With addition of Astros No. 2 prospect, Quad Cities starts home stand with five of Houston's top 13
DAVENPORT, Iowa (MAY 27, 2013) - The Houston Astros will send Jonathan Singleton, the top-rated first base prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, to join the Astros Class-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits, for the start of the Midwest League team's three-game home stand on Tuesday, May 28, when the River Bandits host the Kane County Cougars at 7 p.m. at Modern Woodmen Park.
Ranked by MLB.com as the Astros' top minor league prospect and the system's No. 2 prospect according to Baseball America, Singleton joins a roster that already includes four of the top 13 prospects in the organization, according to Baseball America. River Bandits shortstop Carlos Correa, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Astros system according to Baseball America and ranks second to Singleton, according to MLB.com. The River Bandits' other top prospects according to Baseball America include Astros 2012 first supplemental round pick, pitcher Lance McCullers (No. 4), third baseman Rio Ruiz (No. 8), and pitcher Vincent Velasquez (No. 13).
Singleton, 21, will make his season debut with Quad Cities after serving a 50-game suspension while on Double-A Corpus Christi's roster. In 2012, his first full season in the Astros organization, Singleton posted career highs with 131 games played, 21 home runs, 79 RBIs, 94 runs, and a .497 slugging percentage to be named the team Most Valuable Player for the Corpus Christi Hooks in the Texas League. He was named a Baseball America Minor League All-Star, a Texas League Midseason and Postseason All-Star. He was selected to play in both the 2012 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Game.
A native of Lakewood, Calif., Singleton was originally draftd by the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. Following his rise to No. 2 among the Phillies' top prospects according to Baseball America in 2011, Singleton was traded to Houston on July 29, 2011, along with minor league pitchers Jarred Cosart and Josh Zeid and outfielder Domingo Santana for major league outfielder Hunter Pence. Singleton has a .291 batting average with 50 home runs and 231 RBIs in 394 career minor league games.
Quad Cities hosts the Kane County Cougars for three 7 p.m. games Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with first pitch at 7 p.m. each night at Modern Woodmen Park
