There are a ton of interesting catchers available. Daniel Susac former #19 overall pick Creed Willems Orioles #31 prospect (fangraphs) Matthew Wood Brewers #42 prospect Christian Cerda Arizona #29 prospect Nelson Quiroz Dodgers #48 prospect Silas Ardoin 116 wRC+ in AAA this year Andrew Cossetti 123 wRC+ in AA this year Kevin Parada former #11 overall pick Nick Cimillo 125 wRC+ in AA this year Omar Alfonzo Pirates #14 prospect Tatem Levins 142 wRC+ in AA this year Edward Duran Blue Jays #37 prospect
This is my guy along with Pecko that have the greatest chance to be the next great pitchers to come out of the Stros system. A short little bulldog with a my stuff is better than what you can hit attitude and is driven to be great after being underestimated his entire life because of his lack of size. The stuff and attitude are there to be a TOR guy and even if he doesn't reach that, he will be a great bullpen guy.
The Astros 3 Forgotten Big Bonus International Signee Infield Prospects: Camilo Diaz ($2.3M, 2023): Fangraphs org #8 prospect going into 2024, Diaz had elite bat speed to project for a lot of power and enough defensive value to stick at 3B. He was one of the consensus top 30 prospects of the 2023 international class. But then he posted worrisomely high k rates in 2023 and 2024, and ended up with a significant injury that has kept him out all of last season. His stock has bottomed out, and there's no details about his injury available. But he's still entering just his age 20 season, and there will be plenty of time for him to develop if he's healthy. Alberto Hernandez ($950k): Fangraphs org #2 prospect going into 2024 and a top 30 overall international signee in 2022, Hernandez has one of the smoothest gloves in the astros system, but his power has not developed as expected, despite showing solid bat speed and exit velocities. His defensive value lowers the bar for his bat, but he'll have to develop some power if he's going to turn into a major leaguer. He'll be entering his age 22 season, so his leash is shortening and he'll need to move quickly to get on track. German Ramirez ($1.2M): The 2nd biggest bonus of the 2023 class after Diaz went to Ramirez, who took a step forward in the FCL this season. Ramirez is still developing, but he has legit bat speed and solid (if raw) defensive tools. 2026 will be just his age 19 season, and he is a potential breakout candidate in A ball.
I've said it before, I think backup catcher is underutilized in the Rule 5 draft. Every team needs one, and almost every single one of them sucks.
I like Salazar and think he’d be a fine backup C, but there’s been a few comments from the front office that indicate they are looking to bring in someone ahead of him.
My uneducated opinion: this… doesn’t seem great for the future of minor league baseball Diamond Baseball Holdings is part of the Silver Lake private equity firm, which also owns Endeavor… which owns TKO… which owns the UFC and WWE
Precursor to Crane selling the team in a few years. My guess is that Crane will sell the team when Altuve retires. But yeah can’t be a good thing, private equity is satans realm.
Lol @ yall Have you paid no attention to every sport from college conferences to the NFL selling bits and pieces out to PE Firms?
I get what you’re saying, but Diamond Baseball Holdings doesn’t control the player contracts for any of the minor league teams they own. MLB clubs still handle all the player development and payroll. DBH literally owns the parks, the branding, and the business operations of each team. From everything I’ve read, it looks like they’re trying to build something that generates predictable annual revenue, big national sponsorship deals, and streamlined operations across the 40-plus markets they’ve bought into. They’re basically consolidating the business side of MiLB to create one massive, efficient money-making network. Its honestly impressive business imo. The only problem I have with this is that they don't give a **** about winning games, that is concerning
It doesn't mean s**t for the MLB pipeline. However it is an awful development for fans of live minor league ball. These profit maxing private equity firms "always" raise prices. They would rather have a stadium 60% full and make one extra dollar than have a packed house. It's a terribly foolish long term business model when it comes to fan retention, but profit now is the only way they think.
Diamond Holdings owned 45 of the 120 affiliated MiLB teams before they bought the 3 from the Stros: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Baseball_Holdings Something tells me the sky is not falling, even given how much PE sucks.
A’s took RHP Abel Mercedes in the minor league portion of the rule 5 draft. High 90s fb but no control.
Astros select Trey McLoughlin from the Mets in the AAA phase McLoughlin was drafted by the Mets in the 16th round of the 2021 draft out of Fairfield. All but one of his 19 appearances in 2025 came with AA Binghamton; the other appearance was with Class A St. Lucie. He went 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA and struck out 26 in 23 innings in 2025.
