Let's start out this post by acknowledging a couple of things: Robbie Grossman and J.D. Martinez are different types of players who most certainly have different minor league track records.

Martinez, a standout now with the Tigers, hit .332 with a .942 OPS in nearly 1,300 at-bats spread across various minor league levels. He was a certified prospect based on those numbers. Grossman, who is off to a hot start after being picked up by the Twins, has more than 2,800 at-bats in the minors with a batting average of .271 and an OPS of .771. Different players, different situations.

Where we can find an interesting parallel, aside from both of them being corner outfielders now for American League Central teams, is the symmetry in how both were groomed by Houston, given a pretty decent shot to make it while still pretty young … and then unceremoniously dumped by the Astros.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.