The Houston Astros have called up outfielder Jacob Melton, one of their top prospects, the team announced Sunday. Infielder/outfielder Zach Dezenzo was placed on the 15-day injured list with left hand inflammation in a corresponding move.
Melton, 24, was Houston’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. In 17 games around a groin injury, he hit .254/.371/.508 with two home runs, three stolen bases, and nearly as many walks (11) as strikeouts (15) in Triple-A this year Our R.J. Anderson ranked Melton the No. 2 prospect in the Astros’ system before the season. Here’s his write-up:
The short hook: Dynamic center fielder with power
Melton is an athletic center fielder with an intriguing left-handed bat. His exit velocity last season peaked at 113.6 mph, putting him in the same neighborhood as Bryce Harper and Matt Olson, among other notable big-league sluggers. Melton certainly has the strength to leave the park to all fields (seven of his 15 home runs went out to left or left-center field), but in the near term his power might play more in the form of doubles; that’s because he had an average launch angle in the single digits in Triple-A, along with a ground-ball percentage over 50%. Melton’s offensive capacity could be hampered by a swing-happy approach that contains plenty of swing-and-miss, too. On the bright side, he should be able to claw back value on the basepaths, where he successfully swiped 30 bases during the 2024 season. There are some intriguing potential outcomes here if Melton can further optimize his swing plane and gameplan. MLB ETA: Summer 2025
Melton’s call-up comes at a time when the Astros are desperately short on left-handed bats. Backup catcher Victor Caratini and third catcher César Salazar are the only non-righty hitters on Houston’s active roster. Caratini, a switch-hitter, has been DHing regularly the last few weeks. Salazar is a left-handed hitter serving as the backup while Caratini plays DH.
Because they are so right-handed, the Astros very rarely have the platoon advantage at the plate. Here are the teams with the lowest percentage of plate appearances with the platoon advantage this season:
30. Astros: 22.5%
29. Angels: 35.8%
28. Athletics: 44.2%
27. Royals: 49.2%
26. Giants: 49.7%
(MLB average: 53.9%)
No team has had a full-season platoon advantage rate below 30% in the last 50 years, and only a handful were as low as 35%. It is no surprise then that the Astros have handled left-handed pitchers very well (.772 OPS) while being roughly league average against righties (.709). They’re fourth in OPS vs. LHP and 19th in OPS vs. RHP.
Melton’s promotion comes one day after it was that revealed Yordan Alvarez, who has not played since May 2, has a small fracture in his right hand. His injury was initially called a muscle strain and Alvarez had begun swinging a bat last week, which is believed to have exacerbated the injury. It’s unclear when Alvarez will rejoin the Astros, though it won’t be soon.
The Astros have won five of their last seven games and enter play Sunday with a 31-27 record. They are a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
