On the same day baseball holds its draft, the Houston Astros will call up the top overall selection from 2012.
Shortstop Carlos Correa will be added to the major league roster before the Astros play the White Sox in Chicago on Monday.
Correa is ranked the top prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Keith Law and is rated the No. 2 prospect by MLB.com.
“Carlos has performed extremely well at every level of our minor league system,” Astros general manager Luhnow said in a press release. “We feel he has earned this promotion and look forward to him joining our ballclub. Since he is just 20 years old, we do not have unrealistic expectations of Carlos. However, his performance on the field and his maturity indicate that he is ready to contribute on the Major League level.”
Correa began the season with Double-A Corpus Christi before he was promoted to Triple-A Fresno. In 52 minor league games overall this year, he is hitting .332 with a .404 on-base percentage, a .602 slugging percentage, 10 home runs, 43 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 19 attempts.
In four minor league seasons, Correa has a composite .313/.392/.491 hitting line with 28 homers, 198 RBIs and 54 steals in 281 games.
The Astros cleared a roster spot for Correa following their 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto on Sunday by optioning right-hander Jake Buchanan to Fresno. Buchanan, 25, had no decisions and a 2.00 ERA in five relief appearances for Houston.