2024 UDFA Trevor Austin was promoted to AA yesterday. It is likely just as a temporary fill-in, but looking at his numbers, he does have some positive things happening in his contact rates and swing decisions. He had a low BABIP so not sure if that is bad luck or poor contact quality. He has some defensive versatility (looks like he could probably play everywhere except C/SS/CF).
Oh, I think we all remember Dana's quotes about him, and his performance last year, but "desperation is a stinky cologne"
More Sullivan hype, this time from mlb.com: https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/five-intriguing-prospects-from-the-al-west-2025 Callis' take: He was a good player for South Alabama, but he never had a great year. He hit .271 in three seasons there, he was Draft eligible as a 21-year-old sophomore in 2023 and didn’t get picked. He had a hamate injury last spring which kept his numbers down a little bit and he lasted until the seventh round, where the Astros took him. He’s been kind of a revelation as a pro. Of all of the players on all of our Top 30 lists, he has the biggest disparity between his OPS and his batting average. He draws a ton of walks, he takes a lot of pitches, he actually gets hit by a lot of pitches too. He’s got some bat-to-ball skills, he’s got average power, tends to hit a lot of ground balls, but when he gets the ball in the air it tends to go out. He’s a plus runner. He’s a good defender in center. He has good instincts on the bases and in center field. I think he’s the best sleeper prospect in the Astros system right now. I think if I was updating the Astros list today, he’d be a lot closer to their top five.
Anderson Brito vs. Greensboro: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K He allowed a homer to the first batter of the game and that was it.
Drew Brutcher and Nehomar Ochoa have three hits apiece for Fayetteville. Brutcher, who signed before the season after spending part of last year in independent ball, leads the Carolina League with a .346 average. It's a good start to his time in the system. It's also probably time for him to get a challenge in Asheville.
My current top 10 prospects as they stand today. 1 Ryan Forcucci Forcucci is injured but clearly will be the top prospect in the system once he is recovered. 2 Jacob Melton* Melton’s value has fallen off a bit but it is recovering and he is near MLB ready. He could be the next position player called up. 3 Joseph Sullivan Sullivan is ready for a move to AA and appears to have a future in center field but transitioning to the upper minors is tough. 4 Anderson Brito Brito is far from MLB for a top pitching prospect but he is arguably one of the most talented pitchers currently active in the system. 5 Walker Janek Janek was the first catcher taken in the 24 draft. His athleticism will play all over the field but he needs a lot more time behind the dish. 6 Ethan Pecko Pecko is a promising young starter who like Sullivan will be tested this year by his first season in the high minors. 7 Kevin Alvarez Alvarez has some chance to play 1st base or ieft field in the future but is an all bat prospect at this point. 8 Brice Matthews Matthews starting in AAA this season despite his inexperience both overall and at 2nd base appears to have been a mistake. 9 Luis Baez Baez is a potential credible starter in LF or at 1st base. He will be tested in AA this season but I anticipate a good outcome there. 10 Jackson Nezuh Nezuh is a young starter who showed good potential in limited time at Spring training, boosting his position in the organization. Sullivan is third today and that does not likely change much when I complete the final 20 on this iteration of my top 30 list by the time the 2025 draft has ended.
Shay Whitcomb has played the last 2 games at 2B, maybe something to watch as they could be prepping him to get a shot in Houston if they’re ready to move on from Rodgers.
Still adjusting, working 11-20 this week. Forcucci is really just a product of some pitching downgrades that where ahead of him. Blubaugh ceiling is down to a 4th starter, likely winds up #11 or #12. Ullola currently #20 could move a little but not a lot, looking like a reliever to me. Hoping to see both traded before everyone else catches up and downgrades them. Mathews really needed some AA time but I think demoting him probably hurts him at this point. He is a conundrum. Expected a 2025 debut but have set that aside for now. Hoping for a solid second half season and maybe some time in Arizona this Fall gets him back on track. Hoping to see Jordan, Diaz, or Ferreras come on strong at second base and move up in the second half otherwise I got nothing there. I do not know much about valuing trades but what kind of near ML second baseman do you think we could get for Mathews, Bluebaugh and Ullola today?
I kind of thought Brown was not going in that direction. Mathews injury may be forcing Whitcomb to fill in temporarily but it sure would be nice to see him forcing the issue.
I think big league evaluators would be much higher on all 3 of those guys than you are. Matthews is the Astros consensus #1 prospect in the industry and while he isn’t dominating AAA, he hasn’t been overmatched, his overall slash line is above average. Ullola might have the best fastball in the entire minor leagues and is generating a lot of weak contact and swing and miss as a 22 year old in AAA. Blubaugh has hit a rough patch since he got sent down. His velo is down a couple mph so hopefully that’s not a hidden injury. So Blubaugh’s stock is down for now so probably not a great time to trade him. I highly doubt there are any good 2B actively available right now, but if/when there are, that package would be valuable and should bring back a good everyday 2B with another year or two of control.
Luis Rodriguez vs. Lynchburg: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 K Another good start, even though the strikeouts have vanished for him. Rodriguez has just three strikeouts in his last two starts (10.2 IP total).
Brandon Walter vs. Las Vegas: 6 IP, 5 H, 7 K Kenedy Corona hit a two-run homer (6) and Brice Matthews had an RBI single in his return to the Sugar Land lineup.
Manuel Urias had a nice start for Corpus as he allowed a run on three hits, walked one, and struck out seven in five innings. The one run came on a solo homer. Urias was a minor league Rule 5 pick from the Phillies in 2023.
