40 for 40 Presents: A.J. Reed

Who Am I?

A.J. Reed

First baseman

Age: 23

Height: 6′ 4″

Weight: 275

Bats left, throws left

How Did I Get Here?

A.J. was drafted in the second round by Houston in 2014 out of Kentucky. He was added to the 40 man roster when he made his MLB debut in June 2016.

Contract Status:

Reed has two option years remaining and could be eligible for arbitration in 2020.

Why Am I Here?

Reed is still the first baseman/DH of the future, but that future got a little further off with the signing of Carlos Beltran and the move of Gurriel to first base.

What Are My Strengths?

There’s been a move in MLB toward leaner, more athletic first basemen in the Joey Votto or Paul Goldschmidt mold.

A.J. Reed is not one of those first basemen. He is a big, burly man who will hit the ball very, very hard. He has punished the ball at all levels of the minors – never slugging below .522.

He has also worked hard to improve his defense to “acceptable.”

Oh… and he can serve as your late-extra-inning relief, I would assume; he was the #1 starting pitcher for Kentucky.

What Are My Weaknesses?

A.J. has a looooong swing – and major league pitchers exploited every bit of it during his debut. It’s one thing to accept that increased strikeouts are a product of swinging for the fences, but nobody is going to survive striking out 34% of the time.

Loves to hit: Early in the count. When Reed went after the first pitch or a 1-0 pitch, he went 12 for 29 with 2 doubles and 2 homers.

Hates to hit: Well, he didn’t get many chances, but only 1 for 15 against lefties didn’t exactly say that he should keep getting more chances.

What is my future with the Astros?

I would expect Reed to stick around – no doubt injuries will give him some more time in the majors this year, and who knows if Beltran will be able to go beyond this season; if not, that DH slot opens right back up for Reed.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

Who else would I remind you of?

Visually – the body type, the swing – I see a lot of Matt Stairs.

Statistically? If I’m looking at a first baseman who tore up the minors and then struggled mightily with strikeouts when he debuted, you have to look no further back than Chris Carter.