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Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow views first base prospect Jonathan Singleton as "a guy who's close to being able to contribute at the Major League level," according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Luhnow said the team is "excited" about Singleton's progress and that the 22-year-old is "on deck" for a promotion to the majors.
"We have our own process for determining when a player is ready to come up. I'm not going to disclose what that is or the details, but just suffice it to say we're doing our homework and when the time is right, he'll be here."
The Astros 14-27 at the moment, so Singleton's call up will likely coincide with the club's long-term plans -- which means they'll probably wait until after the Super Two deadline to bring him up.
Houston is currently using Marc Krauss and Jesus Guzman at first base, but Singleton clearly represents the future. He was the only first baseman to appear on Baseball Prospectus' Top 101 prospects list heading into the season, and he's hitting .293/.401/.629 with 12 home runs and 34 runs batted in for Triple-A Oklahoma City right now.
His promotion will be one of many notable call ups in Houston over the next few seasons. If he can translate his minor league success to major league production, he could be a significant contributor for the next good Astros team.