Munson had a starring role a decade ago on several outstanding University of Southern California baseball teams, earning praise mostly for his bat and enormous power potential, but also for his work behind the plate. He was the leader and the catalyst on those loaded Trojans offenses, even over former Astros third baseman Morgan Ensberg and current outfielder Jason Lane.

Major League scouts, of course, noticed him quickly. The Detroit Tigers snapped him up with the third overall selection in the 1999 First-Year Player Draft, and Munson seemed on the fast track to stardom.

Even though he had catching experience, he played in the Minor Leagues and at the Major League level at third and first base. Much like Craig Biggio's early career in Houston, the Tigers deemed Munson's offensive potential too great to risk putting him behind the plate.

For whatever reason, though, Munson didn't instantly become the offensive star that most expected him to be. His only consistent cracks at playing time came in 2003 and '04 with the Tigers, and he batted .240 and .212 in those seasons. He had a healthy slugging percentage in each, but he simply wasn't reaching base enough to be a regular at a premium offensive position.

So, five years after Munson was supposed to be the cornerstone of the franchise, the Tigers gave up on him. He latched on to a Minor League deal in 2005 with the Devil Rays, but again struggled in limited playing time at the Major League level, leaving him 28 years old, without a team and without any kind of history of Major League success.

At this point, most expected Munson's Major League career to be done. The once-prized prospect seemed destined to be a journeyman Minor Leaguer. But Munson had one more card up his sleeve, and it was returning to the catcher spot he'd played growing up and at USC. While his offensive numbers were too minimal to draw attention at third or first, his robust slugging percentages were enough to be an intriguing option if he could prove capable behind the plate.

"I thought, 'Why not go to Spring Training with a team and offer to catch and see what they say?'" Munson said. "I grew up as a catcher. I had always caught. I tried it with Houston, and it worked out."

Munson tore the cover off the ball in 2006 Spring Training, hovering near .400 and making the team as the backup to Brad Ausmus. That success didn't translate to the regular season, however, when he hit just .199 with a .269 on-base percentage and lost his grip on the backup catcher spot, which went to Humberto Quintero to start 2007.

But Munson went down to Triple-A Round Rock and further refined his game, both as a hitter and a catcher. Earlier this summer, Hunter Pence said he "had no idea" what Munson was doing in the Minor Leagues when he was in Round Rock -- Munson's swing looked that good.

And when the Astros wanted more offense out of the catcher position in early June, Munson got the call. On that front, he's delivered, hitting .268 with a particularly impressive .339 on-base percentage and a .433 slugging percentage. If translated to full-time status, those numbers would put him among the better offensive catchers in the National League.

But what's been more of a surprise to the Astros -- and more of a boost to his long-term role with the team -- is the improvement Munson's made behind the plate.

"He's doing considerably better," manager Phil Garner said. "He's doing a very nice job of receiving the ball and blocking the ball. He's doing a pretty good job of calling the game. He's playing more often."

"[Munson] has worked hard and it's paid off," Ausmus said. "He's very improved as a receiver. He's a lot quieter. There's not a lot of excess movement in his body. He's a better blocker. He's a lot softer and controls the ball in the dirt, and he's a lot better at playing the ricochet and keeping it from getting away from him."

Munson credits much of his improvement to more regular work. He caught almost every day at Round Rock, and since he's been in Houston, he's been the regular catcher for Jason Jennings and Chris Sampson, as well as catching on occasion for Matt Albers and every member of the bullpen. That's given him an average of two starts out of five, and on some occasions three.

"It comes down to experience and getting regular repetition," Munson said. "You get more comfortable and you get a feeling for what your pitchers like to do in certain situations.

"It's a lot easier when you get to play on back-to-back days. Last year, I was just catching once every fifth day. You can get a little more timing as far as hitting goes."

While Munson has thrown out only two of 21 potential basestealers, he's confident that ratio will improve as the sample size increases to a more reasonable amount. And for the Astros, that comes secondary to his work calling the games and receiving pitches.

"I'm obviously a guy who's going to throw a few sliders in the dirt, and Munson has done a great job this year, noticeably," closer Brad Lidge said. "There was a game in Chicago [last month] where I threw a ton of sliders in the dirt and he knocked down every single one. That's a huge difference for me. He's picking up what my ball is going to do. He's seeing it. That's something I need.

"I'm very confident that with a runner on third base, if I need to strike someone out, I know I can throw a slider in the dirt and he's going to stop it."

Ausmus' contract is up after this season, and given his age, there's a chance he will retire. If that's the case, the previous assumption was that the Astros would have to go outside the organization and dedicate some of their financial resources this offseason to finding a new catcher.

But Munson's development, coupled with the rapid ascension of prized prospect J.R. Towles through the Minor Leagues, may give the Astros their long-term catching solution from within the organization, allowing them to use that money elsewhere.

"Without a doubt [Munson can be an everyday catcher]," Lidge said. "I don't see why not. He clearly offensively can be a huge threat, especially as a catcher. He took some time off [from catching], but it looks like he's getting back into it. He's improved a lot. His improvement from last year to this year makes me think he could be an everyday guy."

"He quite possibly could be," Ausmus said. "He's got things to learn more about pitch selection and opponents, but the only way you can learn that is through experience."

Munson has become a more visible part of the offense with each passing month, and on Aug. 6, he lined the first walk-off hit of his Astros career against Michael Wuertz and the Cubs in extra innings.

Even if the Astros are unable to jump back into the postseason race, Munson's role is a spot of intrigue entering the season's final six weeks. If the Astros fall out of contention, Garner has already hinted that Munson might receive more playing time for evaluation purposes as the team prepares for 2008.

For the 29-year-old backstop, that could mean an opportunity to earn what he's striven to achieve for most of the last decade: a spot in the everyday lineup of a Major League club.

"Absolutely, yes," said Munson when asked if he could handle the starting catcher role. "It's something I want to do. I'm still young enough to where I think if I keep working hard and keep putting my time in and learning from guys like Brad [Ausmus], I believe it's something I can and will do."