Tyler Whitaker has an ops of 1118 this month. He’s still striking out a lot but he’s probably doing enough to stay in the organization the rest of the year and potentially get an audition in AA to start next season. Huge hole in his swing but really good power and speed and has defensive value.
With a bumper crop of position players in the DSL this year, I'm hoping that Millán, Arenaimo, Juan Rojas, Santiago Martinez, and Kevin Alvarez are in the position player contingent that comes stateside next year. Unfortunately, there's gonna be a real roster crunch in the lower levels. This is where not having Tri-City or Greeneville hurts because some of those kids are gonna get squeezed out in the FCL, and that's not totally their fault.
I've looked at Kevin Alvarez's numbers and they are eye popping. .330 batting average and .421 OBP with more walks than strikeouts. He's a 6'4" 17 year old that hasn't even filled out yet. I can't wait until he comes stateside.
It’s kind of weird to me that Houston hasn’t been more aggressive with promoting their FCL guys this season, considering how many DSL guys seem ready to come over and how many high school position players they just drafted.
For me, add Alvarez to Cam Smith, Brice Matthews, Jacob Melton and maybe Miguel Ullola as untouchable prospects/young guys at the trade deadline.
Agree except Ullola, Perfectly OK with trading him for the right position player. Smith, Mathews, and Melton, are all part of our future line up and should not be touched.
Derek True vs. Bowling Green: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 7 K The run came on a solo homer. True entered tonight with a 6.44 ERA because his ERA in Asheville is 9.37, compared to 2.77 away from that launching pad.
Brandon McPherson completed the shutout as Fayetteville beat Fredericksburg 2-0. He allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out two.
Post draft, the lower levels of the system look as healthy as they’ve ever been. The combination of the last 2-3 years of big bonus and over performing DSL guys along with an increase in drafting high school players and drafting injured pitchers whose development is lagging has left the complex league, Fayetteville, and Asheville rosters looking stacked. The pitching and outfield in the upper levels is extremely deep. So the glaring weakness in this system is the infield crop in the upper levels. I think catcher and 1B will be fine given the glut of OF and the depth in power hitting C. So it’s really 2B/SS/3B in Corpus and Sugar Land that is holding this farm back from being on par with the heyday. With Matthews graduating, there’s really no top infield prospects slated for AA/AAA next season. Both levels are littered with non-prospects and castoffs from other organizations. However, there are some interesting prospects who I will be watching closely over August to see if they might be ready to breakout: Jeron Williams: Williams was one of my favorite sleeper prospects this offseason, before I knew he’d suffered a significant injury last season. He was out until June this year. Since he’s come back, he’s posted a very weak 57 wRC+ due to a really weak contact profile. He hit 3 HR in 154 AA pa last season, so he’s got double digit HR power in him, which combined with his speed (26 SB in 2024) and defensive value at SS makes him a reasonably high upside prospect. Speculatively, his body type makes me think he might have some untapped power potential. My hope/guess is that his injury sapped his power, timing, and selection, and that he might get right before the season ends. Sadly, outside of Chase Jaworsky, he’s probably the best middle infield prospect Houston has that could be in the upper levels next season. Chase Jaworsky: Jaworsky had a crummy April but has been pretty good since, despite a general lack of power. He posted an OBP of >.390 in both May and July. He’s got very high defensive value and premium speed (51 SB over his last 131 g), so if his body keeps developing (he’s only 20) and he adds power, he will be a real prospect. For now he profiles as a Jonathan Arauz type of utility player but there’s potential for a lot more. I’m hopeful he starts next season in Corpus considering the depth coming up below him and the lack of prospects blocking him. If that happens he will be a huge breakout candidate. Alejandro Nunez: after what looked like a breakout in April, he had a middling May-June and has been awful in July, so a promotion to Corpus for next season doesn’t look as likely as it did 2 months ago. Hopefully he will rebound in August. Nunez is a utility profile who doesn’t project to hit for power and while he has some speed, it’s not a carrying tool. He is still just 20, so there’s a chance he could be a defense-first contact oriented bench player. But ideally, Houston would have the depth to not make him a key player on the AA roster. Pascanel Ferreras: Ferreras got on the map as a 20th round pick who posted a 138 wRC+ in High A in his first full pro season, although that was on the back of a .407 BABIP. He’s been a below average hitter in AA across 160 games, so I don’t have much hope that he is more than organizational depth. Yamal Encarnacion: Encarnacion got on my radar after stealing 39 bases in just 89 games last season. Then he was on the Astros spring breakout top prospects roster. Unfortunately his 2025 was delayed by injury and he was just added to the Asheville roster last week. The switch-hitting Encarnacion boasts 60+ grade speed and good k/bb ratios, with the hope for eventual average power. He could end up as a rich man’s Tony Kemp. His August will be very important as he needs to show he’s worth investing everyday play in AA next season. He’s a breakout candidate for 2026. There are 3 other infield prospects who have probably done enough to stay in the upper levels of the system next season. Tommy Sacco has had an odd 2025; after hitting really well last year he’s fallen off dramatically in his age 26 season and been demoted back to AA from AAA. Hes also played a lot of outfield after being primarily a SS (with a good rep there) in past years. He’s the beneficiary of a lack of depth in the system, but he’s probably on pretty thin ice. Trevor Austin has been a below average hitter in AA and played multiple positions, but he’s a low ceiling player and ideally would be in a bench role in Corpus next year. Ryan Johnson is an infielder with a good arm and some power potential, but he has massive strikeout issues that are hard to see past. Austin Deming, Bryce Willits, Anthony Sherwin, Narbe Cruz, Jack Blomgren, and Reylin Perez are all non-prospects at this point, although I’d be interested in seeing what Blomgren can do given his past production in the few times he’s been healthy. Greg Jones, Luis Castro, Edwin Diaz, and Jesus Bastidas are all set to be minor league free agents. Im sure Houston will dig up a couple of Guillorme/Short types to fill in at AAA, which has proven smart in the past and will help mask the issues. But it would be great if Jeron Williams, Chase Jaworsky, and Yamal Encarnacion could break out next month to boost the outlook in AA.
Germán Ramirez had 3 doubles and scored twice before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 7th inning today in the FCL. Luis Rives hit his 3rd home run of the season.
