Jon Singleton Hits Home Run in MLB Debut
/22-year-old Houston Astros first baseman made up for a tough start to his MLB debut with a home run in the team's 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night.
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Singleton took Matt Shoemaker deep in the eighth inning after committing two errors and striking out twice before then. On Monday, Singleton signed a five-year, $10 million guaranteed contract that could reach up to $30 million if all incentives are reached.
Singleton was batting .267 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs for Triple-A Oklahoma City before being sent to the majors.
There is some risk associated with Singleton as he served a 50 game ban in 2013 for testing positive for marijuana a second time. He told the Associated Press at spring training that he spent a month in a rehabilitation center to deal with this issue.
The Astros are gambling on young players to develop at the same time and form a winner. Singleton figures to be a big piece of the puzzle along with the emerging George Springer, Matt Dominguez as well as former number one overall picks Mark Appel and Carlos Correa.