Astros' Rising Star is 'Sleeper Pick' For All-MLB

The 2024 season will mark the end of a couple eras for the Houston Astros.

Manager Dusty Baker officially retired and will be viewed as having one of the most successful tenures in franchise history after taking over in 2020 and winning the World Series, two American League pennants and three AL West divisional titles.

The Astros also moved on from their catcher of the past five seasons, Martin Maldonado who was present for that success.

Much of that decision had to do with the production of their rising star, Yainer Diaz, during his rookie season.

He finished with a slash line of .282/.308/.538, 23 homers, 60 RBI, 3.2 bWAR and fifth place in the AL Rookie of the Year voting results.

This made Houston's general manager, Dana Brown, and new manager, Joe Espada, comfortable enough to turn the position over to the 25-year-old. He figures to be their everyday starter and brings a massive offensive upgrade to this lineup.

Because of that, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com, is listing Diaz as one of his sleeper picks for the All-MLB team in 2024.

"That performance makes him the presumptive starting catcher for Houston next season, and with the extra plate appearances, who knows what kind of numbers he’ll put up in 2024? ... If he can produce like he did last season over a wider sample in 2024, it could lead to Diaz being a sleeper All-MLB candidate," he writes.

Of course, it will be up to the young star to produce at a level that puts his name into the All-MLB conversation.

If that's the case, Houston may have found yet another star they developed in their farm system to wreak havoc on Major League Baseball.