Arizona Fall League Update: Houston Astros Prospect Daniels Can Mash
Zach Daniels' 2022 season can be split it two separate campaigns. Returning from injury in July, the Houston Astros farmhand turned it around, finding his best stroke of power at the plate and speed on the base paths.
Now in the Arizona Fall League, Daniels has started to find some pop again. Added as a replacement player prior to the start of the season, Daniels has appeared in eight games.
The righty is 4-for-26 with two runs, one double, one home run and three walks to seven strikeouts. But that one home run drew some eyes... and ears. On Wednesday, Daniels launched a home run which Trackman marked as landing 481 feet from home plate, leaving the bat at 114 mph.
One of the most explosive hits of the AFL, the home run was the first by any Astros prospects through four weeks of play. Daniels — who saw an extra start following the home run — has played six games in the outfield: three in right, one in center and two in left.
Around the Farm:
Florida Complex League manager Ricky Rivera is the bullpen coach for the Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican Winter League — the same club for which J.C. Correa is expected to play.
“[Correa is] a heck of a ballplayer," Rivera. "And obviously, [he] would love to have him on [the] team.”
Rivera said he heard Correa was set to join the club after the AFL concludes, but he has yet to be given an update on what day to expect him in the clubhouse.
In the mean time, Rivera joined other Astros minor league coaches — Alfredo Ignacio Grainer, Dai Dai Otaka, Andrew Cresci and Bryan Muniz — on the field at Minute Maid Park prior to Game 2 of the World Series.
Multiple coaches from all levels within Houston's system have posted about their presence in the stands at Minute Maid Park, including Geremias Guzman Calderon from the Dominican Summer League and Sean Buchanan from the FCL.
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