Tyler White

White earned a mid-June promotion after slashing .338/.444/.579 with Triple-A Fresno. He played sparingly for a month before heading back to the Grizzlies. After just two weeks in the minors, he was summoned when Jose Altuve was placed on the DL in late July. White played regularly at first base, pushing Yuli Gurriel over to fill in for Altuve. When Altuve returned, the Astros kept White's productive bat in the lineup, replacing the slumping Evan Gattis as the main designated hitter. White continued to take advantage of the playing time, posting an .887 OPS for the season. With Evan Gattis leaving for free agency, the primary DH job appears to be White's to lose. His defensive limitations and the amount of talent the Astros figure to break camp with will put a lot of pressure on White to maintain his 2018 levels. Fortunately his December ADP of 254.3 means it won't be expensive to bet on 2018 being the new normal for White.

White's performance in April of 2016, particularly in his first 10 games, intrigued the fantasy community as he appeared to be an unheralded prospect on the verge of contributing in a loaded Houston lineup. Of course, he cooled off and ended up spending most of the year back at Triple-A, and slashed .202/.274/.324 from May 1 on that season. Not surprisingly, the Astros had alternatives at the ready to cover first base and DH in 2017, and White was simply an organizational depth option. He was very productive, but as a 26-year-old in the Pacific Coast League, it's difficult to put much stock in his line (.300/.371/.528) as a significant indicator of skills growth, though his 25 homers at Fresno were a new career-high. The emergence of Yulieski Gurriel paired with the surprising step forward from Marwin Gonzalez will likely leave White on the outside looking in at a 25-man roster spot when spring training ends in March, unless he gets a fresh start with a new organization.

Some players are afforded copious opportunities to succeed or fail in the majors, but for a 26-year-old whose weaknesses were already exposed at the highest level, that window of opportunity can be fleeting. Similar to teammate Preston Tucker, White started the 2016 campaign on an absolute tear, managing five extra-base hits in his first five games of the season. Then the league adjusted, with White struggling to an anemic .148/.221/.279 line for the rest of April and a continual downfall until he was demoted in mid-June. He didn't fare much better upon his recall, slashing just .229/.264/.361 in 32 games of part-time work over the final two months of the season. White might already be lost among the viable (and cheap) alternatives in Houston, and one wonders if a change of scenery will be necessary for White to secure the playing time necessary to adjust to big-league pitching.

As someone who has hit well at every stop in the minors, you'd think that White would've generated a bit more buzz entering this season. Alas, the 33rd round pick of the 2013 draft was not in many discussions to see time in Houston this year, let alone break camp with the Astros. The 25-year-old has been impressive this spring, however, and has a realistic shot at being Houston's starting first baseman on Opening Day. White lacks the power upside that A.J. Reed and Jonathan Singleton possess, but he impressed with a .325 average, 14 home runs, 99 RBI and .939 OPS between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno last season. He has potential to be a .300 hitter at the big league level, so keep him on your radar during the later rounds of your drafts and move him up accordingly if he wins the starting first base job in spring training.