Houston Astros Trade Brett Myers to Chicago White Sox for Prospects - Minor League Ball (blog)

Houston Astros Trade Brett Myers to Chicago White Sox for Two Prospects

The Houston Astros made another trade today, shipping reliever Brett Myers to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for a pair of pitching prospects, left-hander Blair Walters and right-hander Matt Heidenreich. The Astros will also receive a player to be named. Here is a look at the two prospects we know about.

Matt Heidenreich, RHP: Heidenreich is a 6-5, 185 pound right-hander, born January 17, 1991. A fourth round pick in 2009 from high school in Lake Elsinore, California, he was considered your basic raw arm when drafted, with a fastball in the low-90s but needing help and time to refine his below-average breaking stuff and inconsistent mechanics.He has made progress in both areas.

He began 2012 with High-A Winston-Salem, going 8-2, 3.57 with a 62/13 K/BB in 93 innings, which earned him a promotion to Double-A. With Birmingham, he is 1-2, 5.89 in 18 innings with a 9/5 K/BB and 27 hits allowed. He has developed a slider and changeup to go with his fastball, giving him a chance as a fourth starter or perhaps a reliever.

Blair Walters, LHP: Walters is a 6-0, 200 pound lefty, born November 8, 1989. Drafted in the 11^th round from the University of Hawaii in 2011, he was a reliever in college due to mediocre secondary pitches, but the White Sox were developing him as a starter. He posted a 2.88 ERA with a 69/18 K/BB in 72 innings for Low-A Kannapolis this spring, followed by a 7.01 ERA with a 24/4 K/BB in 26 innings for High-A Winston-Salem, with 38 hits and 20 runs allowed.

Walters has an 89-92 MPH fastball that moves well. He uses a breaking ball with slider/cutter action, and is working to develop his changeup, which is currently inconsistent. He throws strikes and has a good feel for pitching, but still needs to show his secondary pitches will off-set his fastball successfully at higher levels. He could be a back-end-rotation starter or a reliever.

Neither of these guys are spectacular prospects, but both of them could be useful and add more pitching depth to the Houston system. The first place White Sox, meanwhile, add a veteran bullpen arm for the stretch run without giving up one of their best prospects. This seems like a reasonable deal for both teams to me.