The Houston Astros, home of surprise early fantasy contributors such as pitcher Scott Feldman and outfielder Dexter Fowler, have made fantasy owners very happy once again by bringing up prospect George Springer ahead of schedule. To make room, they optioned outfielder Robbie Grossman, and also sent down starting pitcher Lucas Harrell.
According to CBSSports.com, Springer's already 84 percent owned. If you have him, you probably drafted him. By definition though, young players aren't necessarily the most reliable and he could be a lovely trade chip to offer someone who might've lost, say, Josh Hamilton.
If you haven't heard of Springer, here's the scoop. He is a highly touted power and speed threat who broke out in High-A ball with a .316, 22-home run, 28-steal season. He stepped back in 2012 before erupting once more in Double-A in 2013 (.297, 19 HR, 23 SB).
Last season in Triple-A he swatted another 18 tater shots in just 266 plate appearances to go with 23 swipes. He's improved as he's moved up, and might be able to hit like Yasiel Puig.
That comparison is lofty, but unlike Puig, Springer's got a fairly lengthy minor league track record to go off of. This year prior to his call-up, he was hitting .353 with three bombs and four steals in 13 games. Prior to his 2013 call up, Puig was hitting .319 with eight homers and 13 steals in 167 plate appearances.
The stats look similar, and Springer's on-base numbers are a thing of beauty in an advanced metrics world. By getting called up this early in the year, a 20 homer, 20 stolen base season is surely possible.
Only eight players recorded 20-20 seasons last year, and two of them were almost assuredly Top 5 picks if you play in a mixed league of any depth and format (Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen).
At Sports World News, we wouldn't be so bold as to liken him to those players right off the bat, but his skill set is rare and you want him on your team.
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