Report: Astros to promote No. 2 prospect Reed

The surging Houston Astros will reportedly receive some reinforcements from the farm this weekend, as the club is set to promote first baseman A.J. Reed - the organization's consensus No. 2 prospect - from Triple-A Fresno, according to Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle.

Before Reed joins the Astros, however, the club will need to create a spot for him on the 40-man roster and either option a player from their active roster down to the minors or place someone on the disabled list.

Reed, a second-round pick in the 2014 draft, opened the season with Fresno after hitting .340/.432/.612 with 34 homers and 30 doubles in 135 games last year, which he spent primarily with High-A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi. Lauded for his plus power and above-average hit tool, the 23-year-old owns an .854 with 11 homers in 59 games with Fresno in 2016, and has hit .299/.357/.556 in 31 games since returning from a hamstring injury.

"I think we're in the phase now where he's demonstrating to us that he's ready for the next challenge," general manager Jeff Luhnow said earlier this week. "I don't think there's anything specific (we need to see). He got off to a slow start this year. Obviously, consistency in performance is something we look for, but we're not going to know how he's going to perform up here until we bring him up."