Coming into the season, Houston minor league first baseman Jonathan Singleton was one of the more celebrated power-hitting prospects in baseball. Ranked as the thirty-fourth best prospect – and tops in the Astros’ weak system – by Baseball America, Singleton’s continued to show a polished approach at the plate this season in Double-A, his first at the level, despite being one of the youngest players.
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Through 55 games (233 PA), he’s hitting .294/.403/.538 with 11 homeruns in Corpus Christi, a neutral hitting environment. His overall production, as measure by Weighted Runs Created Plus, has been 60% better than the league average, tied with Oscar Taveras for third best in the Eastern League.
Singleton’s quick to the zone and generates solid loft and should mature into a 30+ homerun threat in the big leagues. If there is one red flag – and this isn’t uncommon for lefties at this age in more advanced levels – it’s his ability to handle fellow left-handers; he’s hitting .203/.277/.356 against them thus far, though in a limited sample size (59 AB). He’s also posted a 21-to-6 walk-to-strikeout-ratio against them.
With that being said, Singleton’s on course to make his big league debut as early as this September.
Singleton could be one of those rare hitters that hits for plus-power, draws a ton of walks, and doesn’t post ridiculous strikeout numbers. Overall, he should settle into a solid middle-of-the-lineup bat, capable of hitting .280/.370/.480 with a glove that won’t hurt the team at first.
