While there are many more excellent images of the year, we’ve chosen a small selection of our favorites that we feel represent the year that was in politics, civil rights and COVID-19. Pulfer-Focht also documented Memphis first responders getting their COVID vaccines and smoke billowing from a Valero plant as we covered Valero’s bid to run a pipeline through a historic Black community. In Memphis, Karen Pulfer-Focht caught a relaxed Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer shortly after Sawyer, a frequent target of racist harassment, announced she won’t seek reelection. His work was as diverse as his sensitively photographed families with special needs children, some trying to access assistance with medical care and others educational opportunities and a truly amazing gallery of Freedom Riders. Our in-house photojournalist extraordinaire John Partipilo gave us the faces of the year, from pensive state legislators grappling with legal issues to joyous Black legislators celebrating the removal of a bust of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Tennessee Capital. If the latter gave us the opportunity to cover Black Lives Matter protests, COVID test sites and bombings, the former allowed us to cover not just one legislative session but also three special sessions, the deployment of COVID vaccines across the state and a late year catastrophic tornado. There are a few boom or bust guys like Adams but overall the talent at the first base position is down a bit in the Astros system.Great writing and excellent photojournalism go together like peas and carrots, and the Tennessee Lookout has the good fortune to work with excellent writers and photographers.Ģ021 was a lesser sibling to 2020, our launch year. Keep an eye on Alvarez as he moves up the rankings this winter.
The Astros still have depth at the first base position with Reed and a potential top prospect in Alvarez. Adams is only 21 so he will still have time to turn it around.Ģ017 Stats: 48 G. Unfortunately his debut season didn't go as well as he struggled to make contact striking out 68 times in 48 games. Adams came with the promise of huge power as he hit 29 HR in 61 games at Iowa his junior season. He was eventually promoted to Corpus Christi where he hit. His numbers were down a bit this year hitting. McCall was a solid performer last year with Quad Cities hitting. That also came with a 16.1 BB% and 20.4 K% good for an. In 2017 he put together a very solid season hitting. After the draft he spent time between GCL and Greeneville and hit. He had a very good junior year at Saint Leo hitting. Sieber was a 24th round pick by the Astros in the 2016 draft. Reed has lost a little buzz but he still has the looks over a potential three true outcome slugger.Ģ017 Stats: 127 G. While his strike out rate was up this year, his walk rate increased from last season and he posted a slightly higher ISO. 293 with 19 HR, 52 RBI in 46 games after the AAA All-Star game. In 2017 he started slow but finished with 34 HR, 104 RBI including hitting. Unfortunately, he fell off a bit after a struggle in the majors last season. Reed flew up the prospect rankings after a monster 2015 season. Overall he had a 139 wRC+ as a 20 year old between A/A+.Ģ017 Stats: 90 G.
He played some in the outfield but should start moving up the ranks as a first base prospect. He was promoted to Buies Creek and was solid there as well cutting down on his strikeout rate and driving in 36 in 58 games. Alvarez was seen as a raw prospect coming into this year but he turned heads crushing the ball in Quad Cities with a 207 wRC+ in 32 games. TOP PERFORMERS Yordan AlvarezĪlvarez was originally signed by the Dodgers out of Cuba for $2 million and the Astros snagged him in the trade that sent Fields to Los Angeles. This week we move on to the first base position. Now that the season is over we will review each position in the minor league system.