2022 Astros Minor League Thread

Am I the only one who sees nothing but a cartoon bluebird in these posts?

 

Only for a second and then the tweet loads.

 

Was that off of former Astros prospect Yohan Ramirez?

 

Here's how we project their lineup in 2025, with their 2025 ages in parentheses.

PROJECTED 2025 LINEUP

Catcher: Korey Lee (26)
First Base: Joe Perez (25)
Second Base: Jose Altuve (34)
Third Base: Alex Bregman (31)
Shortstop: Jeremy Peña (27)
Left Field: Chas McCormick (30)
Center Field: Jake Meyers (29)
Right Field: Kyle Tucker (28)
Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez (28)

No. 1 Starter: Lance McCullers (31)
No. 2 Starter: Framber Valdez (31)
No. 3 Starter: Luis Garcia (27)
No. 4 Starter: Cristian Javier (28)
No. 5 Starter: Jose Urquidy (30)
Closer: Hunter Brown (26)

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average: Yainer Diaz
Best Power Hitter: Scott Schreiber
Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Grae Kessinger
Fastest Baserunner: Michael Sandle
Best Athlete: Zach Daniels
Best Fastball: Hunter Brown
Best Curveball: Hunter Brown
Best Slider: Shawn Dubin
Best Changeup: Jaime Melendez
Best Control: Brett Conine
Best Defensive Catcher: Korey Lee
Best Defensive Infielder: Jeremy Peña
Best Infield Arm: Jeremy Peña
Best Defensive Outfielder: Jordan Brewer
Best Outfield Arm: Pedro Leon

 

Some interesting names in the “best” categories. Schreiber has had decent power but it’s very surprising to see him listed as the best power hitter in the system. Same for Kessinger (plate discipline), Sandle (baserunning), and Diaz (average).

I will be watching Sandle’s performance closely next season. I would imagine if he has that kind of speed that he will get time in CF, and if he’s able to continue showing the power he did last season (which will be inflated by High A’s parks) his stock will skyrocket.

 

Hunter Brown as a closer? That would be a disappointment. As would Leon not being a solution in the outfield.

Also, I might be a starry eyed optimist, but I’m holding out hope that Whitley rises from the dead.

It’s a good exercise though. Shows that our pitching will be very good for a while (that rotation is really strong, even without Forrest or Hunter … or Farmer, Savage, and Mordecai).

But we need reinforcement in the OF and a solid Yuli replacement. Get those, and the window stays wide open…

 

Tyler Ivey is a surprise choice that high. Otherwise it seems better than the last few Astros top 10s BA has put out the last couple years.

 

The guy in the BA chat labeled Houston as a bottom 5 system. I think that’s stupid. This system has consistently out-produced most systems despite the Astros picking late and trading away many of their best prospects. And the system obviously took a big step forward last year as Lee and Pena became near-consensus Top 100 guys and Leon and Brown put themselves in the conversation.

This system is not a top tier farm; there are too many other teams with stacked farms. But there’s a solid argument that it’s a middle tier system, and really no rationale for labeling it in the bottom 5. If you only value elite talent, then they probably rank in the 18-22 range; if you value depth and development track record, they are probably in the 10-16 range.

 

I have them at 19-20 dropping some before the end of next season due to a few grads coming off and the next wave being mostly unestablished.

 

I heard similar things from commercial publication experts for the last handful of years…. and then Valdez and Garcia and Javier and Urquidy and Meyers and McCormick happened… exactly like Luhnow said would happen 3 years ago when he said international hitting and a few outfielders were going to break through.

At some point the Astros farm system really will be a bottom 5 system but I don’t think it is now. There are a number of guys that may not be dead bang superstars, but are very good in the Astros system and I suspect a couple all star births at some point.

 

Even when we had a garbage system back in the day, we ended up with an MVP (and possible HOF) in Altuve, a Cy Young with a couple of AS games in Keuchel, and a 4-time AS in JD Martinez.

 

All those guys you listed were in the system when it was ranked very highly in 2019. Half the BA Top 10 for the Astros were in system in 2019 the last time the Astros system was Top 5. The difference between when the Astros were ranked highly and now is that Alvarez, Tucker, Straw, Valdez, Garcia, Javier, Urquidy, Meyers, McCormick, Toro, Rojas, Alvarez, and Tucker have graduated/traded and been replaced by Lee, Leon, Santos, Whitaker, and Brown. Even the low level arms, Melendez, Tamarez, and Robaina predated the 2019 season when Alvarez and Tucker graduated and the Greinke trade occured.

Personally, I value Alvarez, Tucker, Straw, Valdez, Garcia, Javier, Urquidy, Meyers, McCormick, Toro, Rojas, Alvarez, and Tucker significantly higher than than the guys the Astros have added in the last 2 and half years.

 

I’m pretty sure Alvarez and Tucker were the only two of that entire list who ever made the BA Top 100. If anything your list highlights the idea that the Houston’s 2nd and 3rd tier prospects are likely underrated.

 

None of the guys I listed were large prospects and had little to do with the ranking of the farm system (which I said was underrated at the time). The Astros have a track record of players being under valued in commercial prospect rankings the last 7-8 years.