Kuzul

There are several reasons for the Houston Astros’ stunning position at the top of the American League West standings. 

A decent enough rotation led by dominant ace Dallas Keuchel; a dominant bullpen that is on a historic pace, threatening to set the record for lowest WHIP in a season since 1920; a powerful lineup that is among the best slugging teams in the majors; and a defense that is surprisingly effective at preventing runs.

You can point to a number of factors for the Astros sitting three games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL West, pushing their competitive clock ahead by about two years.

George Springer is yet another, even if everyone is failing to fully acknowledge his rise as one of baseball’s young stars.

George Springer isn’t in the top 15 AL outfield vote which is an oversight. Product of how season started.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) June 22, 2015

“He’s definitely All-Star worthy,” manager A.J. Hinch, a member of the AL All-Star coaching staff, told reporters Sunday. “There’s some talented guys out there, but he should absolutely be in the conversation.”

Springer’s candidacy got off to a slow start this season following a breakout rookie year in which he slugged .804, hit 20 home runs and accumulated a 126 OPS-plus in 345 plate appearances.

Even though the Astros won 24 of their first 34 games to stun the American League, especially in the West, Springer, hitting anywhere from second to fourth in the order, batted .185/.327/.387 with a .713 OPS and 40 strikeouts in that time. Sophomore slump was written all over his season with that start, but things turned around in a hurry for the 25-year-old right fielder.

Springer, drafted 11th overall in 2011 and a top-25 prospect heading into last season, has unloaded in the 31 games since. Entering Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, Springer hit .379/.434/.589 with a 1.023 OPS, eight doubles and six home runs. He has struck out 35 times—that will most likely always be a part of this game—but the non-strikeouts were far more productive during this stretch as his BABIP was an incredible .494.

He also went into Monday with a 14-game hitting streak, which was snapped Monday. During this recent run, he has been the team’s leadoff man in all but four of the games. Springer has a .440 OBP out of that spot and has become a dangerous source of power as six of his 12 home runs have come from place in the order.

Before Springer, Jose Altuve had been the team’s primary leadoff man. He has since dropped to third as Springer has emerged up top.

“I feel pretty excited about hitting behind, for me, the best hitter in the big leagues right now, which is George Springer,” Altuve told the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich on Monday.

Part of Springer’s success this season has been an ability to hit the ball to all fields. He has adjusted to how he is being pitched as a power threat and is more willing to hit the ball up the middle and the other way for hits than in 2014. 

He is pulling the ball nine percent less than he did last season, more than seven percent more of his balls are being hit to the middle of the diamond and nearly four percent more are going the other way, according to FanGraphs data.

“I understand that the object is to get to first base and I think that’s helped slow me down,” Springer told reporters Sunday. “Instead of me trying to hit a home run every single time, you know, I just understand that if I just take a nice, easy, controlled swing and get to first base for who’s ever up behind me, our offense can go.”

Springer is a soft speaker, often discussing himself with as few words as possible. Modesty is not a problem for a player who is eighth in FanGraphs WAR among all American League outfielders this season and fourth over the last 30 days going into Monday. His season OPS-plus was also up to 142 through Sunday.

“No,” Springer told reporters Sunday when asked if he’d thought about making the All-Star team. “I’m just out here trying to help us win. We’re on a good streak right now.”

It is time, however, for the baseball-loving world to start recognizing Springer as one of the best right fielders in the game. He hits for power, gets on base, can steal a few—13 in 15 attempts—and is developing as a defensive right fielder.

Even if he does not burst onto the national stage this year as an All-Star, he is showing he has the tools to do so very soon. Possibly in October.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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Carlos Correa, whose nickname is “The Captain,” is one of the best prospects in all of baseball. The Puerto Rican shortstop was drafted No. 1 overall by the Houston Astros in 2012. He’s had a hot start since being called up from the minors, nabbing hits in the first four games he played at the major league level, including smashing two home runs over the wall to put a stamp on his arrival.  

Correa figures to be an all-star someday, something the Astros hoped for when they drafted him three years ago, and something they still hope to see as he’s progressed up through the ranks. FoxSports.com’s Matt Whitener recently compared Correa to a young Alex Rodriguez:

A-Rod always profiled as a greater power threat than Correa does, but the similarities are within reason otherwise.

Rodriguez’s rookie year was interrupted by the strike of ’94, but with a full season to apply his craft, Rodriguez ripped apart the American League, hitting .358 and becoming the final piece to help launch the Mariners into the postseason. What Correa’s immediate purpose stands to be could be quite similar. 

But Correa is already an all-star player to one family, the Glasscocks, and especially their seven-year-old son, Corbin, who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer last year. The Glasscocks are from Chapel Hill, a small community just outside of Tyler, an East Texas town four hours north of Houston.

“Corbin loves baseball,” said Kayla Glasscock, Corbin’s mother. “This was really special for him.”

The Glasscocks were invited to visit the Astros before their June 13 game against the Seattle Mariners. The Astros provided the family seats, field passes and a special meet-and-greet session with players before the game during batting practice.

While Corbin’s rigorous cancer-treatment schedule keeps the Glasscocks busy for weeks at a time, and Corbin’s chemotherapy keeps him off his feet for days at a time, the Glasscocks piled in their car that day because opportunities, such as the one the Astros provided the family on Saturday, come along once in a lifetime.

So there Corbin was with his family, his mom Kayla, dad Josh and three-year-old little brother Jackson, when Correa strolled over to him before batting practice.

“Hey there, Corbin,” Correa said with a big league smile. “My name is Carlos Correa. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Corbin’s smile was as big as Texas, and the two chatted for a bit, took pictures and did the standard meeting thing players sometime do before Correa headed over to take some swings at the plate.

Correa turned to Corbin before he headed there. Whatever he said to him seemed important. Corbin was happy, his family was beaming and even the ground crew and folks who work for the Astros were now wearing newly lifted smiles.

During batting practice, Correa swung the bat like he’s been in the majors for years. He has a good swing, smooth and easy. The ball practically leaps off his bat whenever he makes contact, and he seems to have a real knack for finding the sweet spot.

Maybe he can be as good as A-Rod someday.  

The bat he used was beautiful. There’s just something about baseball. Isn’t there? That piece of wood looked like a trophy almost or something that belonged in a museum someday. And honestly if Correa turns out to be as good a ballplayer as everyone cheering for the Astros hopes he is, it very well might be.

I’m not sure what it is, but that bat looked like a work of art.

But that bat had purpose, too. Correa turned on the fastballs during the session like they had done something to his family. It was like watching a world-class fighter have a go at the heavy bag. It’s a space where both the brutality of blunt force and the smooth, poetic beauty of artistic movement coincide. It was amazing.

It seemed like Correa was hitting baseballs for hours. Everyone had turned to watch him do it, too, and everyone was disappointed when the exhibition ended.

When he was finished, the slender and athletic Correa, nimbly made his way over to the hordes of early arriving baseball fans. He did it on purpose. He signed autographs. He took pictures.

Heck, for all I know he was over there kissing babies like he was running for president or something.

But the latter is probably not something that really happened. Correa seems too good a person for mere politicking. At least that’s what I thought when he made his way back over to Corbin a short time after.

“Here you go,” the future Houston Astros’ all-star shortstop told the seven-year-old battling bone cancer as he handed him his bat. “Here you go,” he said each time he handed him one of his gloves.

“Thanks for coming today.”

Correa went hitless in the 8-1 loss to the Mariners that day. But he hit a home run with everyone else. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Kelsey McCarson is a boxing writer for Bleacher Report and TheSweetScience.com who sparred undefeated junior middleweight Jermell Charlo last year to raise money for Corbin’s cancer treatments. You can contribute to the fundraiser for Team Corbin at GoFundMe.com. All money collected goes to Corbin’s medical fund.

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Houston Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve injured his hamstring in the first inning of the team’s game on June 12. He isn’t believed to be seriously injured, though he was kept out of the lineup the following day.

Continue for updates.

Altuve Out vs. Mariners

MLB.com’s Chandler Rome reported that Altuve would be out of Saturday’s lineup, though Astros manager A.J. Hinch didn’t seem overly concerned with the long-term impact of the injury.

“He’ll be day to day for the next couple days until he feels back to 100 percent,” Hinch said. “But I know he and our trainer were encouraged by how he was evaluated today. We avoided a worse injury.”

Rome also provided comments from Altuve, who also seemed optimistic about his injury, saying, “It feels really great, better than I thought. Obviously, I’m not playing today, but I feel way, way better than I did yesterday.”

Marwin Gonzalez took Altuve’s place when he left the game and also on Saturday. 

The reigning American League batting champion is impossible to replace in the lineup between his high contact rate and knack for stealing bases. Altuve is also extremely dependable on defense and seldom commits errors.

Even with Altuve not quite producing as well as he did last season, the Astros have enjoyed surprising success in 2015. Everyone has stepped up to help Houston exceed expectations by a long shot, but Altuve’s leadership is key.

Considering he missed just 14 games total in the prior two seasons, it will take a lot for Altuve to be out for too long.   

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Every day that passes is another day closer to the July 31 trade deadline. For the first time in what seems like ages, the Houston Astros are shaping up to be buyers, not sellers, as that time approaches.

It is already June, and the Houston Astros still have the best record in the American League. After years of trading veterans in exchange for young prospects, the shoe is finally on the other foot.

There is a good chance that the Astros will remain in contention throughout the season, and if they want to make a serious push at the postseason, they might need a top-of-the-line starting pitcher to anchor the staff through the dog days of August and September.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Astros are in negotiations with the Philadelphia Phillies for left-hander Cole Hamels.

“The goal is [to acquire] a No. 1 or 2,” a source told Heyman.

Apparently, the Houston front office does not think that the starting rotation has enough depth to navigate through the playoffs, and a 1-2 punch of crafty southpaw and sub-2.00 ERA owner Dallas Keuchel and Hamels—or another front-line starter—does sound appealing.

However, the Astros need to be wary of betting the house on Hamels.

There is no argument that he is an elite pitcher, but the number of top-tier prospects that Philly will undoubtedly command in return is too steep a price.

For example, think about in the past when Hamels has been a hot commodity.

The Dodgers and Red Sox each showed significant interest in the 31-year-old Philadelphia ace, but in both instances the Phillies asked for an unrealistic return.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies wouldn’t budge on an offer of all three of the Dodgers’ top prospects—Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias—last summer right before the trade deadline.

Then, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reported in January that the Phillies were “unrealistic in their expectations,” possibly asking for both Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart in exchange for Hamels.

So the first step for the Astros is going to be to reach a deal. For that to happen, they will have to include plenty of their top prospects in the deal. Fortunately, they have plenty to offer. The ‘Stros have the eighth most talented farm system in all of baseball, per MLB.com, meaning they are one of the few teams who could offer a package that could get Hamels.

But Hamels would certainly be expensive. Carlos Correa is likely off limits, but 2013 first-overall pick Mark Appel, Lance McCullers Jr., Preston Tucker and Colin Moran could potentially be involved in a blockbuster trade to land an elite starter like Hamels. 

Plus, on the off chance that the two sides can reach an agreement, Hamels’ 20-team no-trade clause poses another obstacle. He has already vetoed the Blue Jays this year, and a source told Heyman that Hamels would likely do the same to the Astros.

However, if Houston continues to do well and has a chance to make the playoffs—in addition to the abundance of young talent that means the Astros will be contenders for years down the road—who knows, maybe Hamels considers it.

The final hurdle is Hamels’ contract: He is scheduled to make $24 million per year through 2018. The Astros currently don’t have anyone making more than $10 million, and they will likely not want to allocate such a big chunk of their payroll to one player. Not only is it one player, but it’s a player who will only be on the field every fifth day.

With all this in mind, I think it is a good idea for the Astros to at least explore the market for a front-line starter. But ultimately, they should not be willing to give away more than two top prospects for his services. While he is a consistent and durable pitcher—he is well on his way to surpassing the 200-inning plateau for the sixth consecutive year—I don’t think he is worth the price that the Phillies are going to undoubtedly demand.

The Astros have two of the top five picks in Monday’s MLB draft, so they will add even more potential stars to their already loaded organization.

They are a team on the rise with a very bright future. Even if they do not accomplish everything they want to this season, they have several more years to do just that.

The ‘Stros have played terrific baseball to this point—without Hamels—and it is basically a foregone conclusion that the Phillies are going to be rightfully greedy in the negotiations.

Add it all up, and the Astros are fine as their roster sits right now. Don’t overspend for an elite starting pitcher. Keuchel is having a Cy Young-caliber season to this point, Collin McHugh has proved to be a consistent middle-of-the-rotation arm and McCullers looks like a future ace.

The Astros have amassed the best record in the AL without Hamels, and they don’t really need him to take the next step of eventually making and advancing deep into the playoffs.

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In the bottom of the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros spun the second triple play of the 2015 MLB season.

It was Houston’s first in a long while, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Ian Kinsler shot a grounder to third, but the Astros whipped it around the horn and got out of trouble in a hurry with Detroit threatening.

[MLB]

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It’s your first major league start. Your entire family is watching. All eyes are on you. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers knew this would be a moment to remember for the rest of his life.

So, he came prepared.

During Monday night’s game against the Oakland Athletics, McCullers donned some sweet Batman cleats on the mound. They were all black with the Bat-Signal on the back and the Under Armour symbol on the front.

Here’s a closer look:

McCullers finished with five strikeouts and allowed one run on three hits in 4.2 innings. The Batman cleats weren’t enough to get the win, as the Athletics pulled out a 2-1 victory.

[MLB, MLB.com]

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The Carlos Correa countdown is on. The Houston Astros—check that, the AL West-leading Houston Astros, who sport the best record in the American League at 18-8 entering play Tuesday—suddenly find themselves in a position where promoting their young shortstop and No. 1 prospect to the majors might come sooner than expected and would make plenty of sense for a few reasons.

First, there’s the recent injury to Jed Lowrie, the club’s starting shortstop who will be out until after the All-Star break with a torn ligament in his right thumb, according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle.

Lowrie was playing very well in his return to the Astros, hitting .300/.432/.567 in 18 games. His loss means Houston has been forced to try to hold down the fort at short by turning to the likes of Jonathan Villar and Marwin Gonzalez, neither of whom is worthy of starting at the position for a team that actually is looking to return to relevance, if not contention in 2015.

Speaking of which, reason No. 2 has to do with just that. The Astros, of course, have been undergoing a necessary and extremely lengthy rebuilding process in recent years. They are coming off six straight losing seasons, tying them with the New York Mets for the longest active stretch of nonwinning campaigns in baseball.

During that time, questions, concerns and criticisms have come to the forefront over the approach and when—or even if—Houston finally would turn it around. A lot can happen over the course of a six-month baseball season, but if the first portion of 2015 is any indication, that turnaround is underway.

Yes, the Astros are winning for a change, off to a hot start that has them with—get this—the largest division lead in baseball at the moment. Houston is already a whopping seven games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners (11-15) in an AL West where the other four clubs have to try to claw their way back to .500 before they can set their sights on the ‘Stros.

And the third reason why the Correa countdown is ticking? Well, Correa himself.

One of the elite prospects in the game, Correa was the No. 1 overall pick in 2012 and was ranked among the top five—in fact, the top four—by each of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN and MLB.com at the outset of spring training.

The 20-year-old keeps killing the ball at Double-A Corpus Christi. Through 23 games, he’s hitting .383/.458/.702 with 21 runs, 13 doubles, five home runs, 25 RBI and 11 stolen bases, while striking out only 18.7 percent of the time and walking 11.2 percent.

Here’s where we pause and suggest you reread those numbers, because: Wow. To put them in context, Correa is leading the Texas League in—deep breath—batting average, slugging percentage, on-base-plus slugging percentage, runs scored, hits and doubles.

As for on-base percentage, homers, RBI and stolen bases, he’s merely in the top four. Oh, and he has made but one error while playing all but one game at short, with the other coming as designated hitter.

All that, and Correa is the third-youngest player in the circuit, as only lefty Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers were born after him.

“Carlos is going to be a star player in the big leagues,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said when the Astros sent Correa down to the minor league camp during spring training. “It’s just a matter of time.”

Luhnow wrapped up that media session with the following statement: “We feel good about the squad that we’re going to take to Houston to start the season with. And we feel good about the protection and the players we’ll have available to us [in the minors], should an injury occur or a need arise.”

Well, a need has arisen, and Correa has performed as well as any player possibly could through the first turn of the season. But that doesn’t mean the Astros are ready to push the envelope by pushing their stud youngster all the way to the majors—at least not quite yet—even if he’s looking more and more ready by the day.

“He’s definitely a special player, so his time will come faster than it would for other guys,” Luhnow told Drellich in the aftermath of Lowrie‘s injury. “But…he’s got 70 at-bats above Class A, and we feel like he needs some more.”

Which raises the question: Had Correa not lost half of 2014 when he fractured his right fibula sliding into third base last June, would he be in Houston instead of Corpus Christi right now?

While the Astros, like most clubs, prefer their most valuable prospects go through all levels of the minors, including Triple-A, other phenoms like Clayton Kershaw, Giancarlo Stanton and Manny Machado have been bumped from Double-A straight to MLB at age 20 in recent years and found success, if not immediately then fairly soon thereafter. Correa is very much in the same class as those three were at the time of their promotions.

Another young player who made that jump?

“[Jose] Altuve never had Triple-A time, and he did OK,” Luhnow said, per Drellich. “[But] those at-bats that Correa is taking at Double-A, he’s not wasting his time there. He’s learning stuff, we’re evaluating, and it’s all helping toward the ultimate goal of getting him to the big leagues and having him help the team.”

Often with prospects, patience is prudent, if not imperative. But the forces seem to be aligning just so between Lowrie‘s injury and the way the Astros and Correa are playing so far.

The countdown is on.

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To say the Houston Astros have been bad since arriving in the American League West is an understatement of Texas-sized proportions.

In 2012, the year the Astros ditched the senior circuit, they lost 111 games. It was their third consecutive 100-loss season. 

Last year, Houston finished 70-92, enough to avoid the cellar but still 28 games off the pace.

Almost a month into the 2015 campaign, these Astros are suddenly looking like contenders.

Sure, it’s early. Baseball history is littered with scalding Aprils that evaporated in the heat of summer. But the standings don’t lie: After defeating the San Diego Padres 9-4 Monday night, Houston sits at 12-7, three games ahead of the defending division champion Los Angeles Angels.

Really, it’s not so shocking. The Astros are laden with young talent, a team on the rise. But many, myself included, didn’t think they’d rise so far so fast.

While there’s ample time to crash back to Earth, there are reasons to believe these ‘Stros are for real.

Let’s start with the pitching staff, which sported a 3.18 ERA entering play Monday, second-best in the AL.

The rotation is anchored by Dallas Keuchel, who is looking to build on a breakout 2014 season that saw him post a 2.93 ERA in 200 innings and toss an American League-leading five complete games.

Through four starts, the 27-year-old southpaw owns a 0.62 ERA and 0.828 WHIP. 

In his most recent outing on April 24 against the Oakland A’s, Keuchel twirled nine shutout innings but got a no-decision, with Houston ultimately prevailing 5-4 in the eleventh. After the game, Keuchel was still stewing on the two free passes he surrendered. 

“It was just real spotty command,” he said, per MLB.com‘s Alex Espinoza.

So spotty command equals nine scoreless frames? Sleep tight, opposing batters. 

Speaking of batters, reigning AL batting champ Jose Altuve has picked up where he left off. Entering play Tuesday, the All-Star second baseman was hitting .325 with seven stolen bases.

Then there are the unexpected contributions that fuel every surprise run. Like, say, center fielder Jake Marisnick, a former third-round pick acquired from the Miami Marlins last July. 

Entering play Tuesday, Marisnick sported a robust .990 OPS and was leading the team with a .362 batting average.

“Just coming up here and starting to be consistent every day, I think it’ll start to show up more and more,” the 24-year-old told Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. 

Other Astros are still waiting to launch. Outfielder and 2011 first-round pick George Springer, who blasted 20 home runs in 78 games last year, is hitting .183 with 28 strikeouts in 71 at-bats. Overall, Houston is hitting .229 as a team.

The point is, there are already noticeable chinks in the armor. Pleasantly surprising as they’ve been, the Astros have flaws. On the other hand, who doesn’t?

No other squad in the AL West presently sits above .500. And from the underperforming Angels and Seattle Mariners to the perpetually reshuffling A’s to the injury-bitten Texas Rangers, everyone’s got question marks.

Does that make Houston the new favorites? Not yet. This hot start, though, has accelerated the Astros’ relevancy timeline and nudged them from pretender to contender.

Here’s an interesting note from ESPN.com‘s Buster Olney:

Two hundred sixty-three hitters had at least 300 plate appearances in 2014, and five of the hitters who appear poised to start in Houston’s lineup finished in the top 19 in the majors for highest strikeout percentage… The Astros will be the latest team to test the theory that all outs are created equal, and it really doesn’t matter whether you slap a ground ball to second base or strike out.

It’s a boom-or-bust offense, in other words, destined to either wow you or leave you sorely disappointed. There will be highs, there will be lows.

But to say this squad is intriguing is an understatement of Texas-sized proportions.

All statistics current as of April 27 and courtesy of MLB.com.

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The Houston Astros weren’t the favorites to win the AL West for this year’s MLB season. However, with the acquisition of Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus during the offseason, Grantland.com projected that the lineup would generate a little more pop than in 2014.

Gattis, who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in return for three Astros prospects, hit 20-plus homers for the Braves in each of his last two seasons. Match that with a healthy star outfielder, George Springer, who belted 20 homers last season during his rookie campaign for Houston, and Chris Carter, who was tied with Giancarlo Stanton for second in the league in home runs in 2014—that’s a formidable lineup. 

But that hasn’t been the case for this season’s squad. The Astros are ranked 30th in batting average with a .202 mark, and their three star players in Carter, Springer and Gattis have a combined BA of .126. Carter alone is hitting an abysmal .071 in 42 at-bats with zero long balls.

Though it is still early and the Astros’ 7-6 record puts them at the top of the AL West, their offense relies heavily on those three bats to be their run producers. They will have to get going at some point in order for the team to remain respectable within its division. As Eric Huysman of FanSided wrote on April 17: 

While the Astros are 4-5 this season, it is not because of the bats of George Springer, Evan Gattis, or Chris Carter. They all have a strikeout percentage of over 40% in the early going. If the Astros are staying close to .500 with the with the heart of the order striking out a little less than half the time what will happen when they start hitting?

The Astros’ pitching staff, mainly their bullpen, was subpar last season. According to Bless You Boys’ Rob Rogacki, “The Astros’ bullpen had the highest ERA in baseball for the second consecutive year in 2014, allowing a 4.80 ERA in 468 2/3 innings. This was a stark improvement over the disaster that was 2013, however, as the Astros allowed a semi-respectable 4.11 FIP and threw 65 fewer innings in ’14.” 

But this year, the starting pitching staff and bullpen have hidden the struggles of the Astros offense by sporting a 2.81 ERA, third best in the AL and fifth best overall in MLB.

Moving forward, the Houston Astros aren’t too far off from being a respectable force within the American League. With Jose Altuve as their most consistent hitter, they will need Springer, Gattis and Carter, especially, to take their offense to another level. 

The Astros have a chance to make some noise, but it will have to come with the bat.

Statistics from ESPN.com

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The expectations placed on George Springer have never been higher. 

As a college player at Connecticut, they were already on the rise. After the Houston Astros drafted him 11th overall in 2011, those expectations again grew, and by the time he finished his second full minor league season in 2013 with a .303/.411/.600 line to go with a 1.010 OPS, 37 home runs and 108 RBI, he was a potential star.

Last year, Springer started fulfilling that potential as a major league slugger. Now, with the start of this season less than a month away, expectations surrounding the 25-year-old Springer have completely spiked.

The reason: His breakout 2014 with the Astros has put him on the brink of superstardom. Hitting 20 home runs in 78 games and compiling an .804 OPS as a rookie will do that in a game starved for offense.

“Success definitely breeds confidence,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Thursday. “But … you ride that momentum when you can, and dwell on it just enough to take the good out of it without the undue pressure.”

That pressure is going to be difficult for Springer to hide from in his sophomore season.

He started 2014 at Triple-A Oklahoma City, but after just 13 games the Astros realized Springer needed no more minor league seasoning. As the sport’s No. 18 overall prospect prior to last season, as rated by Baseball America, Springer hit .353/.459/.647 with a 1.106 OPS and three home runs in those 13 contests.

It was enough for the Astros to call up their top major league-ready prospect despite no realistic expectations to contend.

“Offensively, he’s been heating up the last week or so, and we want to get a guy when he’s hot,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said upon Springer’s mid-April promotion, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.

The hot stretch did not bleed into the big leagues right away. Springer compiled a .180 average with 23 strikeouts, five walks and no home runs through his first 15 games (67 plate appearances).

But as the season crept into May, Springer found a stride, birthing this new edition of sky-high expectations.

Starting with a quiet 1-for-3 day on May 5, Springer proceeded to hit .333/.434/.762 with 10 homers and four doubles in 22 games. The league named him the AL’s Rookie of the Month for May, and while his slash line dipped, he still flashed his trademark power with six more homers in June and four more in July despite playing just 13 games in that final month.

A quad strain cut off Springer’s season on July 20, an injury that he tweaked during his rehab stint in August. He ended up ranking second among all rookies with those 20 home runs, third with 51 RBI and fifth with his .804 OPS.

There were also obvious flaws. And it is those, if not remedied, that could stall his climb to becoming baseball’s next young superstar.

Springer struck out 114 times last year, or once in about every three plate appearances, and hit .231/.336/.468. Also keep in mind that a near-league-average .294 BABIP helped his batting average, and his swinging-strike percentage (18.2) was second-worst in the AL among players with at least 300 plate appearances. His overall contact rate of 61 percent was worst in the league.

Plus he did not take full advantage of his power because he hit more ground balls (45.4 percent) than fly balls (39.3).

George Springer has 5 games with 4+ strikeouts this year. The whole rest of MLB has just 89, and no other player has more than 2.

— High Heat Stats MLB (@HighHeatStats) July 19, 2014

I love George Springer but want to see him cut back on the strikeouts, career to date: 239 strikeouts per 162 games.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@AceballStats) July 10, 2014

If those trends continue, Springer’s value could greatly diminish over the course of a full season. That will be especially true if his BABIP fluctuates downward, which it can from year to year.

The failures are something Springer understands, and while they might have frustrated him at times, he believes they are part of his path to eventual success.

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Springer told The Associated Press. “In order to succeed, you have to fail first, and I think I was able to learn from the failure and the hardships. I learned a lot about myself and about the game.

“My dad used to say that adversity introduces a man to himself, and that really stuck with me. It’s not about how you fail, but how you handle it.”

As the Astros’ rebuild continues to take its eventual form, Springer is already establishing himself as a major part of it. While players like Carlos Correa, Mark Appel and Colin Moran, among other prospects, are still making their way to the big leagues, the Astros were 29-30 in Springer’s final 59 games—starting with the game he hit his first homer—showing that he is a major part of their success now and in the future.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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