AJ Reed reminded me of John VanBenschoeten (sp?). 2-way amazing player in college and then completely flamed out in/after AAA
Probably, though guys have succeeded with those rates. If he can actually play catcher, it would go a long way to being able to actually making it. I also wouldn't compare him to Seth Beer, who was a legitimate prospect. This would be more like Kody Hinze at this point.
Yeah, there have been a few like that. What I remember about Reed is that scouts across the board felt he was going to wreck big league pitching, he was just one of those guys that hit for average, walked, made adjustments and hit for power. He was a top 10 type prospect right before he came up. The Astros brought him up and he was swinging late on some pitches, but the coaches/scouts didn't think it was a big deal, they were going to make a couple of adjustments to his swing and move his hands more inside. He got spooked and became convinced he just didn't have it. He had real confidence issues and self-worth stuff going on. The Astros tried working with him and he just would get really withdrawn and struggle with working on his approach. They kept him around for over a year trying to get him to trust the adjustments and it never happened so he was sent out to the Tigers or White Sox (I don't remember) and then he literally just quit. There are some weird stories over the years with "what if guys". Frances Martes was like that too, except he got himself in some trouble and hung around the wrong people. I do think that the Astros should try to trade for Kristian Robinson from the D-Backs system, he is a similar story but seems pretty motivated to comeback. I saw him back in 2019 or so and he really was on the path to being a good MLB player. Ball sounded different off his bat and he had the rate ability to drive the ball deep on late swings deep in the pitch, with the ball almost across home plate.
No - he literally just walked away at like 25. He basically gave up after his first struggle in the big leagues with the Astros.... he told the Astros he did not want to play anymore.
Walker Janek is starting a rehab assignment in the FCL today. Joey Dixon was placed on the 60 day IL. After missing all of 2024 and 2025, he threw 6 innings this season before getting hurt again. That might be it for him. Sad because he looked like he could be good.
Juan Fraide allowed a run on three hits and struck out six in five innings down at the complex today. Walker Janek homered in the first game of his rehab assignment.
RHP Julio Rodriguez has continued to pique my interest. He was a MiLB rule 5 pick in 2024 and missed a chunk of last season with a PED suspension. While his ERA is not great, he's striking out 33% of hitters with a career low walk rate of 6.7%. He's also running an absurd 75% GB rate. In his brief 2024 AAA stint, he averaged almost 95 on his fastball, and generated elite spin (3200+ rpm) on his breakers. He's a 26 year old pure reliever, so the upside isn't huge. He's struggled with walks in the past, and the PED suspension obviously isn't a great thing, but his ability to generate strikeouts and ground balls have not been diminished by the time off, and he's walking fewer batters than ever.
I doubt Crane would ok a deal bringing in a guy who punched a DPS officer He is pretty much against negative publicity at this point
I know fans give guys like that a hard time, because we all wish we had the opportunity, but better to quit on something you don't love than continue taking a spot somebody else is hungry for. I didn't want to trade for Freddie Freeman because I though AJ Reed would basically be Freddie. That was before Freeman really took off as a superstar, but definitely the most wrong I've ever felt about anything in sports. Way underselling Freeman and way overvaluing Reed.
Kellan Oakes vs. Fredericksburg: 4 IP, H (solo HR), ER, 8 K After allowing 8 runs in his first three appearances (7 IP), Oakes has allowed 3 runs in his last four outings (17.2 IP). In those 17.2 innings, including tonight, he's walked 3 and struck out 24.
