Prospects Get the Call: Jon Singleton
Mar 13, 2014; Dunedin, FL, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Jon Singleton (13) is congratulated by third base coach Pat Listach (4) after a solo home run in the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
Jon Singleton of the Houston Astros, has become the first minor league baseball player with zero MLB service time to sign a long term extension, according to multiple reports.
Per MLB Trade Rumors, the deal is a five year contract worth $10 million with three team option years that could raise the overall value to $35 million.
Singleton will not be without MLB service time for long, as he was called up to join the big league club on the heels of signing the new contract. Singleton has been a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball each of the past three seasons and has been crushing the ball in Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.
He has hit 14 home runs in 54 games this season, while putting up a batting average of .267 and reaching base at a near .400 clip. His career minor league triple slash line is .279/.388/.466 and he has hit 73 home runs over the past four-plus minor league seasons.
Singleton was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 8th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, and was acquired by the Astros for Hunter Pence in 2011. Jarred Cosart was also acquired by the Astros in that trade, and Pence was traded by the Phillies to the San Francisco Giants just a year and two days later.
Singleton missed the first 50 games of the 2013 season after failing his second drug test, and struggled as he played at three different levels of the Astros minor league system. Had Singleton not been suspended and had the subsequent struggles, many believe he would have been the Astros everyday first baseman at some point last season, but instead his big league career was put on hold for a season.
Singleton is expected to be a power bat at the heart of the Astros lineup while they attempt to transform from a team regularly losing 100+ games a year to a team competing to win titles. George Springer was the first of the highly touted Astros prospects to make his debut this season, and has been raking lately, and Singleton is just another important piece to the Jeff Luhnow puzzle.