Astros Set To Promote Pair of Top Prospects This Week

The 2022 MLB season nears its end now that September is only a few days away. Once Sept. 1 hits, each of the 30 clubs will be allowed to carry 28 players — up from the 26-man limit. As a result, the Houston Astros are set to call up a pair of top prospects to occupy those two extra spots.

MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros will promote right-handed pitcher Hunter Brown and catcher Yainer Diaz later this week. Brown and Diaz are Houston's No. 1 and No. 3 prospects, respectively, and both competed at the 2022 Futures Game last month.

Astros Roster News

As far as roles go, McTaggart adds that the Astros view Brown as "a viable weapon out of the bullpen" once the playoffs arrive. The plan is for him to audition for the role in September and see where things go from there.

Brown, a former 2019 fifth-round pick-, has been lights out with Triple-A Sugar Land this season. He's appeared in 23 games (14 starts) for the Space Cowboys, going 9-4 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.085 WHIP while striking out 134 batters with 45 walks over 106 innings.

Meanwhile, McTaggart sees Diaz being called up as a way to "use Christian Vázquez as the designated hitter." The 23-year-old prospect could also help generate offense with his own bat after racking up 25 home runs, 96 RBIs and a .306 batting average in 105 games split across Double-A and Triple-A.

Not only are Brown and Diaz big pieces of Houston's future, but they have a chance to help the club out in the present. It remains to be seen if they can live up to their potential now to help the Astros win their first World Series title since 2017.

Astros World Series Odds

Even before the duo's call-up, things are looking promising in Houston. After all, the Astros' +380 odds to win the 2022 World Series only trail the Los Angeles Dodgers (+300) on FanDuel Sportsbooks.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.