HOUSTON -- The early struggles of Astros’ top prospect Drew Gilbert since he was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi having nothing to do with the left elbow discomfort that has kept him from playing the field with the Hooks for the last few weeks, general manager Dana Brown said last week.
After slashing .360/.421/.686 with eight doubles, six homers and 18 RBIs in 21 games at High-A Asheville, Gilbert is slashing .208/.364/.264. He’s 22-for-106 with three doubles, one home run, 24 walks and 26 strikeouts in 31 games at Double-A. He’s started 20 of those 31 games at designated hitter.
The Astros said last week Gilbert -- an outfielder who throws left-handed -- has elbow discomfort. It was Gilbert’s right elbow he injured last year when he ran into the wall at Fayetteville. He had started 18 consecutive games at DH through Saturday at Corpus Christi.
“I don’t think it’s affected his swing because we wouldn’t allow him to play if it was affecting his swing,” Brown said. “I think it’s more that sometimes when you’re put in the game as a DH, it’s tough to hit off the bench. It’s a really difficult thing. That’s a real thing. If you look across the league, your numbers sitting as a DH are not as good when they’re on the field. It’s just the way it is. So we hope to get them out there sooner rather than later.”
Brown said Gilbert could be a bit frustrated by sitting on the bench for much of the game, but he expects him to pick it up soon at the plate.
“Your swing, it comes and it goes,” Brown said. “Drew Gilbert will hit. Drew Gilbert will play in the big leagues. He’ll be a good player. You can mark it down. He is going to be a good player.”
Triple-A Sugar Land
Left-handed pitcher Nick Allgeyer, who the Astros acquired in a trade with the Phillies in early May, threw a career-high six innings in the Space Cowboys’ 10-3 win over Sacramento on Saturday. He gave up a run in the first inning and then allowed one hit and two walks the rest of the way, retiring the final nine batters he faced, including six by strikeout.
Double-A Corpus Christi
Right fielder Zach Daniels is 7-for-15 in his last four games through Saturday with two homers and six RBIs, including a pair of three-run homers on Tuesday and Wednesday in games at Arkansas. He followed that up with a two-hit game Thursday, giving him multiple hits in three consecutive games.
Since joining the Hooks, he’s slashing .333/.365/.625 with three homers and 11 RBIs. Daniels, the team’s No. 30 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was a fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee.
High-A Asheville
Center fielder Logan Cerny had a breakout game at High-A Asheville on Thursday, going 3-for-5 with a solo homer, a walk, two runs scored, a stolen base and two RBIs. He’s spent the entire season at Asheville, slashing .187/.275/.337 with eight homers, 20 RBIs, 21 walks and 12 stolen bases.
Cerny, the Astros’ No. 20 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was acquired by the Astros from the Phillies for catcher Garrett Stubbs in November 2021.
Single-A Fayetteville
Center fielder Zachary Cole had reached base safely in eight consecutive games through Friday, posting a hit in seven of those games. He was slashing .400/.561/.800 with three doubles, three triples, seven RBIs, nine walks and 11 runs in those games and was among the Carolina League leaders in triples, extra-base hits, RBIs, OPS, slugging percentage and total bases. He was a 10th-round pick out of Ball State last year.