Astros Spring Surprise Making Noise at Spring Training

When Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. went down with an elbow injury last month, it was decided he will begin the season on the injured list. That gave an opportunity to young pitcher Hunter Brown to slot in at No. 5 in the starting rotation on Opening Day.

A prolonged injury to outfielder Michael Brantley may afford the same opportunity for up-and-coming outfielder Justin Dirden, who has made plenty of noise thus far in spring training for the Astros.

In fact, according to MLB.com's latest Opening Day roster projections, Dirden appears to be a lock for the fourth and final outfield spot on a loaded Houston lineup.

"Enter Dirden, a prospect who's swung the bat well in camp and may have a path to the Opening Day roster with left fielder Michael Brantley likely on the injured list to start the season," McTaggart wrote on Wednesday. "Dirden would be able to back up [Chas] McCormick in left, [Jake] Meyers in center and [Kyle] Tucker in right."

Dirden, 25, is the Astros No. 9 prospect and is slashing .333 with two home runs and three RBI through 15 at-bats so far this spring.

Last season for Triple-A Sugar Land, Dirden had a .242 batting average with 28 RBI, 10 walks, five stolen bases and four home runs (128 at-bats).

Prior to his time at Triple-A, the young outfielder batted .324 for Double-A Corpus Christi with 73 RBI, 41 walks, 20 home runs, seven stolen bases and five triples (349 at-bats).

With numbers like that, it'll be hard for the Houston brass to pass on adding Dirden to the Opening Day roster.

At the very least, he deserves a shot to debut in a Major League uniform for the Houston Astros in April.

Whether that happens or not has yet to be seen, but Dirden's doing everything in his power to garner a spot on the squad.