Here is an analysis of the prospects in the Houston Astros farm system. The scout report compiles information provided by industry sources and my own observations. This is the fifth year we divide between two expected relief characters, the abbreviation we see in the “Position” column below: MIRP for multi-set relief pitchers and SIRP for single-set relief pitchers. Listed ETAs are usually associated with years that must be added to the 40-player lineup to avoid being eligible for Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments were made where it looked right, but we took it as experience.
A quick overview of what FV (future value) can be found here. A more in-depth overview can be found here.
All ranking prospects below also appear on the board, and the website provides each organization with a resource for sortable reconnaissance information. It has more detailed information than this article (as well as track and field data from various sources) and integrates a list of each team so readers can compare potential customers across farm systems. Can be found here.
Other prospects to note
Grouped by type and listed in order of preference for each category.
Complex highlights
Ramirez, Germany (SS)
Juan Fraide, RHP
Ramirez is still the original defense, but he released the .168 ISO at the legal bat speed. Fraide signed for just $10,000 in January this year. He has been brought to the U.S. due to his fierce strike in the DSL (13 to 2 K-BB in 15 innings), he has been brought to the U.S. and has a 95-96 mph flash with a striking spin talent.
Relief with currency
Abel Mercedes, RHP
RARIN PEREZ, RHP
RAFAEL GONZALEZ, RHP
Raimy Rodriguez, RHP
Misael Tamarez, RHP
Nolan Devos, RHP
Trey Dombroski, LHP
Brett Gillis, RHP
Mercedes hit 100 mph this year, which will surely cause fear among Carolina League batsmen. However, since he walked 30 and hit seven batsmen in 22.1 IP, this is not the type that fear team coveted. Perez, a side-to-pure reliefist who was pulled out by the Red Sox system during the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft, was uncomfortable with the Righties and allowed only nine home runs in over 250 innings, but the 30th-grade order could represent his peak. Gonzalez is a shorter, physically developed Dominican who flashes the heat of the 90s but has a long arm movement and he lacks the secondary auxiliary cap of the gloves, which is a single-game relief ceiling. Rodriguez’s East-Shaped Sweeper has intermediate relief potential in his attack, but his lower half doesn’t have enough stability and no strike. Tamarez uses horrible arm speeds to run his two assists, with a top speed of 98 mph and is a spring training invitation, but he has too much control to consider doing field work. Devos showed fastball traits to carry loose traits, but he hasn’t pitched since 2023 due to TJ’s recovery. Dombroski could spin it enough to consider getting a 40-man increase in November this year, but his orders weren’t accurate enough to be put into the upper level 89-91 mph. The injury has kept Gillis in 7.2 professional innings since entering the ninth round in 2022, until this year. He returns with an impressive physique and carves the young batsman in High-A, but his sliders look like his most compelling course, and he lacks the feeling of finding it.
Outfielder with juice
Colin Barber (LF)
Pedro Leon (RF)
Yamal Encarnacion, Util
Luis Rives, lf
Kenni Gomez, see
Nehomar Ochoa Jr., RF
Cesar Hernandez, lf
The barber still has added original left-handed pop, his profile lacks a smoking gun because he doesn’t produce more, but he’s gone off the center and hit too many for the second consecutive year. Leon is short for his extreme all-out approach, and the 27-year-old has been largely eliminated on this year’s knee issues. The Encarnacion is a compact (5-foot-7) and compelling bat/sports ability development program that requires Polish and more outfield reps, but he missed most of 2025 due to injuries and is entering the complex again. Rives still has the momentum and construction to get his $900,000 signing in Cuba, but his contact rate in the FCL is below 55%. Gomez is still athletic enough to stay in the midfield, but doesn’t realize his strength potential as he wields everything. Ochoa flashed with interesting power potential in his all-season debut last year, but he was knocked down and was still hitting a ton. Hernandez signed $1.7 million in Cuba last year, but he took on a large late load in his unorthodox swing and moved out of the midfield.
Infield Options
Garret Guillemette, C/1B
Alejandro Nunez, Util
Pascanel Ferreras, Util
Waner Luciano, 3B
Guillemette, a first-15-round draft pick, has made some meaningful progress on the upper track covering the strike zone, and is now a great option to bet on his average raw power. There are enough hot tools here to provide solid offensiveness for the catcher, but the bet he sticks with is even more swinging. Nunez is a full-time job that lacks outstanding tools. Ferreras is a pint-sized treasure waiter with Plus Raw Pop, but he didn’t go due to external halfboard coverage issues and over-chasing. Luciano has the speed and swing of the bat, plus power, but he struggles to track the circuit breaker and hits a lot of popups.
System Overview
Although the 2025 season of Astros proved the idea that no matter who is cycling into their sparse core of playoff veterans, this will be a below-average system, a below-average system because of the lack of future stars. And, as the front desk and the entire operation have changed over the years, they still produce depth in a fairly consistent way.
There is a clear appetite for tool athletes and batting frames when it comes to picks, as they are already very accustomed to choosing behind the first round – when they have a first round pick – bringing a risky interest. Newly known as Brice Matthews has huge tools, and the Astronaut’s bet will overcome the horrible intra-regional rate. Cam Smith – Because the amateur assessment gets aggravated when you swap midstream tays in the franchise in exchange for players in draft year – bet on unique scale and athleticism, overcoming an unorthodox swing to gain power. Even a defensive draft like Walker Janek bets on his bat speed, providing a foundation for the impact attack, which is rarely available behind the plate.
This general appetite extends to international space, where astronauts’ Cuban connections remain strong. If it was discovered that their Latin American Boy Scouts’ guiding mission was the next Yordan Alvarez, it didn’t seem to be different from the results. Luis Baez took a radical double-A mission on a tough month in June, outlining their difficulties from the prospect of a complex league to the Crawford box’s enormous power. But their repeated shots on the goal, I’m pretty optimistic about Kevin Alvarez’s early appearance, which makes sense for a 17-year-old with less than 30 professional games.
What critics have been given in the industry is their decline in conversion rates for international starters, which forms the bones of their last World Series title. Alimber Santa, Miguel Ullola and Anderson Brito all have a monstrous physical condition and look a lot like the pitched version of the club’s tendency to hit hard, but they are the best of a range of international weapons where command flaws make the bullpen the best impact.
But this is not a flaw in Houston’s overall pitching, where the four-seller is still dominating the day, and Astros’ domestic business has proven to be good at finding and improving pitchers from non-elite programs. They didn’t invent the search for starters who were devalued by Tommy John’s surgery, but Ryan Forcucci and Bryce Mayer are all kinds of opportunities for opportunism, which complements the needs of perennial competitors to maintain their run.
Literally there aren’t 50 FV talents here, they still qualify, and I’m skeptical of the popular tools of Matthews and Janek, even if they have defensive abilities, even if they hit the plateau, they have the ability to return value. The cliff was clearly owned by Al West at the Brave-level in the 1990s, and Houston fans were very enjoying it. Yet even if this reality stares into the astronaut’s face, there is still evidence that organizational advantages make this run last longer than any other team can’t dream of engineering.
