HOUSTON -- The Astros’ decision to summon outfield prospect Zach Cole to the Major Leagues in the final weeks of the regular season created a great opportunity for a 23-year-old outfielder who was finishing up his first full professional season.
Joseph Sullivan, the Astros' seventh-round pick out of South Alabama in the 2024 Draft, was working through some swing changes during his introduction to Double-A Corpus Christi when he got the news that his October would be spent in the Arizona Fall League, taking Cole’s spot in the prospect league that runs through Nov. 15.
“I found out about a week and a half before I was supposed to come out here,” Sullivan said. “It's a blessing to come and fill in for Zach and it’s a blessing to see him up there and doing well. I’m just grateful for the opportunity for sure.”
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The grandson of 1971 Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Pat Sullivan, Joseph is a center fielder who makes good swing decisions and has 20 HR-20 SB upside. He batted .220/.395/.403 with 17 homers and 42 steals in 106 games between High-A Asheville and Double-A in his first full pro season, getting moved to Corpus Christi in mid-July.
“Honestly, when I went up to Double-A I was going through some swing changes toward the end of the season and kind of have a bitter taste in my mouth with how it ended,” said Sullivan, who posted a .621 OPS in 31 games at Double-A. “I just want to come out here and compete, and just go into the off-season feeling good and not really be thinking about anything else but other than just playing.”
Sullivan said the organization wanted him to work on his arm strength in the fall, while he is looking forward to staying healthy after battling some shoulder issues. He was working on trying to stay on top of the ball more at the plate, which was challenging in Double-A with better fastballs being thrown.
“It's one of those things there's always going to be room to improve with your swing and just jumping levels,” Sullivan said. “There is an adjustment and so I was kind of balancing, ‘How can I make myself better?’ But also remain who I am and what I do well, and that's something that you'll kind of do throughout your whole career trying to figure out. What mechanical changes can fix you and how long do you go before, ‘Hey, this doesn’t work?’
“That’s kind of what it felt like my Double-A stint was. It was just kind of like tutoring, kind of figuring stuff out and what plays at that level. I just want to come out here with the same, if not better competition, and just go play and see where I'm at in regards to that.”
After playing 106 games this year as a professional -- the most he’s played in his career -- Sullivan said he learned more about his body than ever before. Things like how it moves as it gets broken down and how it recovers from the day-to-day grind.
“For the most part, I figured that out pretty early thankfully, so my body was feeling pretty good throughout the whole year, other than my shoulder a little bit,” he said. “Mentally, being locked in for that course of time can be tough so I found myself, on the off-days, really kind of letting my brain relax. My body was fine for the most part.”
Pat Sullivan was a legend at Auburn, where he teamed with Terry Beasley to form a feared passing combination, tied an NCAA career record with 71 total touchdowns and won the program’s first Heisman in 1971. But when Pat passed away at age 69 in 2019 after a long battle with cancer, Joseph was more struck by the impact his grandfather had as a human than as a player.
Those are lessons he carries with him to this day.
“When you do stuff on the field, it kind of gets you name recognition -- but it's really how you treat people is what makes your name stick,” he said. “That’s the biggest takeaway that I've got from him.”