Houston Astros Farm System Sees Major Shakeup in Latest Prospect Rankings

MLB Pipeline released their new top prospect list and the Houston Astros saw some big changes.

May 26, 2023; Mesa, AZ, USA; Sam Houston Bearkats' Walker Janek (3) celebrates his 3-run home run against the GCU Lobos during their WAC Tournament game at Hohokam Stadium. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Houston Astros have been one of the most dominant teams in the league for the past seven years, mostly due to the homegrown players who have blossomed. When that happens, though, it's hard for a system to not take a hit, which is what has happened in Houston. When a system isn't super strong, changes can happen quickly. The new MLB Pipeline update showed that.

One thing has stayed the same, though, and that is Jacob Melton staying at the top of the list. Melton, now in Triple-A, is a power hitting outfielder who should be up in Houston soon.

Number two, though, is a big change. In the preseason, that honor belonged to Luis Baez. The 20-year-old has spent the season at High-A, while hitting 20 homers with a .779 OPS, but slipped to number four on the list.

The new number two is one of the newer Houston Astros, their first round pick Walker Janek. Janek was widely considered the best catcher in the draft, and the Astros nabbed him at the end of the first round.

A plus defender, Janek may not wind up being the best offensive catcher in the league, but he can hold his own. So far, through six professional games, he is 5-for-21 with a double and two RBIs.

His fellow draftee, Ryan Forcucci, also cracked the new list. The 21-year-old slots in at 12, the sixth best pitcher in the system. He has yet to pitch, but what he provides is a plus fastball and above average slider while being a great strike thrower.

In his college career, Forcucci walked just 2.9 batters per nine compared to a 10.6 strikeouts per nine number.

Aside from the new additions, the biggest riser was infielder Chase Jaworsky. He began the season at 29, but in the update jumped all the way to 13. While the 20-year-old may not have a future at shortstop, he is a plus runner who has stolen 28 bases this season. He doesn't hit for a lot of power in terms of home runs, but has 20 doubles so far this season.

The biggest faller in the system was Waner Luciano, who fell 11 spots from his preseason rank. Luciano is just 19 and only at Single-A, but he has struggled mightily this year. Those who were high on him liked the power potential he showed last year, hitting 10 home runs and eight doubles in just 45 games.

He went on the developmental list in June, but has slashed just .187/.299/.270 in 72 games this season.

Although they added talent in the draft, they also lost players such as Will Wagner and Joey Loperfido from the system over the trade deadline. There's no doubt they have work to do, but the system is improving and seeing jumps from players consistently.