Youngster Getting Another Chance With Astros

The Houston Astros outfield is going to be fairly crowded throughout the 2024 season if everyone remains healthy.

Kyle Tucker will continue to be the everyday right fielder, but outside of that, it seems like many players will get rotated across center and left.

Chas McCormick had a career year last season, earning more playing time. Manager Joe Espada has already discussed playing Yordan Alvarez in the field more, potentially having him appear in up to 100 games. Mauricio Dubon won the Gold Glove as a utilityman in 2023 and will play multiple roles.

And general manager Dana Brown shifted his tune on Jake Meyers during the winter after initially placing him on the trade block.

With the first round of cuts made by the Astros, it seems like the organization will be true to their word that they're giving Meyers every opportunity to have a bounce back year.

The 27-year-old debuted in 2021 and performed well in his limited game action, recording an OPS+ of 107 with six home runs and 28 RBI across 49 appearances.

It looked like Meyers would be the center fielder of Houston's future, especially with the elite defense that he possesses.

But his performance at the plate took a major step back the past two seasons, calling into question if he could handle MLB pitching.

Spring Training is a big time for him to showcase that he has improved his approach at the plate after posting OPS+ numbers of 67 and 86 in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

So far so good for Meyers as he has four hits, three of them for doubles, across his nine at-bats with two runs driven in. He's also walked four times and has only struck out twice.

This is a great sign for the Astros.

It allows them to continue developing their younger prospects in the minors, while giving them multiple options at the Major League level in 2024.

Meyers will have to keep up this performance in the regular season, but he looks like an improved hitter so far.