HOUSTON, TX - Houston Astros prospect A.J. Reed will be the guest on Astroline Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. CT at Pluckers Wing Bar for the sixth installment of the offseason radio program. Astros radio play-by-play commentator Robert Ford will serve as the host. Ford and fellow radio broadcaster Steve Sparks will alternate hosting duties throughout the remainder of the offseason.
Thursday night's Astroline, which is presented by Karbach Brewing Co., will air on KBME SportsTalk 790 AM and will stream online at Astros.com/Astroline. All shows are scheduled to broadcast on KBME SportsTalk 790, but are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Astroline broadcasts live, weekly from 7-8 p.m. CT during the offseason.
For the third consecutive season, Astroline airs from Pluckers Wing Bar, which is located at 1400 Shepherd Dr., Houston, Texas, 77007. Pluckers Wing Bar is entering its third year of business in Houston after officially opening to the public in 2013. Astroline runs through March 2016 (11 segments), which will be open to all Astros fans with no admission charge.
Fans can submit questions to the show via Twitter using the hashtag #Astroline, before and during the show. As always, fans will also have the option to call the show with questions at 713-212-5790.
Reed, 22, is entering his third professional season after being drafted out of the University of Kentucky in 2014. The left-handed hitting first baseman had a breakout 2015 season between Class A Advanced Lancaster and Double A Corpus Christi, combining to post a .340 (178x523) batting average with 30 doubles, five triples, 34 homers, 127 RBI and a 1.044 OPS (.432 OBP/.612 SLG). His home run and RBI totals were tops in all of minor league baseball. Following the season he was named the Baseball America 2015 Minor League Player of the Year, becoming the first player in Astros history to win the award. He was also named the 2015 California League Most Valuable Player, MiLB.com Offensive Player of the Year, ESPN.com's Prospect of the Year and a Baseball America Minor League All-Star in addition to being a finalist for the USA Today 2015 Minor League Player of the Year award. Reed owns a career .324 (250x772) batting average and a .583 slugging percentage in his two seasons in the minors.
Ford enters his fourth season as the Astros radio play-by-play commentator after being named to the post on Feb. 13, 2013. Prior to joining the Astros radio broadcast team, Ford spent four seasons as the pre-and postgame host for the Kansas City Royals radio broadcasts on 610 AM KCSP, the Royals flagship station. The 2001 graduate of Syracuse University spent seven years broadcasting minor league baseball, calling more than 800 games during his stints with the Binghamton Mets, Kalamazoo Kings and Yakima Bears. Ford was twice named Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year (2003 and 2004).
*Media Note- Media wishing to interview A.J. Reed are asked to arrive by 6:45 p.m.
Astroline preliminary schedule (subject to change).
Day           Date               Station
Thu.           Jan. 14            KBME      
Thu.           Jan. 21            KBME
Thu.           Jan. 28            KBME
Wed.         Feb. 3             KBME
Thu.           Feb. 11           KBME
Thu.           Feb. 18           KBME
Wed.         Feb. 24           KTRH
Thu.           Mar. 3             KBME
Thu.           Mar. 10           KBME
Thu.           Mar. 17           KBME
Thu.           Mar. 24           KBME
-ASTROS-