Houston Astros Breakout Prospect Further Proves Strength of Franchise

The Houston Astros have had a clear strength of their franchise over the past few years and their latest breakout prospect further proves it.

Aug 20, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (not pictured) against the Atlanta Braves in the eleventh inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have done a great job of turning unknown international signings into big league contributors and it looks like there is another one coming down the pipeline.

As the staff at MLB.com came together to find the breakout star of every team's farm system and found Venezuelan pitcher Anderson Brito to be the answer for the Astros.

"Brito may be the next low-cost Houston international signing to turn into a quality big league pitcher," said the writers. "He already has gained about 5 mph on his fastball, which now parks in the mid-90s and touches 99 mph with carry, and his lively low-80s slider acts as a second plus pitch."

Jose Uruquidy and Bryan Abreu were both signed for $100,000 or less. Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Ronel Blanco were all signed for $10,000 or less.

All five of those players have progressed to become very good to elite players at the major league level. Houston has continuously shown the ability to find great potential at a value with international signings.

With his $10,000 contract out of Venezuela, Brito comes next in the long line of successful development stories.

The Astros also signed his 17-year-old brother, Samuel, who plays shortstop. The youngster put up a .240/.325/.289 slashing line over his first 43 career professional games.

As for the pitching Brito brother, he's already progressed to the No. 8 overall player in the farm system in just his first year. He's the second-highest rated pitcher as well.

He's risen to Single-A in his first season in the Houston system thanks to his immediate dominance of rookie ball.

Over his 15 appearances between all levels this season he's posted a 1.51 ERA with a staggering 13.8 K/9.

Unlike most young pitchers that throw heat, he's done well to keep his walk numbers down with just 3.5 BB/9.

He's looked a little bit more troubled since making the leap to Single-A, but there is not much to panic about. He's walking more batters, but still has just a 2.63 ERA thanks to his many strikeouts.

The pitcher has seen mixed appearances both as a starter and out of the bullpen. He rarely exceeds four innings for his outings either way.

One thing that is working against him is his size. He stands at just 5-foot-10, 155 pounds. While there are some pitchers that light that make it into the MLB, they are mostly relievers.

Putting some muscle on could go a long way in his development as a future starter.