Carlos Correa Recalled from Triple-A Fresno by Astros

The Houston Astros, who have gotten off to a surprising 34-24 start, are so serious in their efforts to make a playoff push that top prospect Carlos Correa is coming to the big leagues.

The Astros announced the news and confirmed Correa would join the team for Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox:

Correa commented on the news, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston: 

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle the move is being made with the expectation that Correa can make an immediate impact:

Time will tell if Luhnow is right, but Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan believes Correa could quickly establish himself as the American League's best shortstop:

Passan does have a point about the AL's current crop of shortstops, as FanGraphs values eight of the 10 players qualified for the batting title at the position at less than one win above replacement, and three have negative WAR totals thus far.

Luhnow added, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, "Our team could use a spark right now."

Correa can certainly raise the bar, as ESPN's Keith Law ranks the former No. 1 overall pick as the best prospect in baseball. 

The 20-year-old has been on fire in the minors, posting a .332/.404/.602 slash line with 34 extra-base hits. Those numbers look even better considering he did it in Double-A and Triple-A at an age when most college juniors who will be drafted Monday are at least one year older than him. 

Houston has been one of MLB's best stories through the first two months of the season. It's natural to wonder if the team can keep up this pace based on its recent history, but adding Correa proves the Astros believe the time to strike is now. 

Correa will have a ton of pressure on him to succeed early, but the young star has responded to every challenge in the minors with resounding results and should have no problem doing it again.