Astros GM Luhnow: Express has 'lethal lineup'

ROUND ROCK — The big-league club owns the best record in the majors and is destroying every baseball in sight. The top farm team resides in first place and is laying waste to Pacific Coast League pitching. Life is good in Houston Astros country.

Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow stopped in Round Rock for two days this week, leading to speculation about a promotion of outfield slugger Yordan Alvarez, who leads the minor leagues in every power category. While Luhnow gently tapped the brakes on those rumors in an interview with the American-Statesman, he raved about the Express and the reunion of the franchise and the Astros.

"I think this is one of the better teams I've seen in Triple-A in my 16 years in the business," Luhnow said. "I've had a couple teams that won championships, and I know what that looks like. This one is deep, has good pitching, a lethal lineup and plays defense. The only area it could improve is the bullpen.

"Everybody wants to talk about Yordan and understandably so. It's pretty clear he's ready to hit in the big leagues. There is more to it than that. He's working to improve defensively. Timing and opportunity are so important. I think he's going to fit in well with us, and no doubt his time is coming."

Round Rock opened the season with four top-80 baseball prospects, according to MLB.com, the top three in the Astros organization and nine of the franchise's top 25. On Sunday one of those prized prospects, starting pitcher Corbin Martin, was plucked by Houston for his major-league debut. The former Teas A&M standout and lifelong Astros fan from Houston struck out nine and allowed just three hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Rangers.

"That's exactly the type of statement game we were hoping he'd make," Luhnow said. "He put himself in a spot to stay in our rotation. He'll be given every opportunity. His stuff was electric, command was good and the environment was amazing. He's just a great story, being a local kid.

"Now his next time out, this weekend against the Red Sox in Fenway, will be a bit more challenging. Then he'll face some other teams and lineups that will be tricky. His stuff is good enough and he seems mature beyond his years. I get the sense he's well grounded. Justin (Verlander) and Gerrrit (Cole), they have a certain presence and attitude about the ups and downs of the game, and I feel Corbin has some of that. He'll benefit from watching those guys."

The Astros have stayed relatively healthy and so completely dominant — leading the majors in scoring, run differential, batting average, slugging percentage and total bases, among other things — they haven't needed to tap into the Express roster much. Right now George Springer is considered the AL MVP frontrunner, but Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa all have emerged as early candidates.

"It's hard to keep these guys motivated when they see Houston is playing so well and there aren't a lot of opportunities," Luhnow acknowledged. "We had our first injury placement (Jose Altuve) last weekend, so there haven't been many chances. But when I came here I told these guys they got to be ready. You never know when it's going to come.

"This is a very talented group. A lot of Triple-A teams have disgruntled players who wish they were in the big leagues. I don't get that sense from being around here this week. I get the sense they know the situation. They seem to understand they will get an opportunity, whether it's with us or another club."

Round Rock is the youngest team in the league, which Luhnow said was by design.

"This is the first of my 16 years we did not sign any veteran six-year free agents over the winter," he said. "I've never seen another organization do this, either. It's a vote of confidence for the players we have. (Infielders) Jack Mayfield, Nick Tanielu, Alex De Goti, we like these guys and think they are capable of filling in for us and perhaps more. Then obviously we've got our star young outfielders like Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Myles Straw and Derek Fisher that are here hopefully getting some final seasoning before launching their big league careers."

Alvarez, who has 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and a .410 batting average, played left field and got a trial at first base in the two games Luhnow saw this week.

"His defense is getting better. I saw him make a couple nice catches," the GM said. "I think he has the arm strength to stop runners from taking extra bases. I'm curious to find out if he can handle first base. If he can play passable first and left field, that bat will fit nicely into our lineup. It's important to realize that defense is one of our calling cards, a big part of our equation, and the game speeds up for these kids once they reach the majors."

There are few, if any, questions about his offense.

"I'm really impressed with his approach at the plate," Luhnow said. "He absolutely crushes the ball when he makes contact. And he often drives it the other way. They are pitching him very carefully now, and he doesn't seem to get frustrated. He's not expanding the zone, which is a natural thing for these young players to do.

"He's such a physical presence and seems so calm and mature, you've got to pinch yourself and remember he's 21 years old, really just a pup. Oh, yeah, I think he will fit in well."

Tucker, who came into the season even higher rated than Alvarez, got off to a dreadful start but has turned it around with 11 homers and 24 RBIs in 35 games.

"I'm seeing a good approach, a batter who's using the whole field and has a really good swing," Luhnow said. "He's one of the top offensive prospects in the game. Kyle is being overshadowed by Yordan, but that's OK. That's how this works."

Luhnow also praised Straw as a player "who can steal 30-plus bases a year and push .300 for a long time in the big leagues."

The only remaining mystery in Round Rock concerns Forrest Whitley, who entered 2019 as the consensus No. 1 pitching prospect in the game. Whitley carries a 10.80 ERA with seven homers allowed in 18 innings.

"It's such a small sample size, Forrest's first taste of Triple-A and we're being so cautious with his innings," Luhnow said. "The box scores have looked worse than the actual pitches. He's had trouble establishing any rhythm with the light schedule he's on. We will show patience here. He needs to adapt to this level, but I'm sure he'll come around soon."

Luhnow enjoys that he and his staff can now hop in a car and take a short drive to see their future, both in Round Rock and Corpus Christi.

"Quite a change from Fresno," he said. "It's so much easier to shuttle players and staff back and forth. It's good for our fans, too. They can follow our guys from Double-A to Triple-A to the bigs.

"It's more than travel, too. The facilities and ownership here are first rate."

Marketing is a big part of the picture, too.

"Back in 2011 and '12, stores around here carried Rangers gear and you couldn't find any Astros gear," Luhnow said. "(Owner) Jim Crane and I said, 'This is wrong. We've got to do what we can to change it.' So we put off-season time and effort into the whole Austin/San Antonio corridor because we feel it should be dominated by the Astros.

"Of course, winning always helps."

The 2017 World Series champs, and their Triple-A affiliate, are doing plenty of that.