One of the top players in baseball, Carlos was acquired by the Houston Astros June 24, 2004 in a trade with Kansas City. Carlos gives Houston a center fielder who has tremendous range, great speed and power from both sides of the plate.

"Carlos Beltran is one of the most exciting, complete players in our game today," Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker told the Houston Chronicle. "He's the prototype we've been looking for for a long time. He's going to be a very exciting force for us in the middle of our lineup."

While with Kansas City, Carlos hit .278 with 15 home runs, 51 RBIs, 51 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. As a Royal, Carlos was one of the top producers on the team since his rookie season in 1999, when he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and was the Players Choice Award winner for Outstanding AL Rookie. Carlos batted .293, hit 22 home runs and had 108 RBI that year, and has been a model of consistency for the Royals ever since. In 2002, Carlos led Kansas City in nearly every offensive category, and he set the AL single-season record for extra-base hits in a season by a switch-hitter with 80. Carlos followed that up in 2003 by posting a .307 average, scoring 102 times and driving in 100 runs -- all tops on the Royals. He also led the team with 10 triples, 26 home runs, 72 walks, and was third in the American League with 41 stolen bases.

--BigLeaguers.com