either, striking out 115 times combined in 552 plate appearances. That's a workable major-league equivalent. He's got that level down. And the Astros need help with the big club.
The Astros have used Carter (.709 OPS) and Gattis (.701 OPS) most of the time at first base and designated hitter, getting below-average results from both. Singleton's return could have multiple intentions -- to see again what he can do against major leaguers, and to motivate Gattis, Carter and anyone else not producing in the Astros lineup. Nearly three months into the season, it's time for the Astros to try someone else in the middle of the lineup. Nearly seven years into Singleton's professional life, it's time to find out if he can hack it at the highest level, other than with a paycheck.
Before seeing a major-league pitch, Singleton had signed a contract extension that included $10 million of guaranteed money, and could be worth up to $35 million if team options kick in. Such deals are rare for players of Singleton's experience, with most teams preferring to wring every ounce of leverage they have against young players before arbitration years and free agency hit. Singleton's arrival had been anticipated since he came over from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence trade in 2011. As our Mike Axisa pointed out, Singleton was considered the No. 82 overall prospect by Baseball America before the 2014 season, but they rated him as 27th the year before.
At 23, he's not getting stale as a prospect just yet, and the Astros could have him locked up until 2021 if they wanted, but the chances of Singleton having a great career simply diminish as time marches forward. Perhaps it will take him a few years -- like it did with Carter, and like it does with a lot of players -- to find his way to a consistent major-league job. And if so, the Astros would have to regard their unusual contract with Singleton as a mistake and a failure.
