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Countdown to Carlos Correa and Jon Singleton is underway in Houston

Countdown to Carlos Correa and Jon Singleton is underway in Houston

Just in case you don't habitually check Pacific Coast League box scores, here's a quick look at the production of Fresno's 1-5 hitters in the team's 17-6 win on Wednesday:

J. Sclafani, 2B – 1-for-3, 4 R, 3 BB
C. Correa, SS – 1-for-4, 3 R, double, 2 BB
L.J. Hoes, LF – 1-for-2, 5 R, 3 RBIs, 3 BB
D. Santana, RF – 2-for-3, 2 R, double, 3 RBIs, 3 BB
J. Singleton, 1B – 4-for-6, 2 R, 2 HR, 10 RBIs

Yup, that's right: Jon Singleton delivered a 10-RBI performance, crushing his league-leading tenth and eleventh homers. As of this writing, Singleton is getting himself on-base at a .379 clip and slugging .612.

Here's a clip of his moonshot grand slam from Wednesday's action (misplayed by a dude who brought his glove to the game):

If you're a Fresno fan, you'd better get yourself to the park soon, before this run-scoring juggernaut is broken apart by call-ups to Houston, the parent club.

The Astros actually signed Singleton to a five-year contract last year, with $10 million guaranteed, so there aren't really any business-of-baseball reasons to keep him stashed in the minors. He's a reasonable deep-league fantasy pickup for anyone who needs assistance in the power categories. Houston has somehow surged into first place in the A.L. West despite getting next-to-nothin' from DH Evan Gattis (.181/.207/.379) and first baseman Chris Carter (.150/.267/.292). Singleton couldn't possibly be a downgrade from either hitter.

Carlos Correa is, of course, the minor leaguer in the Astros' system who has drawn the most attention from the fantasy community. He entered the year ranked near the top of everyone's prospect big board — No. 4 at Baseball America, No. 3 at Prospectus, No. 3 per Keith Law — and his early season performance justified the hype. Before his promotion to Fresno, the 20-year-old Correa slashed .385/.459/.726 over 29 games at Double-A Corpus Christi with 15 doubles, seven homers and 15 steals in as many attempts. Just ridiculous. He's an every-tool talent at a premium position, and the Astros happen to have a glaring need at shortstop with Jed Lowrie sidelined by a thumb issue.

Super-two status comes into play with Correa, however, so his arrival could very well be delayed until June. But Houston currently has a 4.5-game lead in the division, which means the team needs to balance future and present considerations. In any case, we're likely to see Correa in the bigs before long, making him a perfectly respectable fantasy stash. He's currently available in 80 percent of Yahoo leagues, a smart add for speculators.