Ryan Forcucci does not have any Minors stats. At this point, I don't see the need to rush. Let him spend 2026 in A- and A+.
I've got him ranked as the IDK how good he is as a prospect my list because all I've seen is some college highlights.. His stuff looked really good in college. Looked like he had a sharp breaking slider. But I haven't seen him throw one pitch as a professional and I dont know how healthy he will be when he starts pitching. Call this the Forrest effect.
Someday there will come a day when I'm no longer angry/disappointed/whatever by that guy and my early mancrush on him. But it's not today, thanks for bringing him up eta: eventually he will transfer from the Forrest Effect into the Redding Zone and I'll be able to joke about it.
The Astros are still trying to fill up the upper minors and they signed IF Riley Unroe on Monday. Unroe, 30, was the Rays' 2nd-round pick (60th overall) in 2013. He's played in 1063 minor league games and 0 MLB games. He was in the Tigers system last year and slashed .278/.397/.409 with 4 home runs and 34 RBI in 68 games for AAA Toledo.
Dang, 2026 will be his EIGHTH year in AAA. Props for the perseverance. Looks like he is a middling defensive player with decent speed, good plate discipline, average swing and miss, and very little power.
Dang, 2026 will be his EIGHTH year in AAA. Props for the perseverance. Looks like he is a middling defensive player with decent speed, good plate discipline, average swing and miss, and very little power.
As @Snake Diggit pointed out in the unofficial spring training thread, the Astros signed OF Kellen Strahm last week; this signing came on January 13. Like the Jax Biggers signing, this also looks like a familiarity signing as the Astros now employ someone in the amateur scouting department who was previously with the Rangers. Strahm was the Rangers' 5th-round pick out of San Jose State in 2019. The Rangers had been his only organization until he became a free agent after the 2025 season. Strahm played in 108 games with AAA Round Rock and hit .242/.347/.344 with 8 home runs and 40 RBI.
Checking in on the trajectory of Dana Brown’s 2023 and 2024 drafts: 2023: Exceeded expectations: Jake Bloss (3), Chase Jaworsky (5), Ethan Pecko (6), Jeron Williams (9), Austin Deming (10), James Hicks (13), Jackson Nezuh (14), Garret Guillemette (15), Will Bush (16), Pascanel Ferreras (20) Met expectations: Brice Matthews (1), Alonzo Tredwell (2), Ryan Johnson (8), Colby Langford (17), Derek True (18) Missed expectations: Cam Fisher (4), Joel Dixon (7), Nehomar Ochoa (11), Anthony Huezo (12), Andrew Duncan (19) 2024: Exceeded: Joseph Sullivan (7), Ramsey David (10), Bryce Mayer (16), Twine Palmer (19) Met: Ryan Forcucci (3), Parker Smith (4), Cole Hertzler (5), Caden Powell (6), Dylan Howard (8), Ryan Smith (9), Jason Schiavone (11), Ryan Verdugo (12), Ryan Mathieson (14), Drew Vogel (15), Ethan Wagner (17), Grant Burleson (18) Missed: Walker Janek (1), Bryce Boettcher (13), Ky McGary (20)
Nah, I still like Janek. Didn’t he just dominate the Fall League? I’m expecting a big jump from him next season.
Definitely not closing the book, just assessing where things stand as of now. Janek hasn’t been a bust by any stretch, but for a guy who was given a $3M bonus and was the consensus best catcher available in the draft, he has not quite met the bar. He looked good in the AFL (but not exactly dominant). He could easily get back on track with a great first half in corpus this year.
I'd say Huezo has at least met expectations and I'd personally put him in surpassed. I think he builds on his solid 2025 this coming year and really breaks out.
He was a tough one to slot. He had a very high k rate this season; his slash line was propped up by a ridiculous BABIP. For a guy with a $300k bonus the expectation would be that he’d play well in the lower levels and the bust in AA. So I think by that metric he is falling short of expectations, because with a 26% k rate in A ball he’s not on track to reach AA, but on the other hand he’s only 19. Like Janek, he could easily completely reverse my opinion with a good first half.
I currently have Janek as the #3 prospect in the Astros system. He may drop a few spots when I re-asses in the Spring but even then I do not expect him below #5.
No issue there. I think he is easily a top 5 prospect in Houston’s system. But put it this way: there are currently less than 90 prospects in baseball who got a bigger bonus in the draft than Janek, and he is not one of the 90 best prospects in the league. There are only 5 catching prospects in the league who got a bigger bonus than Janek (Ethan Salas, Blake Mitchell, Harry Ford, Ike Irish, and Daniel Sisac, and Irish might be an OF).
Walker Janek is being completely buoyed by his draft position. A 23 year old who failed to hit particularly well in one of the most hitter friendly parks in baseball is not a prospect I pay any attention to. John Garcia (if you haven't heard of him, don't worry neither have I) hit significantly better in Asheville. He could still end up having a successful MLB career, but as of right now he's just a guy to me. I could probably easily list a dozen guys I would protect over him.
