Scouts believe Reed could benefit from more time in the minors so he can improve against left-handed pitching, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Reed is 8-for-28 (.286) with two doubles, a home run and four RBI through 14 Grapefruit League games. The 22-year-old has lacked plate discipline this spring, as he's only taken one free pass compared to 10 strikeouts, but he walked at an 11.4 percent clip at Double-A last season. He has seen plenty of time at first base (48.2 Grapefruit League innings) and has performed well defensively (zero errors in 42 total chances). While he's done well in camp, Reed hasn't necessarily separated himself from Tyler White (.345) or Jonathan Singleton (.143) in the Astros' first base competition. It's a battle that will likely continue through the end of spring training.