Yeah - he was underrated even when he played... he is the best of the football guys that played baseball. His career was short because of injuries, but he was an absolute stud for about 5 years.
If I had to boil down the offseason to a single task for Dana Brown, it would be this: figure out which 2 of the near-ready power/speed guys (Smith, Matthews, Melton, Dezenzo, Cole, Sullivan) will be really good big leaguers, and trade the rest for a ToR SP. If Dana is able to ace that test, he could pretty much otherwise stand pat and Houston would be a legit contender for at least the next 2 seasons.
I would guess the traded guys would be Sullivan/Melton/Matthews. I would hang onto Cole/Smith/Dezenzo.
Walker Janek went 3-4 with a double in yesterday’s AFL game. Jeron Williams was the other Astro to play and he went 0-2 with 2 walks and a steal.
Baseball America: Every minor leaguer who threw 100+ MPH in 2025 The Astros had three on this list: Leomar Rosario (101.1), Brett Gillis (100.6), and Abel Mercedes (100.5). None of them are particularly notable prospects, although Gillis still getting to triple digits despite his injury history since turning pro is pretty impressive. Mercedes has no concept of the strike zone, but he has allowed just one home run in 172 pro innings. Rosario just got out of the complex leagues this past season.
Didn’t know Rosario threw that hard. At 6’6” you’d think his velo would play up if he can get extra extension. One to watch. Mercedes has had long enough that I don’t think he has much chance to fix his issue. Gillis is a major sleeper. He’s in the AFL and could open a lot of eyes there.
(not breaking the paywall) Spoiler - Kevin Alvarez good as advertised. - Sami Manzueta's power was a surprise given he played all season at 16. Good swing decisions, will probably be on-base oriented offensively. Below-average speed, above-average arm. Saw more time at 2B and 3B. - Anthony Millan stood out for his in-game performances before officially signing. He hit just 2 home runs this season, but he made consistently loud contact. Millan had the highest exit velocity of everyone in the Astros' 2025 IFA class. Can stick at CF.
Astros pitchers got in the Arizona fall league game on Friday. Anderson Brito went 2.2ip, 2er, 3bb, 5k. Hudson Leach went 1.1ip, 0er, 0bb, 3k. James Hicks went 4ip, 0er, 0bb, 4k. Joseph Sullivan has a 920 ops. Walker Janek has a 1174 ops.
https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/astros-prospects-to-keep-an-eye-on-in-2026 Jacob Buffa giving kudos to Bryce Mayer, Lucas Spence, Hudson Leach, Ryan Forcucci, and Joan Ogando.
Joseph Sullivan and Walker Janek are playing really well, Jeron Williams has not. The pitchers don’t have samples worth noting yet.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/eric-longenhagen-prospects-chat-10-17-2025/ Astros nugget from the fangraphs’ prospect guy in today’s chat: 12:13 J Edna Hoover: Ethan Pecko looking like a rotation mainstay after he got healthy this year, eh? 12:13 Eric A Longenhagen: I really like him, yeah SP on track to graduate at some point next season: Miguel Ullola Ethan Pecko Bryce Mayer Jose Fleury Alonzo Tredwell Jackson Nezuh James Hicks Trey Dombroski
Fun article about Wolgemuch in the AFL https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/nate-wohlgemuth-seizing-arizona-fall-league-opportunity-with-astros
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-mlb-farm-system-statcast-hitting-rankings/ Astros farm 4th in hit+ by BA.
