Claimed off waivers by Houston (Oct. 2012)

Scouting Report:  Medium build, without much more room to fill out.  Solid athlete. Compact, level swing through the hitting zone.  Not much leverage or upward plane in swing.  Generates fringe-average batspeed.  Above-average approach and pitch recognition.  Excels at working counts.  Rarely chases offerings outside of his strike zone.  Shows bat control to spoil tough pitches, hang deep into counts, and get bat on the ball. Struggles to square up pitches.  Can struggle with balance at plate.  Swing requires maintenance.  Creates infrequent instances of backspin, with a lot of contact resulting in weak grounders or flares.   Below-average hit tool.   Does not barrel enough balls up to produce average batting averages at the major league level. Well below-average power projection.   Plus speed.  Ability to steal 20 bases in the big leagues.  Well-above average defender.  Possesses outstanding defensive instincts.  Seems to get a head start on balls off the bat.  Covers excellent ground from gap-to-gap.  Plus-plus arm, with improving accuracy.  Projects as a bench player at the major league level, with emphasis on role as defensive replacement/pinch runner.