Son of Houston Astros legend could provide in-house solution at first base

The Houston Astros get a well-deserved day off on Thursday.

They managed to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the final series of their six-game homestand, but lost the finale on Wednesday in a disappointing offensive effort.

It’s clear that if the Astros want to make a push for the playoffs, they’ll need upgrades to this roster, something no one expected coming into spring training due to the surprising offseason they have put in place.

Injuries will, and Houston could have been negatively affected more than any team.

General manager Dana Brown doubled down on the idea that they weren’t going to sell their assets at the deadline, believing that this group would eventually turn things around and look like the perennial championship contenders they have been over the past seven last years.

With Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy out for the rest of the season, throwing becomes an obvious area the front office could target.

However, their first base situation remains worrying.

Jose Abreu was sent to their Florida complex after troubling struggles early in the year forced the organization’s hand. Jon Singleton was able to fill in and provide some sort of spark, but he wasn’t the answer this roster needed.

Star prospect Joey Loperfido was considered a player who might be ready for Major League production, especially after the power display he put on early in the minor league season, but they surprisingly decided to firing him after Abreu joined the team despite slashing .333/.381/.436 with a home run and five RBIs in his 14 games and 39 at-bats.

There’s a chance they could return at age 25 if these issues persist, but there might be another option in their farm system that they could call upon.

Franchise legend Billy Wagner’s son Will Wagner has been in fine form with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate, slashing .303/.419/.406 with two homers, 12 extra-base hits and 23 points produced.

The former 18th round pick has completely outperformed expectations every step of the way and has become the Astros’ 14th best prospect.

Classified as an infielder, Wagner did the majority of his work at second base with 127 appearances there during his career. However, it appears Houston has started grooming him for a first base role as he started 19 games there in 2024, the same amount of action he got at second.

At the very least, the 25-year-old gives them another option they can use when needed.

Brown and the coaching staff could still take a look at him, alongside Loperfido, if Abreu and Singleton continue to struggle to produce before turning to the trade market and giving up more assets to recruit a contributor.