LOS ANGELES – After waiting patiently for his opportunity for so long, Corey Julks is making the most of it
With fellow Bro Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez on the injured list, the Astros seemed to be in trouble, as they’ve already been chasing the Texas Rangers all season long for the top spot in the AL West.
However, they’re 50-40, only two games back, and are in the second AL Wild Card slot.
Julks’ Arrival Has Helped Houston Overcome Injuries
Credit can be given everywhere for the position the Astros are in given all the adversity they’ve had to overcome, but a large portion of it has to be given to Julks, who is only a rookie but is filling in as if he’s been a veteran in the show for quite some time.
Julks is hitting .300 over his last 30 appearances, but in his last 15 games, he’s been a man on a mission. He has a .396 batting average during the stretch, with no home runs, six RBI, a .458 on-base percentage, and a .472 slugging percentage.
He has a slashline of .282/.326/.408 with six home runs, 29 RBI and 15 stolen bases for the entirety of the season.
Julks is from Friendswood, Texas, which is about 30 minutes outside of Houston. He played baseball for the University of Houston and was drafted in the eighth round of the 2017 draft by the Astros, his hometown team.
“It’s awesome…growing up wanting to play this game at the highest level but being lucky enough to actually play for my hometown team I mean it’s a dream come true” Julks said when asked about the team he grew up rooting for.
Even with the exciting feeling of getting the opportunity to play at home, the road to the show has been anything but easy for the 27-year-old. He started off in Single A ball with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Low-A New York-Penn League, and continued to climb his way up year in and year out, playing on a total of six minor league teams.
In this year’s spring training, Julks was terrific. He had a .275/.318/.550 slashline, and had 12 RBI, which was the most by anyone on the team. It was enough for him to finally get the call, as it was announced on March 28th that Julks long wait was finally over, as he had made the opening roster.
It was announced recently by manager Dusty Baker that Brantley has had some setbacks in his shoulder rehab, as it’s unclear when he will return. As the Astros look to make a fifth World Series in seven years, there’s a chance that it will be without Brantley, and that someone needs to take his place. Who better than Julks, the hometown hero, to try and get his team back to the Fall Classic, in what seems to be their toughest season in a very long time.
