A.J. Reed

Position: 1B
Born: 5/10/1993
Height: 6'4
Weight: 275
B/T: L/L
Acquired: Drafted in the second round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft (HOU).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: .266 with 11 homers and 36 RBIs in 59 games at Fresno (Triple-A) with 19 doubles, one triple and a .509 SLG.

Info & MLB Debut Date
Contract purchased from Fresno June 25 when 2B Tony Kemp was sent down.
MLB Debut Date: 6/25/2016

Debut Details
June 25, in a 13-5 win over the Royals. The starting DH, he batted sixth and went 0-for-2 with two runs scored, one RBI and two walks. Reed actually got his first two plate appearances in the Astros’ seven-run second inning, both coming against Royals starter Chris Young. With one on and no one out, Reed drew a walk and came around to score on a two-run double by Luis Valbuena. Later in the inning, he lined out to right field to end the onslaught. In the fourth inning, with one out and two on, he launched a sacrifice fly to left field to score Jose Altuve for his first RBI. In the sixth, Reed lined out to left field, and in the ninth, he drew a walk from reliever Chien-Ming Wang and then scored his second run on an RBI single by Valbuena.

Player Notes
Astros fans have been pretty much foaming at the mouth awaiting the arrival of Reed ever since he emerged as a one-man wrecking crew in 2015 – which, by the way, just happened to be his first full season, so fortunately not TOO much foam yet. Maybe ankle deep. After making his pro debut in 2014 between Tri-City (Short-Season A) and Quad Cities (Class A) where he combined to hit .289 with 12 homers, 54 RBIs and 20 doubles in 68 games for a .522 SLG, Reed was pretty much the top offensive player in the minors in 2015, combining to bat .340 with 34 homers, 127 RBIs and 30 doubles between Lancaster (High A) and Corpus Christi (Double-A) for a .432 OBP and .612 SLG in 135 games. A converted pitcher, he posted a 2.83 ERA in three seasons on the mound as a two-way player at Kentucky and was Baseball America’s College Player of the Year in 2014, leading the NCAA with 23 homers and hitting .336 with a .735 SLG. (Sure, he could maybe stand to lose a few pounds but really, couldn’t we all?)

2080 Notes
Reed checked in at No. 34 on 2080 Baseball’s Preseason Top 125 Prospect Ranking List, where C.J. Wittmann had this to say about him: “Reed’s bat has been making noise since being taken in the second round of the 2014 draft. He has a strong chance of getting to display his power and contact skills at the major league level in 2016.” 2080’s own Nick J. Faleris caught Reed in action and you can read his report here.