22-year old righty starting pitcher Jarred Cosart is getting close to the show for the Astros.  He has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.  He has given up 25 hits and 14 walks while whiffing 39 batters in his first 33 innings in the minors, which is pretty impressive.  Cosart has now pitched in 76 games (71 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 29-22 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.  Cosart came into this season as the Astros’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America.

It’s only a matter of time before 24-year old switch-hitting 3B/OF Jimmy Paredes finds his way back to Houston.  He has played in 24 games in AAA-ball for the Astros so far this year and he is 33 for 91 (.363 avg, 1.010 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  He played in 24 games for the Astros last year and he was 14 for 74 (.189 avg, .474 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Paredes has now played in 70 games in his first two years with the Astros and he is 62 for 242 (.256 avg, .639 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 21 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.

The Astros will be without 25-year old righty starting pitcher Rudy Owens for the next 4-5 months due to surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot.  Owens has pitched in 4 games (3 starts) in AAA-ball for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-3 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.  Owens has now pitched in 124 games (119 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 46-36 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  This is a big blow to Owens, as he was likely going to get his first shot in the majors at some point in 2013.  Owens has part of the return last summer for Wandy Rodriguez when they dealt him to Pittsburgh.

26-year old righty starter/reliever John Ely needs Tommy John surgery and he will miss the remainder of the 2013 season.  Ely pitched in 1 game (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year for the Astros and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  Ely has pitched in 25 games (19 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-13 with a 5.20 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.  This is a bad break for Ely, as he would have likely gotten to pitch for the Astros at some point in the 2013 season.

18-year old righty swinging SS Carlos Correa came into this season as the Astros’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America.  He has played in 7 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 8 for 29 (.276 avg, .915 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He has now played in 57 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 57 for 219 (.260 avg, .736 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.  Correa has a huge upside, but the Astros are going to take things slowly with him in 2013.

The Houston Astros have a quartet of rookies that could help them at some point in 2013.  Here is a look at them:

Jarred Cosart:  22-year old righty starting pitcher Jarred Cosart comes into this season as the Astros’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America.  Cosart pitched in 21 games (20 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Astros last year and he was 6-7 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 69 games (65 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 25-22 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

Jonathan Villar:  21-year old switch-hitting SS Jonathan Villar comes into this season as the Astros’ #12 prospect according to Baseball America.  He played in 86 games in AA-ball for the Astros last year and he was 85 for 326 (.261 avg, .732 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 11 homers, 50 RBIs and 39 stolen bases.  Villar has now played in 452 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 428 of 1,671 (.256 avg, .707 OPS) with 268 runs scored, 31 homers, 197 RBIs and 162 stolen bases.

Josh Fields:  27-year old righty reliever Josh Fields comes into this season as the Astros’ #25 prospect.  He was a Rule 5 Pick over the winter, so I look for him to be in the Astros’ pen for the entire 2013 season.  Fields pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Red Sox last year and he was 4-3 with 12 saves, a 2.01 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.  Fields has now pitched in 132 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 11-8 with 23 saves, a 3.57 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.

Brad Peacock:  25-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Peacock came into this season as the A’s #5 prospect according to Baseball America.  Peacock pitched in 28 games (25 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s last year and he was 12-9 with a 6.01 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 141 games (126 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 46-47 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.  Peacock did pitch in the majors for the Washington Nationals in 2011, working in 3 games (2 starts) in which he was 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.

21-year old lefty swinging 1B Jonathan Singleton came into the 2012 season as the Astros’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He has been suspended for 50 games due to a violation of minor league baseball’s drug policy. He tested positive for marijuana. Singleton played in 131 games in AA-ball for the Astros last year and he was 131 of 461 (.284 avg, .893 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 21 homers, 79 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 394 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 403 of 1,386 (.291 avg, .864 OPS) with 238 runs scored, 50 homers, 231 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Astros hope that this straightens out Singleton a bit, because he is a big part of their future.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Jarred Cosart came into this season as the Astros’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. Cosart has pitched in 19 games (18 starts) so far this year in AA+AAA-ball for the Astros and he is 6-7 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 67 games (63 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 25-22 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Cosart was one of the keys to the Hunter Pence deal with the Phillies last year, so they have high hopes for him.

23-year old righty reliever Jason Stoffel has been outstanding in the minors for the Astros so far this year. He has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) in AA-ball so far this year and he is 1-1 with 14 saves, a 1.98 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Stoffel has only given up 25 hits and 10 walks in his first 36 1/3 innings this year while whiffing 34 batters, which is impressive. Stoffel has pitched in 154 games (0 starts) so far in his first four years in the minors and he is 6-10 with 60 saves, a 3.55 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Maybe the Astros will give Stoffel his first shot at the show later this season if he keeps pitching well.

23-year old switch-hitting 2B/3B Jimmy Paredes is ripping the ball in AAA for the Astros. He has played in 66 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 88 for 265 (.332 avg, .823 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 6 homers, 32 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Paredes played in 46 games for the Astros last season and he was 48 for 168 (.286 avg, .713 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 18 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. As long as Jose Altuve and Chris Johnson keep playing well, Paredes will likely be stuck in AAA-ball.