Astros Become First Team To Face Orioles Superstar Prospect After He's Called Up

The Houston Astros will get the first look at a superstar prospect.

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The Houston Astros have had their fair share of prospect debuts this year, with Cam Smith making the Opening Day roster and both Jacob Melton and Brice Matthews being called up at points during the season.

But now they are going to be on the other side of it.

Following a crazy extra-innings game on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles that was won by the Astros on a day where they retired now-Hall of Famer Billy Wagner's number, one of the sport's brightest prospects is going to make his Major League debut at Daikin Park.

Astros Will Face Superstar Orioles Prospect Samuel Basallo

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Ranked No. 8 overall by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old has done nothing but impress since he's become a professional, getting better and better as he's progressed throughout his career to the point where he is considered one of the best all-around hitters in the minors.

With a slash line of .270/.377/.589, 23 homers, 17 doubles and 67 RBI across 76 games at the Triple-A level, Houston is now going to face a dangerous batter who will be looking to make his mark during his first MLB game.

Penciled into the sixth spot in Baltimore's order on Sunday, the catcher/first baseman is going to be the team's designated hitter, a move that puts his potent bat into the lineup as they figure out where he's going to play in the field going forward.

Meanwhile, the Astros are countering with Cristian Javier on the mound. It's his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery, and he'll look to follow up his impressive first outing where he allowed two runs on three hits in five innings pitched.

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The other positive is that Jeremy Pena is back in the starting lineup after missing Saturday's start because of an illness. Perhaps that isn't too much of a surprise since he did pinch-hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Other interesting notes is that Mauricio Dubon is playing first base for the 26th time in his career and is getting his 12th start there, giving Christian Walker a day off. Melton is taking over in center field while Taylor Trammell is in left with Jesus Sanchez in right.

Jose Altuve will bat third behind Pena and Carlos Correa, with that trio slotting in at second base, shortstop and third base, respectively. Yainer Diaz gets off his feet and will be the designated hitter, while Victor Caratini gets the start behind the plate.

Houston has a 1.5-game lead in the division over the Seattle Mariners, so finishing off this series on a good note against the Orioles is important.