Astros call up Vincent Velasquez to majors

Move over Carlos Correa, you're (12-hour) old news.

The Astros have called up another one of their top prospects, this time being right hander Vincent Velasquez, according Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Velasquez entered the 2015 season ranked as the Astros fourth best prospect.

Velasquez, 23, is the second Astros pitcher this month to make the jump from Double-A to the majors, without throwing a single pitch in Triple-A. Lance McCullers Jr., the other pitcher, will make the start today against the White Sox.

Roberto Hernandez has been told that he is being moved to the bullpen. In 11 starts this season, he is 2-5 with a 5.18 ERA. A 25-man roster move has not been announced yet.

For Velasquez, a second-round pick in 2010, it has been a rough journey to this point. He missed the entire 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery, missed two months last year with a strained groin and missed the first month of this season after straining his right lat in the Arizona Fall League.

When he was healthy in 2014, the results were there for Velasquez. In 10 starts, he went 7-4 with a 3.74 ERA.  This year, with Double-A Corpus Christi, he was 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in five starts.

The Astros have spent a number of years drafting and trading pieces to retool their farm system in the hopes that at some point it would lead to major league success. Well that point is now. The Astros are 34-24, atop the American League West standings and they have now called up their number one and number four prospects for them to help their big league roster.

Mark Appeal, Domingo Santana, Colin Moran and Max Stassi are still some of the names remaining in the Astros system that are still a part of the future for the Astros.