Who are Jose Vallejo and Matt Nevarez?

Jose Vallejo is a 22 year old middle infielder playing in AAA and hitting .233/.282/.307 in 84 games for the Redhawks. Matt Nevarez, 22, is pitching for Low A Hickory. Vallejo is the more prominent name here, a top 20 prospect in a system that was stacked coming into the season, and someone observers who had the opportunity to watch him last year thought more highly of than that. He has a high ceiling due to his athleticism and baseball tools, but his stock is down as a result of his offensive struggles this season. He is the second fairly prominent middle infield prospect that Houston has acquired from Texas this summer, after the Astros claimed German Duran on waivers last month. Nevarez has his stock moving in the opposite direction. He is a hard throwing reliever who was highly regarded going into the 2005 draft, but after being picked in just the tenth round by Texas he battled injuries and miserable control problems for three years. He has broken out to a degree this seaso...