Astros' Prospect Check-In: Top Hitters and Pitchers, Plus a Look at the Top-Ranked Players
Taking a look at some Astros' prospects near the middle of the MLB regular season.
It's time for another breakdown of an MLB organization's prospects.
We looked at prospects for the Tigers and Dodgers already, and now will go over the prospects for the Houston Astros. We'll focus on players age 25 or below.
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Top Performing Hitters
The Astros' minor league hitter with the most hits is Drew Brutcher. He has 73 total hits on the season while playing at Single-A and High-A. Brutcher isn't among the team's top-30 ranked prospects right now.
He has 17 doubles, three triples and two home runs among his hits this season. Brutcher also has 45 runs scored, 30 RBIs, a stolen base, 40 walks and 61 strikeouts.
Brice Matthews has 71 total knocks so far this season. Matthews is the team's No. 1 prospect and is ranked 98th overall in the MLB.
He has totaled 11 doubles, 10 homers and five triples among his 71 hits so far. Matthews also has 48 runs scored, 39 RBIs, 47 walks, 23 stolen bases and 91 strikeouts. He's been at Triple-A all season, and it's only a matter of time before Matthews is promoted to the big leagues.
Lucas Spence has logged 54 hits on the season for the Astros. He also isn't ranked among the team's top-30 prospects.
Spence has 17 doubles, three triples and five homers among his hits while playing in High-A and Single-A. Spence has 42 runs scored, 29 RBIs, 38 walks, 18 stolen bases and 60 strikeouts so far.
Jancel Villarroel and Esmil Valencia each had 59 hits so far. Villarroel is the team's No. 24 prospect, while Valencia isn't ranked. Both are playing at Single-A.
Villarroel has 14 doubles, four homers and three triples among his hits, while also posting 36 runs scored, 34 RBIs, 30 walks, 15 stolen bases and 54 strikeouts. Valencia has eight doubles, three homers and a triple among his hits, while also having 28 runs scored, 29 RBIs, 18 walks, 35 stolen bases and 67 strikeouts.
Top Performing Pitchers
Among qualified pitchers, Adrian Ardines has the top earned run average. He's posted a 0.84 ERA over 21 1/3 innings in the DSL.
He too isn't ranked among the team's top-30 prospects. The 18-year-old has a 4-0 record and has struck out 29 batters along the way.
Among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched, Alimber Santa leads the organization with a 1.27 ERA over 49 2/3 innings.
He's the team's No. 29 prospect and pitches in Double-A. Santa is 2-1, has a .193 average against him and has struck out 50 batters so far.
Luis Aguilar is pitching at the team complex and has logged exactly 30 innings. He has a 1.80 ERA so far.
Aguilar isn't ranked among the team's top-30 prospects yet. He has a 3-1 record and 36 punchouts already.
Jose Fleury has a 1.82 ERA over 39 2/3 innings at Double-A.
He's the team's No. 14 prospect and has a 2026 ETA. The 23-year-old has a 3-1 record, a .188 average against him and 37 strikeouts so far.
Brett Gillis has a 2.70 ERA over 46 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old is pitching in High-A for now.
He's not ranked in the top 30 among the organization's prospects. Gillis has a 3-2 record and has punched out 52 batters so far.
Top-Ranked Prospects
Jacob Melton is the team's No. 2 prospect and is in the major leagues now.
Melton has a .241 average and .290 OBP over 11 games so far. For his four-year minor league career, Melton has a .251 average and .328 OBP, while tallying 236 hits (52 doubles, 44 home runs, three triples), 129 RBIs, 105 walks, 164 runs scored, 84 stolen bases and 244 strikeouts.
Walker Janek ranks third for the Astros. He's 22 years old, has a 2027 ETA and is playing in High-A for now.
Janek has a .269 average and .342 OBP over 56 games so far this season. He has 47 total hits, including 14 doubles, four homers and a triple. Janek also has 29 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 23 walks, 14 stolen bases and 81 strikeouts.
Miguel Ullola is the team's No. 4 prospect. He has a 2025 ETA and is pitching in Triple-A for now.
Ullola has a 3.62 ERA over 14 starts and 54 2/3 innings. He is 3-2, has a .212 average against him and has struck out 68 batters.
Anderson Brito is ranked fifth right now. He's pitching in High-A as a 20-year-old.
Brito has a 3.28 ERA over 49 1/3 innings so far. He's 0-1, has a .202 average against him and has punched out 65 batters so far.
Ryan Forcucci, Kevin Alvarez, Ethan Pecko, AJ Blubaugh and Luis Baez are the team's No. 6-10 prospects.
