Inside the Astros

These Houston Astros Top Prospects Are Expected To Debut Next Season

The Houston Astros have a handful of prospects that could fight for early playing time in 2025.

Dylan Sanders

Hooks batter Jacob Melton fouls off a ball during Education Day at Whataburger Field, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Hooks batter Jacob Melton fouls off a ball during Education Day at Whataburger Field, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Houston Astros are expected to be busy in free agency next season, but there are a couple of top prospects that could also be used to fill holes in the roster.

Three of the top-ten players in the Astros upcoming pipeline are "expected" to make their MLB debuts next season.

Jacob Melton has been a consistent bright spot in the Houston farm system and could finally take the next step into the Majors in 2025.

This past season, Melton posted a .253/.310/.426 slashing line across Double and Triple-A. He hit 15 home runs and stole 30 bases.

It was at a little slower of a pace than he set the campaign before, but he's definitely shown the promise of a 20/20 hitter in the big leagues.

He projects as someone that will start his career as a rotational outfielder and compliments what the Astros already have in the outfield.

Zach Cole is another speedy outfielder, but doesn't have as high of an offensive ceiling.

Cole is currently the No. 6 prospect in the Houston farm system and looks like he'll compete for a center field job in the near future.

The 24-year-old needs his bat to find some consistency, but his plus-glove in the field could help him find some playing time. It's not like the Astros were breaking out sliver sluggers in center this season anyway.

Houston has been good at developing lefty bats and these first two prospects are golden examples of that. They made need to focus on more right-handed batting talent in the near future, though.

Heading over to the mound, A.J. Blubaugh is highest-ranked pitching prospect that the Astros have expected to debut next season.

Blubaugh was a seventh-round draft selection back in 2022 out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The 24-year-old is not an overwhelming flame-thrower, but rather has a solid fastball that is best when working with his slider.

This past season was his best overall campaign, 3.71 ERA and 1.321 WHIP. He could be an innings-eating pitcher if the staff continues to face more injury issues next season.

While none of these players are likely to be immediate upgrades over what they had this past season, they do hold the potential to make up for a more promising rotation of backups than they had this season.

Cole and Melton especially could earn starts over some of the disappointing outfield bats like Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers.

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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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