What to do with Alex Bregman?

The Houston Astros organization has the potential of possessing a good problem. The immediate issue is what to do with Evan Gattis. Tyler White is off to a great start in his MLB career. Preston Tucker is driving in runs, something that he has always done.

Looking ahead, there is a logjam developing at shortstop. Carlos Correa is quickly breaking records and forcing himself into the conversation as the best player in baseball. Alex Bregman is the Astros #1 prospect and is also a shortstop. He may be knocking down the door for being the shortstop soon, as the Astros 2015 first pick is starting the 2016 season for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.

Photo Credit: Tammy Tucker

Bregman’s professional baseball career began with an aggressive assignment with the Astros low-A Quad Cities River Bandits team. A well-earned promotion to the Lancaster Jethawks came after just 29 games. Altogether, Bregman hit .294/.366/.415 across 272 at-bats. If his ascension to the major leagues continues at such a torrid pace, where will he play?

What about left field? The 2017 Houston Astros outfield has two question marks. Will Carlos Gomez and Colby Rasmus depart via free agency? The possibilities with these two players alone are endless. The Astros could win the World Series and retain a star outfielder at a discounted price. That would be the Alex Gordon route.

It is also entirely within reason that the Astros fail to win the World Series, fail to reach that point, or fail to reach the postseason at all.

Alex Bregman is completely dedicated to proving himself as a shortstop. In fact, Jim Callis once noted that Bregman gets “’ticked off’” at the suggestion of changing positions. Should the need occur, the move to left field is a logical step toward an optimal Astros lineup.

There is a lot of baseball to be played in the 2016 season. Bregman may not reach the major leagues in an Astros uniform. Luhnow’s acquisitions of Ken Giles, Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers have screamed that the organization is not shy about trading away prospects. Heck, Colin Moran may even be traded, which would open the door for Correa to move to third base to accommodate Bregman opening his career at shortstop.

A change of position is something that Bregman may be unhappy with at first, but the ultimate goal is to help the team win. This discussion is completely void if the Astros decide to move Colin Moran to the outfield instead. As stated before, the possibilities are endless.