Inside the Astros

Houston Astros Farm System Is Best It's Looked 'In Quite Some Time'

The Houston Astros have some intriguing names in their farm system who could grow into future offensive stars.

Dylan Sanders

Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Cam Smith (90) plays his position against the New York Mets during the second inning at Clover Park.
Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Cam Smith (90) plays his position against the New York Mets during the second inning at Clover Park. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The Houston Astros have not been known for their farm system throughout their recent run of dominance, but it is coming into shape now that the need has started to become larger.

MLB Pipeline recently released their first prospect rankings update of the 2025 season, and it was an exciting one for the Astros.

Ben Weinrib was complimentary of Houston's farm system, writing, "The organization has not ranked higher than 27th since MLB Pipeline began ranking farm systems biannually in 2020, but it enters the new campaign with its best crop of positional prospects in quite some time."

The first five prospects in the rankings were exciting slugger Cam Smith, infielder Brice Matthews, outfielder Jacob Melton, catcher Walker Janek and corner infielder/outfielder Zach Dezenzo.

It was an unsurprising group of players, but Matthews at second was a nice jump from the fourth spot last year.

Smith has exceeded even the lofty expectations during spring training with a .571/.727/1.1714 slash line, two home runs, six RBI and four walks in his first 11 plate appearances.

Matthews hasn't had the same success in the spring, but has still looked great in the minors since being draft in the first round back in 2023.

The next five prospects are a bit different with pitcher Miguel Ulloa, pitcher Anderson Brito, pitcher Ryan Forcucci, outfielder Kevin Alvarez and pitcher Ethan Pecko.

This is where the main group of pitching prospects sit for the Astros.

Brito was an international signing back in 2023 who dazzled in his professional debut. The 20-year-old had a 1.51 ERA over 53.2 innings of work last season with a 0.913 WHIP and 13.8 K/9.

At Nos. 11 through 15 are pitcher A.J. Blubaugh, outfielder Luis Baez, outfielder Joseph Sullivan, middle infielder Chase Jaworsky and pitcher Jackson Nezuh.

Nezuh had a solid professional debut after being a 14th-round selection back in 2023. Over 120.1 innings of work, he had a 3.89 ERA with a 1.188 WHIP and 11.3 K/9.

Next up in the rankings are pitcher Colton Gordon, utility man Shay Whitcomb, pitcher Jose Fleury, outfielder Kenni Gomez and pitcher James Hicks.

Whitcomb could have the chance to play at second this year with Jose Altuve moving to left field. He didn't have the best Major League debut last season, but that isn't too worrying given his success at the plate in college, and more recently, at the Triple-A level.

Coming in at Nos. 21 through 25 are pitcher Ryan Gusto, outfielder Pedro Leon, outfielder Nehomar Ochoa Jr., outfielder Zach Cole and pitcher Juan Bello.

Leon is another player who debuted with a slow start during the last campaign, but could get another shot with how thin Houston is in the outfield.

He had a .299/.372/.514 slash line with 24 home runs and 29 stolen bases in Triple-A ball last year.

Closing out the top 30 are pitcher Michael Knorr, pitcher cole Hertzler, pitcher Alex Santos II, catcher Jancel Villarroel and pitcher Bryce Mayer.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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