Shay Lane Whitcomb (born September 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| Shay Whitcomb | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Whitcomb with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in 2023 | |
| Houston Astros – No. 10 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: September 28, 1998 Thousand Oaks, California, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 17, 2024, for the Houston Astros | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .220 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 5 |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
editWhitcomb attended Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, California, and played college baseball at the University of California, San Diego.[1] In 2019, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2]
Professional career
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2020–2023
editWhitcomb was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fifth round of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He was the final player selected in the draft which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Whitcomb did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season as a result of the pandemic.[5]
Whitcomb spent his first professional season in 2021 with the Single–A Fayetteville Woodpeckers and High–A Asheville Tourists. Over 99 games between the two affiliates, he slashed .293/.363/.530 with 23 home runs, 78 RBI, 30 stolen bases, and 25 doubles.[6] Whitcomb spent 2022 with the Double–A Corpus Christi Hooks, playing in 118 games and hitting .219/.283/.399 with 19 home runs, 60 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.[7] Whitcomb split 2023 between Corpus Christi and the Triple–A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. In 133 games split between the two affiliates, he slashed .240/.301/.470 with 20 stolen bases and career–highs in home runs (35) and RBI (102).[8]
2024
editWhitcomb began the 2024 campaign with Triple–A Sugar Land, hitting .293/.378/.530 with 25 home runs, 91 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. On August 16, 2024, Whitcomb was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[9] Making his major league debut on August 17, he started at third base in place of an injured Alex Bregman, and doubled in his first major league at bat versus Chris Flexen of the Chicago White Sox. Whitcomb also had one other hit, a walk, and a run scored to help lead a 6–1 win.[10] He hit a two-run single on August 22 versus Corbin Burnes at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for his first career RBI to help lead a 6–0 win.[11] In 20 games for Houston in his rookie campaign, Whitcomb slashed .220/.304/.293 with no home runs and five RBI.
Whitcomb's regular season totals at Sugar Land included batting .293/.378/.530, 25 home runs, 91 RBI, 73 runs scored, 53 walks, 95 strikeouts, and 26 stolen bases over 108 games and 481 plate appearances.[12] With Sugar Land, Whitcomb won the Triple–A Championship over the Omaha Storm Chasers, the first-ever for Sugar Land, and he was named the Championship MVP.[13] Following the 2024 season, Whitcomb was named Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year,[14] and Triple-A All-Star[15]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "UC San Diego shortstop Shay Whitcomb in middle of things as Tritons open NCAA Division II national championship series". Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "#31 Shay Whitcomb". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ "UC San Diego shortstop Shay Whitcomb taken by Astros with final pick of 2020 MLB Draft". June 12, 2020. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "Newbury Park graduate Shay Whitcomb taken by Astros with final pick of shortened MLB Draft". Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ "Prospects with 20-20 Minor League seasons in 2021". MLB.com.
- ^ "How faith guided Shay Whitcomb's path to big–league debut with Astros". chron.com. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ "Astros call up infield prospect Shay Whitcomb for Major League debut". chron.com. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ "Astros call up infield prospect Shay Whitcomb from Triple-A". houstonchronicle.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Kawahara, Matt (August 17, 2024). "Astros 6, White Sox 1: Hunter Brown helps Houston bounce back against Chicago". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ Kawahara, Matt (August 22, 2024). "Astros 6, Orioles 0: Spencer Arrighetti silences potent Baltimore lineup in Houston's shutout win". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- ^ "Shay Whitcomb college, amateur & minor League statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Murr, Chuck (September 29, 2024). "Houston Astros' Prospect Shay Whitcomb Is Triple-A Championship Hero". Forbes. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan; Callis, Jim; Dykstra, Sam (October 16, 2024). "Every organization's Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year". MLB.com. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ Avallone, Michael (October 2, 2024). "Here are the 2024 Triple-A All-Stars and award winners". MLB.com. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)