Latest / Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast / Episode 77 feat. Kenny Van Doren - State of the Astros Farm System and Organizaiton

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Episode 77 feat. Kenny Van Doren - State of the Astros Farm System and Organizaiton · Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast

0:25
Music Welcome to another edition of the Sports Ave. to podcast.
0:28
We have a returning guest in here and he's one of our
0:31
favorites here and this is his third time being here and he's
0:34
been one of The Pioneers as a guest being on our episode and
0:39
he he works for Astros future. He does a great job of covering
0:44
the Astros prospects and the organization as a whole.
0:47
Kenny Van Doren, welcome back. It's an honor to have you back.
0:51
It's been a tradition. You know, being here on a yearly
0:54
basis is awesome for you to come back, so welcome.
0:58
Yeah, Rocky, Rob, good to be back.
1:02
You said before we got on here, Rocky, it's been a year, man.
1:05
If it, it does feel like a year. I think we always kind of aim
1:08
for April. But man, third time too, that's
1:10
kind of nuts to me. I remember you guys first
1:12
reached out. It was probably a year and a
1:13
half two years ago. So good to be back on with you
1:16
guys. Yeah, we're excited to have you
1:18
on again, man. You know, third time's a charm,
1:21
so hopefully this is the best 1 yet, right?
1:23
So we appreciate having you on, man.
1:28
Thank you. And so much to discuss with the
1:32
Astros as an organization because so much has happened
1:34
within this last year and we could get this thing started
1:37
here. So let me ask you this question
1:40
here. And this has to do with the with
1:42
the way the organization's built.
1:44
Like we know in the past that the Astros are always known for
1:48
pitching. They've developed pitching, They
1:51
found pitching. They, they, they became guys who
1:54
became all sort of like Franber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Christian
1:57
Javier, so on. And so far Hunter Brown, right?
2:01
And you look at it now like now that I mean, it's you look at
2:06
this whole thing now with the Astros, like what is the
2:09
strength now? Because you if you look at it
2:11
now, it seems like it's a little bit more of a ballast compared
2:14
to the previous years where pitching what was the strength
2:17
of his organization? Yeah, I think you're falling
2:21
into this category where yes, you know, the Astros are still
2:24
finding these bargain pitchers is a good one.
2:26
We'll talk about, you know, a little bit later to Rocky is a
2:29
bargain pitcher who the Astros traded this past offseason.
2:32
But I think right now, it's a little bit of like this
2:34
left-handed hitting outfielder phase that the Astros are in,
2:37
even like the two of the top prospects can play a little bit
2:41
of the outfield more. So Kevin Alvarez is going to be
2:44
an outfielder and Xavier Naens, who's going to play on the left
2:46
side of that infield for as long as he can.
2:48
But he's a guy that could stretch to right field, too,
2:50
just with how good his arm is and how good of a power baddie
2:54
is that he can play out there. So I think right now you're
2:56
looking at, you know, a lot of younger guys that are
2:57
left-handed hitting that could, you know, move up the system
2:59
pretty quickly. Of course, the Astros will
3:02
always have these college arms like Bryce Mayer, Ethan Pekko,
3:06
that'll move up the system pretty quickly.
3:07
They'll they'll find them in, you know, the 16th round or the
3:10
fifth round out of a small College in Maryland to in the
3:14
case of Ethan Pecker, or even in the SEC for a guy like Bryce
3:17
Mayer, who didn't have the best just overall numbers in the SEC
3:21
with with Mizzou. But the underlining data is
3:24
something they really liked for two years and we just worked
3:28
out. So I think right now you're
3:29
looking at a lot of college arms that are can move pretty quickly
3:32
in the system and some good left-handed hitting players as
3:35
well positioned players primarily in the outfield.
3:40
You mentioned some of those guys like Kevin over as the
3:43
outfielder and Xavier Nayans and looking at pipeline, they got
3:47
them one and two. And looking at your list, you
3:52
have Nayans, I believe one. And if I'm not mistaken, you
3:58
have Alvarez at 3 and Ethan, I think Ethan Freya too.
4:03
So, so talk a little bit about what you see in those players
4:07
and some of the top prospects in the system.
4:10
Yeah, Kevin Alvarez even joined the the MLB Pipeline top 100
4:15
recently with a recent graduation since the start of
4:19
the the MLB season. And I think those three were
4:21
kind of interchangeable coming into the year.
4:23
And it was a kind of a combination of Kevin Alvarez
4:25
hasn't played above the DSL, you can't put too much stock and
4:29
rookie ball. I'm on the island and you can
4:32
start to find a little bit more about what these players are
4:34
like once they get against a little bit more competitive
4:37
pitching, especially in single A, and you're not even putting
4:39
too much stock in the Florida Complex league.
4:41
And the one bit thing I always talk about Kevin Alvarez, is
4:44
that you don't want to rush them.
4:45
The Astros haven't had much success at all with produce,
4:49
with developing position players from the Latin American
4:52
countries. The Astros used to like.
4:55
I wouldn't say the Astros promoted it, but a lot of the
4:56
people that were evaluating and in writing about this, this
4:59
organization would promote how many Cuban players were in the
5:02
system. You get the success of Yuli
5:04
Guriel, the success of Jordan Alvarez, of course, who's having
5:07
a monster season in 2026. And really they weren't
5:11
producing anyone else. They they lost out on a lot of
5:13
guys like Pedro Leone was supposed to be this next big
5:15
thing and they rushed him in the wrong direction and that just
5:18
didn't work out. And so the biggest thing I
5:20
thought about with Kevin Alvarez for a while was, you know, if
5:22
you're going to put him in single A, you can't, you know,
5:24
push him too hard. But he's he's, you know, you
5:28
know, battled the test a little bit.
5:29
He's he's numbers are dropping, though.
5:31
Right now he's batting 240 in 11 games.
5:34
That OPS is under 600 at 569 and 50 at bats.
5:39
He has 10 strikeouts to to two rocks and only has three extra
5:42
base hits in that in that stretch so far and recording
5:45
here on a Monday. So we'll see how he responds
5:47
this next week. But you know, hasn't been the
5:49
the best go for him yet and you can't put too much of your
5:53
overall analysis and in such a small sample size.
5:56
But you know, that hasn't been the best start for him and the
5:58
two other guys that are in single A like you mentioned, Rob
6:01
at the top of the system, Xavier Naens, who was your first
6:03
rounder in 2025. We know about the power.
6:06
It's the best tool He can put up XA velocities over 110 with that
6:10
65 grade. Yeah, we saw that in his first
6:14
kind of go, first two weeks in pro ball.
6:16
He didn't play last year after being drafted.
6:18
He had two homers. OPS is is, you know, pushing up
6:22
right now. I think the rocks are strikeouts
6:24
is definitely a good sign. He does have 20 KS and 12 games,
6:27
but having eleven walks in response to that is also good.
6:30
I think him and Kevin Alvarez will kind of settle in as well
6:33
as they get used to it. Both 19 and 18 respectively.
6:36
With with Ethan Frye, it's a little bit different.
6:39
He's through 12 games so far. He has 10 knocks, 2 for extra
6:42
bases. He still hasn't stroked the
6:43
Homer this year. He had three last year in a very
6:46
small sample size, 26 games after being drafted.
6:49
He was someone that I thought could be at the top of the
6:50
system by the end of the year. I do like the 15 KS and nine
6:54
walks. I think that's a good ratio for
6:56
him to start, but it's really tapping into this power.
6:58
He definitely improved in his second week in single or sorry
7:01
high A this year. He's not in single A anymore at
7:03
high A this year and he's in if it area hitter friendly league,
7:06
even though he's a righty the South Atlantic League.
7:09
It's just a matter of him turning it around because he's a
7:11
very advanced hitter coming in from LSU.
7:14
So let me ask you this here because you look at the
7:16
philosophies, what the tracker track record was throughout the
7:20
years, right? You look at when when Luna was
7:25
here and James click and now you have Dana bro.
7:28
You think Dana's philosophy is like, OK, you want to go
7:31
left-handed power oriented? Or do you think it's like, OK,
7:35
you want to go with best player available?
7:36
And then you go and just work your way through and develop and
7:39
see where everything goes when you draft the players.
7:43
It's a good question, and it's one that's been brought up
7:45
recently. I was on another podcast this
7:47
past week talking about it. And picking at the end of the
7:49
first round is never easy. That's when you start to get a
7:52
little bit of the crapshoot. You're going to take the best
7:53
player available. I know some people weren't, you
7:56
know, high on Bryce Matthews when he was taken out of
7:58
Nebraska, some holes in his swing.
8:00
And he's in the big leagues right now, providing depth at
8:03
multiple positions in response to injury.
8:05
And he made that team out of camp as well.
8:07
Just a matter of him, you know, cleaning up some things
8:09
offensively and staying consistent there.
8:12
But I think the the biggest thing for him was, you know,
8:14
you're going to take the best available college bat for a
8:16
while. He lost draft picks after the
8:19
science healing scandal. And then once James Click got
8:22
his opportunity to take some first rounders, you know, you
8:24
get some guys that are in the big leagues are nipping at the
8:26
big leagues still right now at the top of or was at the top of
8:30
the system for the Astros and the Mens and Drew Gilbert, who's
8:33
now with the Giants and then someone we'll talk about in a
8:36
little bit and Jacob Melton. But you know, the Astros have
8:38
still lost draft picks from signing players with qualifying
8:43
offers. So they they've come in, you
8:45
know, across certain, you know, different things and they've
8:47
done risks. They've they've drafted Ryan for
8:49
Coochie back in 2023 when he was coming off Tommy John surgery,
8:53
and that was his 2024. He was the second overall pick
8:58
for the Astros that year as a third rounder because they lost
9:00
their second round pick. So really it's just been the
9:02
best player available. But this past summer is when we
9:05
really got to see it. And that's where you kind of tap
9:07
into the the lefty power that the Astros can play with and a
9:10
guy that's a very athletic and Xavier Naens and drafted a high
9:13
schooler in years in the first round.
9:15
I think he'd go back. I guess there that you go back
9:19
and Tyler Whitaker would have been the the first, the last
9:22
top, the last top high schooler the Astros took.
9:27
But that was in 2021 when they didn't have a first or second
9:30
rounder, but they took him there that year.
9:32
But it's been a while since the Astros took a high school in the
9:36
first round. And Xavier Nans with someone
9:39
that really caught their eye. And yeah, there's going to be
9:41
some holes in the swing, but I think they are definitely
9:43
leaning into like a lot of this lefty power and very athletic
9:46
and toolsy corner infielders as well.
9:50
So let's talk about the pitching prospects in the system and we
9:52
know the track record that Astros has done historically
9:55
over these past few years. And let's talk about some of the
10:00
other prospects that's in the system.
10:02
Like we talked about you, Lola and Ethan Pecker, but we'll get
10:06
to that later. But I want to talk a little bit
10:08
deeper down like the Bryce Mayers and the rhyme for
10:11
Coochies and the James Hicks and Jackson Mizzou.
10:14
It's like where are those guys standing?
10:16
If there's any other prospects that that should be mentioned
10:19
like a Cole Hertz or you could mention about those guys as
10:21
well? Yeah, I think this is a perfect
10:24
one. We could do like a, you know, a
10:26
trio of guys and then we can put them in different categories to
10:28
Rocky. I think one at the top we can go
10:31
with Bryce Mayer. He was the Astros minor league
10:33
pitcher of the year last year, followed right behind Ethan
10:36
Pekko. Very similar trajectories.
10:38
We can even compare the numbers if you look at his 2025 season
10:42
for Bryce Mayer. 411 ERA, 87 2/3 innings, 3 levels, 112 case of
10:47
27 walks, batting average against 227 WHIP, 11.17.
10:53
Look at Ethan Pekko Astros minor league pitch of the year in
10:55
20243470 RA across 3 levels, 96 frames, 125 strikeouts of 37
11:02
walks. I mean these guys just have very
11:03
similar similar rises in the Astro system.
11:07
And Ethan Pekko got nipped by the injury bug last year at
11:10
certain stretches and didn't have as many innings in his
11:13
second full second full year and 80 total innings back in 2025.
11:20
But with Bryce Mayer, he camped out at 87 and 2/3 primarily due
11:24
to that was the most innings he'd ever pitched, you know, in
11:26
his career. Even going back to college, high
11:28
school, you know, circuit, you know, baseball as well in the
11:32
summer. He had never done that before.
11:34
And it was just kind of shutting him down, Let him, you know,
11:37
finish out a pretty Goodyear in AA or getting to AA and call it
11:42
from there and just kind of move, move forward with letting
11:44
him remain healthy. So Bryce Mayer is a guy who
11:47
didn't have the best start in his first outing this year back
11:51
on April 8th. He gave up three runs, didn't
11:53
get out of the second inning, second time around 4 innings
11:56
pitch in a start, two hits, two walks, 7 KS.
11:58
I mean, that's just a response you want to see spoken to Bryce
12:01
twice this past offseason. And the change up is a thing
12:04
they're going to continue to work on.
12:07
When he was at Mizzou, he dropped down his his arsenal
12:09
with three pitches. Now he's back up to five.
12:12
So the Astros really like him. They're dropping into another
12:16
category of someone who's just, I would say it's still an
12:18
extended rehab for this pitcher and this Ryan Fercuchi mentioned
12:23
him earlier, third round pick at AUC San Diego back in 2024.
12:28
He can make his professional debut until his past week on
12:31
April 10th. So 10 days ago.
12:33
He puts just the first inning of a start.
12:35
He walked three batters, but he got out of the inning and
12:37
escaped. He had two strikeouts and that
12:39
was it for him. He didn't get out of the first
12:41
inning. His second start here on April
12:43
18th, 2 days ago, gave up one hit, one walk or, or he hit a
12:47
bat or two walks. I mean, it just hasn't been the
12:50
best command for him so far. He gave up two runs and only one
12:53
K. So it's just going to be kind of
12:55
a a, you know, just kind of smoothing out the bumps for Ryan
12:59
Ferkucci as he comes back from Tommy John surgery.
13:01
And we'll have like a better sense of, you know what, what he
13:04
kind of looks like 'cause he's still a top 10 prospect in the
13:07
system. It's just a matter of getting a
13:09
bigger sample size and seeing what that looks like for a guy
13:11
that has an ETA tag of 2028. And this next one, you know, I
13:16
do like to you guys, you know, you mentioned James or Jackson
13:18
Nezu, James Hicks, Alonzo Treadwell.
13:20
I think those guys or this kind of trio of back end starter
13:24
options for the Astros in this in the future.
13:26
I'll point out one quick thing on James Hicks.
13:28
He has five just, I would say slightly above average pitches.
13:32
He doesn't have this one pitch. It's going to take you away, but
13:35
I just feels like he's a perfect five starter, 4 starter and
13:37
rotation. And for a team like the Astros
13:40
and need pitching depth, especially at the top of the
13:42
system, he's going to be a guy to keep your eye on the next
13:44
year or two. Last picture I'll point out, and
13:48
this is just going to be my Bryce Mayor of this season,
13:50
that's Cole Hertzler. I asked Bryce Mayor because he's
13:53
close with Ethan Pekko. He worked well with him, you
13:55
know, kind of picking his brain on how to approach last year.
13:58
I asked him, you know, give me a picture that, you know, you
14:00
would choose to kind of follow that same footsteps.
14:03
And he said, don't sleep on Cole Hertzler.
14:05
Cole Hertzler only appeared in six games before this year.
14:08
Go back. He was picked in the fifth round
14:10
of 2024, but it wasn't going to pitch too much in 20 in that
14:14
year in his draft year, but a single a last year he came came
14:17
up late after an injury. 4 inning or 4 outings, 16 total
14:22
innings, pitch 22 KS. He's at high A this year. 2.13
14:25
RA through 12 and 2 thirds, 17 KS and seven walks.
14:28
So if you're looking for a guy that's going to probably be in
14:30
Corpus Christi this summer at AA, Cole Hertzler is going to be
14:33
a guy that it's in that camp of someone that could be fine for
14:36
the Astros. Mindless pitch of the year.
14:39
Pam Smith was drafted 14th overall by the the Chicago Cubs
14:43
and you guys get him over in a in the Kyle Tucker trade.
14:47
And is, is an extension coming for him.
14:51
And do you think it's something that that the team's looking at?
14:55
You look at him and he's been pretty consistent in his first,
14:58
you know, season and a little bit here.
15:02
So what's his what's been his trajectory?
15:04
What are his strengths and his weaknesses when you're looking
15:07
at, you know, offering him an extension?
15:10
And do you think it's something that they'll get done?
15:12
Because I've seen some people be skeptical that that that an
15:15
extension would be coming with them.
15:17
So what are your thoughts on that?
15:19
Yeah, Rob, I think the the hourglass doesn't have much sand
15:22
left in it. I think that's kind of like the
15:23
best way to put it is the more you wait on it, the lesser of a
15:26
chance that it's going to happen.
15:27
You know, we're in this era right now where a lot of these
15:30
young budding stars are getting extended.
15:32
And, you know, he didn't get it in his rookie year.
15:34
He didn't play ever at AAA. And even when you go back to
15:37
last season, I remember talking to someone and they pointed out
15:40
that, you know, he just looked like he got tired at the end of
15:43
the year. He finished the year batting
15:45
236670OPS. He had 21 double, S33 triples, 9
15:50
homers in that in that year, 134 games for the Astros.
15:53
He also struck out 137 times, which I mean, isn't it a
15:56
terrible kind of comparison with games per strikeout?
15:59
But yeah, it just looked like he kind of got worn out by the end
16:03
of the year. But his WAR is, I mean, I think
16:04
it's around 1.2. I, I checked it before today's
16:07
game before the Guardians. And, you know, defensively he's
16:09
been very good. He was a guy that played corner
16:13
infield at Florida State and has that arm to play in right field.
16:17
We talked about guys that have power and can play and can move
16:20
from third base to right field. He was a guy that that fit that
16:22
mold for what the Astros were looking for.
16:25
You know, so far this year, you know, it's been it's been a fine
16:28
season for him. Through 24 games, his OPS is
16:31
above average still. He's batting 243 homers so far,
16:36
5 double s. You know, I think the trajectory
16:38
is you're seeing a guy that you know, could be at that All Star
16:40
level in the coming years, someone who could be pretty
16:43
consistent for the Astros. But I just don't know if that
16:47
that extension is coming. The more you see kind of the
16:49
reports from Chandler Rome, from The Athletic, who's been all
16:52
over it, you know, it's just a kind of wait and see at this
16:56
point. When you look at the other
17:01
depth, guys who are pretty much in the majors and if not,
17:04
they're probably in the minors and they had a cup of coffee.
17:06
Like you look at Bryce Matthews, you know, I think that was Dana
17:10
Brown's first, first true player that he wanted.
17:14
He got he and he's been sticking by with them and he made it to
17:18
the roster. Zach Cole had a cup of coffee
17:20
last year, but unfortunately he had that toe injury during the
17:24
season. He got Shay Whitcomb, he just
17:26
got called up and Zach, Zach Disenzo, who played for Team
17:29
Italy. But he was, I believe, hurt, I
17:31
believe. But talk about those guys.
17:33
Where does those guys fit in this organization?
17:37
Yeah, I I think if you kind of rank them, I would say important
17:40
in by importance, but by the the opportunities that the Astros
17:44
want for them. And I'll put in one quick thing
17:46
because you did ask why, Robin, to totally slip my mind.
17:49
One weakness that I've seen from Cam Smith, this goes back to his
17:52
time as Florida State is that he was a kind of hits issues with
17:55
ground balls, not not fielding them, but hitting them too, too
17:57
often. And I think that's been cleaned
17:59
up a little bit if you go through the data.
18:01
I mean, there might be a little bit more, but that's something
18:03
that he's definitely kind of overcome and trying to keep the
18:05
ball in the air a little bit. Looking at some of those depths
18:08
guys, though, behind, you know, players like Cam Smith and you
18:12
know, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, ones that are vying for
18:15
innings as innings and starts as well.
18:18
If you kind of put them in terms of importance, probably in the
18:21
system, you go Bryce Matthew, Zach Cole when he's healthy and
18:26
then say Zach Disenzo and then Shay Whitcomb.
18:28
And that's not that's no slight on Shay.
18:30
And he played in the WBC 2 as well, Rocky with with South
18:33
Korea. So I mean, these guys have been
18:36
at this level, they've played this kind of talents.
18:38
The one issue that's been, you know, tough for Zach is that
18:41
Zach Disenzo that is, is that he's just been kind of
18:43
continuously nipped by the injury bug.
18:45
Like last year, did not play much down the stretch.
18:48
And I don't know if that really hurt the Astros as much, but it
18:51
was a team that was struggling at first base with Christian
18:53
Walker not living up to the expectations offensively and
18:57
probably would have been a perfect opportunity for him to
18:59
pounce on at bats for the Astros.
19:02
But he's the guy that's coming back right now.
19:04
He's rehabbing at AA with Corpus Christi.
19:07
And you know, once he comes back, that's that's even more
19:09
power if the Astros can bring in if they want to sit Christian
19:12
Walker for a day, if they want to move around the DH spot as
19:15
well as Zenzo fits that. He can also play in left field
19:19
for the Astros as well. I was kind of sucks for Cole.
19:23
It was between him most likely and Bryce Matthews for the last
19:26
roster spot and him going down and kind of things looks like an
19:30
indefinite thing. We don't really have an outlook
19:32
on it. That probably sucks for him.
19:35
But for Shay it's it's a little bit different for Shay Whitcomb.
19:40
He's been a guy that's just kind of keeps getting pushed down on
19:42
the depth spot and he's back up in the majors now.
19:44
He had a nice Homer the other day.
19:46
But yeah, I think he would be a guy that probably would better
19:48
from an opportunity elsewhere, I think as well.
19:51
I, I don't know, I think some fans had high expectations for
19:54
him to be a starter. I think he's a very fine utility
19:57
player. I think he fits well with
19:59
playing wherever you need him across the infield.
20:00
He's been playing a lot more outfield the last two years.
20:04
So I I think with Shay, you know, maybe in the near future,
20:06
he does get a look somewhere else.
20:08
But you know, with the Astros having so many injuries, it
20:11
doesn't hurt to keep him around with how much versatility he
20:13
brings. In the offseason, you guys made
20:18
a trade with a three team trade with the Rays and the Pirates
20:22
where you receive Mike Burrows from the Pirates and you shipped
20:27
off outfield prospect Jacob Melton and pitcher Anderson
20:31
Burrito to Tampa Bay. They send Brandon Lau, Jake
20:35
Mangum and Mace Montgomery to the Pirates.
20:38
And I always think doing deals with the raises like doing deals
20:41
with the devil. But you know, that's that's
20:45
that's just, you know what I see.
20:46
But looking back on on like, what were your first impressions
20:52
when that deal went down? And looking back on it now to
20:56
today, what have you seen from Mike Burroughs that that you
21:00
can, you know, like how do you feel about that trade looking
21:03
back at what you have now? Even when it happened and I felt
21:08
like it was kind of bound to happen for for a guy like Jacob
21:12
Melton, it just wasn't working out with the Astros.
21:15
The power was gone. The swing looked a little bit
21:18
different. He was a guy that just probably
21:20
needed to to play somewhere else.
21:22
And, you know, the defensively wise, speed wise, those tools
21:25
are above average. They look great.
21:27
I know he got a lot of rave reviews this spring too, just
21:30
offensively. And, you know, I know that the
21:32
scouts swell on the in the Pacific Northwest and on the
21:35
West Coast for the Astros and they could tell, you know,
21:38
things just weren't the same. And, you know, he's been, I
21:41
would say, comfortable, you know, being injured because I
21:44
don't think anyone is. But he just had, you know, so
21:46
many different things that popped up that just kind of kept
21:49
them out. And, you know, I guess there's
21:51
the Astros don't push, you know, for anyone to play through those
21:54
injuries either. So there was just a lot of
21:56
different parts that played, you know, played into that and him
21:58
probably needing a fresh start with Anderson Brito, you know,
22:04
would I have liked to keep watching him in the Astro
22:06
system? Yes, especially if he was in
22:08
Asheville this year. There are cameras now in
22:10
Asheville. There's going to be TV for the
22:11
first time ever. So that would have been fun.
22:14
But man, I mean, he's a guy that signed for what, $7000 as like a
22:19
20 or 19 year old out of the Dominican Republic.
22:22
I mean, if you can get it a Major League pitcher from that,
22:25
that's a pretty good move, even if he is in your top 10
22:28
prospects. The Astros have always pushed
22:30
those guys up to the major leagues.
22:32
Rocky named them earlier, Luis Garcia, Framper Valdez,
22:35
Christian Javier, go back even, you know, a couple years
22:38
earlier, Jose Architi as well. They've they, you know, found
22:41
starters. You bargain starters.
22:42
But he can trade for someone with control in his contract and
22:46
he's only 26. I mean, that kind of fit, you
22:49
know, that the Astros could get Mike Burrows.
22:50
He had a good start against the Cardinals and then just
22:53
collapsed in the 5th or the 6th inning in the 5th inning this
22:58
past Sunday. And he had 7 strikeouts through
23:02
that stretch. But I mean, it's still been very
23:03
up and down. He's the the most or the least
23:06
amount of runs he's given up so far this year was on April 1st
23:09
with two. But I still think it's a work in
23:11
progress for Mike Burrows. And it's not a good time to be
23:14
kind of, you know, trying to trying to iron out that stuff,
23:18
especially when your top three starters are on the shelf.
23:21
Well, another name to mention is Ramel Blanco.
23:23
He's he's also recovering from Tommy John too, right?
23:26
And he was signed for what, $5000 I believe?
23:30
Yeah, it just kind of falls into that and I wish I you had
23:33
memorized all those numbers at some point in that 25 or less.
23:38
Right. Yeah.
23:39
I mean a lot to do with Luna too, right?
23:41
I mean, he did a great job of building that farm for many
23:44
years. But let's mention two prospects,
23:47
pitching prospects specifically who are closer to the majors but
23:51
once right now in a rehab assignment and one is right now
23:54
in AAA for the Space Cowboys is Miguel Ulola and Ethan Pekko.
23:58
Ethan Pekko was off to a great start.
24:00
And and did you think that either one had an opportunity if
24:05
there was a chance? Like how would you compare both
24:07
of them? Because Ulola is a strikeout
24:09
guy, but he do tend to walk from time to time.
24:11
Like how do you compare those two And who do you think is a
24:14
lot closer to be MLB ready? It's a tough question.
24:19
I don't think there's much comparable between the two.
24:22
Like you mentioned Ethan Petco, or I'll start with Miguel Ewola,
24:26
this Fireball pitcher. The kind of joke about Miguel
24:30
Uola is that, oh, wow. You know, he threw 6 scoreless
24:33
innings and he had, you know, 7 or 8 strikeouts.
24:35
Oh, my God, he walked five batters.
24:37
Yeah. That's just kind of plays into
24:39
it where he's had like these incredible outings.
24:41
But there is just like this one, you know, stain just on it.
24:44
And it has been the command and the control.
24:46
It just hasn't lived up to it. I mean, I wouldn't say it lived
24:48
up to anything, but it just hasn't, you know, been something
24:51
that he's improved. Even if you go and look at the
24:53
the grades unable to be pipeline right now.
24:55
Jim Callas gave him a 20 or 35 grade control.
24:58
That's low average and that's a guy that's ranked 11th in the
25:01
system by MLB Pipeline. I will point out he has thrown,
25:05
he started four games this year. One of those recent outings, I
25:09
think it was his most recent one, he didn't finish.
25:14
He looked like he rolled up his ankle.
25:16
The Astros announced that he hasn't been placed on the
25:17
injured list. So possibly something that that,
25:20
you know, he he won't be on the shelf for, but something that
25:23
has, you know, kept him out this past week or a couple or the
25:28
past couple days. And if you look at him too,
25:30
75,000, I mean, that's, you know, still on the cheaper end
25:34
of guys that were signed out of the Dominican Republic in the
25:36
2021 class as an 18 year old. So yeah, it's it's a fireball
25:40
kind of pitcher for him. None of these other pitches are
25:42
really like jumping off the page at you.
25:44
But he does have a nice cutter and a nice slider to tunnel off
25:46
that and pair with that 65 grade fastball as well.
25:50
With Ethan Pekko, you know, even though he's, you know, down down
25:55
the in single a rehabbing right now, coming back after not
25:59
getting not getting off to the right footing and spring
26:01
training, I would say, you know, might be a little bit closer.
26:04
I think he's a more complete pitcher for the opportunity to
26:07
to be a starter. You know probably down the road
26:09
Miguel Uola will thrive as a reliever, but you know you'll
26:13
keep him as a starter as long as you can even though he's on the
26:15
40 man roster. There's a lot of spots that the
26:17
Astros could open up. There's a lot of fringe players
26:19
they've already DFAJP France again.
26:22
You know if they can get a reliever off the board, put
26:24
Ethan pecker on if they really need him if injuries keep piling
26:28
up, I would not be surprised. I think he's had a good, good
26:31
start so far in his rehab, three starts, 8 innings combined, 15
26:36
strikeouts, no walks to in that time.
26:39
And I know he's facing single a talent, but all around, you
26:43
know, you got to be happy with how Ethan Pekka was treating
26:45
that rehab. One of my favorite players in
26:50
your system and I love talking about him when we have you on
26:53
because the last time we talked about him when you were here
26:56
too, was Walker Yannick. And he looks like the catcher of
26:59
the future. If you invest a first round
27:01
pick. And I'm at a Sam Houston State
27:03
and you know, how is he developed in your system?
27:07
Because we know the defense is there and it's and it's it's,
27:11
it's MLB ready. So just how's he looked heading
27:16
so far? What do you figures ETA is?
27:20
Yeah, it's hasn't been the the best start for him this year.
27:24
He's in Corpus Christi AA for the first time.
27:27
Through those first eleven games, he is hitting below the
27:30
Mendoza Line 452 OPS. He has two extra base hits in
27:34
that time, but he is striking out 17 times in 11 games.
27:39
You know, I I thought in my mind it was like the floor would be
27:41
Corey Lee. If you guys know he is he's, you
27:44
know, with the White Sox now former 2019 first rounder for
27:47
the Astros. Yeah, I mean, that's, you know,
27:49
we're kind of fell for me is that, you know, he could be this
27:52
better defender than Corey Lee. That was Corey Lee's calling
27:54
card and he could add a little bit more power 'cause he had
27:57
these really great exit velocities in the Arizona Fall
28:00
League and he's a seventy grade arm.
28:01
I mean, Walker Yannick, that's that's what that's what he's
28:03
known for is that, you know, he can throw people out and adding
28:07
in a little bit of offense was going to be great.
28:09
And they're just off to a rough start so far in Corpus Christi.
28:12
But that's a make or break. Texas League there.
28:15
That's that's where you find your hitters and you know,
28:17
that's just something that you know he'll have to iron out if
28:20
he wants to continue to be, you know, a catcher that can bring
28:23
it at the plate and also behind it.
28:27
Now let's try, let's talk deeper into the catching prospects in
28:31
the system. And we keep up.
28:33
We keep talking about gentle valor all it seems like he's
28:36
been in the system forever and ever, even though he was he was
28:39
signed in 2022 and he's relatively young.
28:42
But the other guy that I want to talk about is Jason Mitchell.
28:45
He was a seventh round pick in last year's draft.
28:48
And Will Bush, he's actually put up some interesting numbers
28:52
there. He was a 16th round pick in 2023
28:55
and he's a he's a little bit of a Husky.
28:57
He's about 6-4. Like talk about some of these
28:59
guys and talk about like what's their upside for for these
29:03
catcher prospects? Yeah, we'll point out, I don't
29:07
know if you guys saw, but Yonce Villarreal was traded this past
29:12
offseason for Kai Wei Tang, he's been a pretty good reliever for
29:15
the Astros. He's traded San Francisco.
29:17
So yeah, that was a little bit of AI.
29:19
Wouldn't say a head scratch or anything, but I was like, oh,
29:21
just, you know, I guess you know, Rocky and I can't talk
29:24
about him this time because he's like, you're in the system.
29:26
But yeah, but we'll start with, we'll start with Jason Matthews.
29:31
Yeah, seventh round pick for the Astros.
29:32
He's still in rookie balls. He hasn't debuted at all. 19
29:36
brings, you know, nice power. I would say, you know, a little
29:38
bit above average from the left side.
29:41
And that plays into like some of those young lefty hitters that
29:43
the Astros have coming up the pipe.
29:45
And I'm sure we'll see him in single A by sometime this
29:48
summer. But he was a a really good
29:50
player and the Astros don't really have much success in
29:53
Delaware, but that's where that's where he was, you know,
29:54
shining. He was a Gatorade Delaware High
29:56
School player of the year, you know, one of a bunch of other
29:59
awards, state championship, you know, his high school also
30:03
produce Zach Geloff, you know, another position player.
30:07
And so there's been some great success there.
30:11
I think all around it. It's just I don't have too much
30:13
to say right now in Jayce Mitchell because all the stuff I
30:15
would have seen or have talked about or even like watch so far
30:19
as from the MLB draft combine. So other than just watching
30:22
clips from that, I don't have too much to say on him.
30:24
But he has 6 foot, 6 foot three. I mean, physical specimen as a
30:27
high schooler, 205 lbs. You know, he has some plus raw
30:30
power that you can tap into and even improve.
30:33
So we'll see how that kind of left-handed stroke looks once he
30:37
gets to Fayetteville soon with Will Brush.
30:40
And you can't see me right now, but I am smiling.
30:42
I do love Will Bush. I think he's a lot of fun.
30:46
You know, I don't think he's ranked.
30:48
Yeah, he is ranked yet. He's 18 right now and he'll be
30:51
pipeline. But I think the fun thing about
30:53
Will Bush is that he was in Astro's Major League camp this
30:57
year and I had no expectations of him making out of it, making
31:00
it out. But I thought that was a great
31:01
opportunity for him. There were guys in there that
31:03
like, you know, been around the block and Gyner Diaz in the
31:06
system and they brought Vasquez back as his backup.
31:11
And even other guys that have, you know, didn't earn
31:13
opportunities at major leagues like Cesar Salazar.
31:16
It was just good seasoning for him.
31:18
You know, he brings, you know, a little bit above average power
31:20
from the left side. He's not a very good runner like
31:23
you mentioned, a little bit on the bigger side of 61235, but
31:27
he's nimble over at first base. And I think that's where you
31:29
don't kind of, I think he's a backup catcher of the future.
31:33
I think he's a guy that can play first base when someone needs a
31:35
day off and you know, he can you can stretch it over there.
31:38
There's a lot of good videos and photos I think on the the Astros
31:42
future Twitter account as well that you know, he's he's had
31:44
some good some good plays over there.
31:46
And one good thing I always point out about Will Bush is
31:49
that you if you do, if you do character as well, I think he
31:51
gets eighty grade. I think he's a good guy in the
31:53
system. I think he's very well liked and
31:55
that's exactly what you want and and a catcher.
31:59
Looking in your system, who are some relievers that you feel
32:01
could be ready to help contribute if if needed?
32:06
And, and, and there's been some, like you said, injury concerns
32:11
this year already with pitching. So just who are some guys that
32:16
you figure that that are ready to to make that jump if they get
32:21
the call? I don't know what the Buffalo
32:24
roster looks like for you guys right now in the AAA side for
32:27
the Blue Jays, but there's like really no prospects at all in
32:31
Sugar Land for the Astros. And not necessarily saying
32:33
that's a bad thing, but there's a lot of guys that have been
32:36
around. Sam Carlson, Tom Cosgrove,
32:39
Brandon Bilak is back in this system.
32:41
Jason Alexander's on the 40 man roster.
32:44
I mean, there's just a lot of names that people know from
32:48
other systems. Systems.
32:49
Roderi Munoz, who the Astros got on the Rule 5 draft is they kept
32:53
him around. Yeah.
32:55
And Anthony Maldonado, too. That's the guy who's been up in
32:57
the majors as well. So there's a lot of familiar
33:00
names. Logan Van Y is another one.
33:02
But if we're talking straight prospects, I'll give you 2
33:05
names, Rob, I think that that I think Astros fans probably know
33:10
about. And one of them is a Lean Bear
33:11
Santa. If we go back to 2021, if you
33:14
listen, any spring training broadcaster, I think about it,
33:17
yeah. 2021 or 2022 if you listen to any spring training
33:21
broadcasts. 2022, sorry, you would have heard someone bring
33:25
up a lame bear Santa. He was just this kind of anomaly
33:29
just on the on the backfield. Just like where did this guy
33:32
come from? Another bargain pitcher that the
33:33
Astros picked up. He signed for $75,000 out of the
33:36
Dr. in 2020. He was firing pitches around.
33:41
They just kept getting hurt. You know, in 2021, his first
33:44
time in the system at 21 innings.
33:46
In the next year when it was expected to have like this great
33:48
outing, he missed the entire entire season almost he only
33:51
pitched 2 innings in three games.
33:53
That's you know, the injury bug got to him and he's just been a
33:56
a reliever since 2025 and threw eight games this year and in
34:01
AAA. And we know that the PCL can be
34:03
very fit hitter friendly, 1.13 or 1.13 ERA.
34:08
The batting average against his .04 and his WHIP is .38.
34:13
His ten KS in those eight innings, that's going to be a
34:16
reliever of the future for the Astros, especially when you see
34:18
some struggles with Brian Abreu and some other guys.
34:21
If you need someone with multiple years of options, it's
34:23
going to fill some of those roles the next couple of years.
34:25
Lean Bear Santa is going to be named NIL.
34:28
Hudson Leach hasn't been the the best start so far.
34:32
He has more walks and strikeouts in the seven and 3rd innings at
34:35
AAA, but I like them. I think there's there's a lot of
34:38
good pitches here is fastball 60 greatest curveballs, even better
34:41
at 65 throws a cutter as well. So it's really that three pitch
34:45
mix and his his curveball can exceed 3000 RPM.
34:49
So that's something that's kind of jumped off the page for me.
34:53
You know, numbers, you know, overall just haven't been, you
34:56
know, stellar. I would say as a reliever, I
34:59
think that's just kind of, you know, lopsided at times in the
35:02
minor leagues. But I think overall, there's a
35:04
lot of tools. And Hudson Leach bag and he was
35:06
a UDFA. The Astros keep doing this.
35:08
They find UDFA pitchers as well. Let's talk a little bit of other
35:13
pitchers that we haven't mentioned about.
35:15
Like we talked, like you said, the pitching has always been a
35:18
thing for the Astros. And if you want to go even
35:20
deeper, like just for sakes, because I know these guys won't
35:23
be up anytime soon, like you already mentioned about Hudson
35:25
Leach, right? Let's talk about Ramsey Davis or
35:30
Nick Potter or a Gable Pentecost or even a Parker Smith, who was
35:33
a fourth round pick a couple years ago.
35:35
Like some of these guys that hadn't been mentioned, who we
35:38
should keep an eye on because we know that the Astros always have
35:41
this one diamond on the rough that comes out of nowhere and
35:44
becomes the top prospect that ends up being a guy, right?
35:48
Whether it's on the roster or ends up being traded.
35:50
Like who would you say we should keep an eye on down the road?
35:55
Let's go Nick Potter and Gable Pentecost, 'cause I was trying
35:59
to help out with with different top 30s this offseason.
36:02
And when I was talking to scouts, it was like they just
36:04
kept, you know, pointing to these two guys and some were
36:07
saying, you know, you know what, I don't know if I can rank
36:09
someone like Nick Potter who's drafted the fifth round last
36:12
year. Yes, it's where the Astros have
36:13
found some success. You can go back and talk about
36:16
guys we talked about earlier. Cole Hertzer was 1/5 rounder for
36:18
the Astros in 2024. It's like, oh, can we can we
36:21
rank Nick Potter yet? But man, I mean 65 grade
36:24
fastball, fifty grade slider. He's got the pitches and it was
36:28
just a name that kept popping up this summer and we hadn't seen a
36:30
pitch yet. But in Fayetteville so far, he's
36:33
made two starts, 3 innings average between both, but he has
36:37
6 KS. You know, it's just another
36:39
thing we can't really over analyze it, but I, I do like
36:42
Nick Potter. He's a guy that was at Crowder
36:45
Junior College and but before he moved up to the Division One
36:51
level and at Wichita State. And there's something about
36:54
Crowder that the Astros keep gravitating towards.
36:57
And it's not even that they take guys out of Crowder, It's just
36:59
they like them before they get to the Division One level.
37:02
Talk about a guy, James Hicks, who went to South Carolina, He
37:05
started his college career at junior college, Crowder in
37:08
Missouri. So there's something about that.
37:10
That junior college is producing pictures as well, but with with
37:13
Potter 95 to 97 mph, he can touch 100 with really good carry
37:18
to if they if he needs to get back into his bag and that kind
37:22
of reminds me of AJ blue ball as well.
37:24
Might have a little bit more mph by his pitches in blue ball with
37:28
Pentecost. He's another guy that popped up.
37:30
He had 116. Sorry, he looking at his
37:35
rankings of the NANAIA level in 2025 national leaders, he was
37:40
sixth in wins. He was sixth in strikeouts.
37:44
He was second in K walk ratio. I mean, these are good numbers
37:48
for him. He set the Taylor, Indiana
37:50
school records for victories and in strikeouts.
37:53
He was the first draft pick in a decade for that school as well,
37:56
taken in the sixth round in 2025 by the Astros.
38:00
Just another guy that popped up. I don't think there's anything
38:02
overpowering about his arsenal right now that sliders his best
38:05
pitch. But everything else is above
38:06
average from the fastball, curveball and change up.
38:09
And the Astros have been trying to improve a lot of change UPS
38:11
throughout the system. And that starts at the top two
38:14
Vice Mayor and Ethan Pekko. We talked about some of the top
38:18
outfielders in a system like Kevin Alvarez, Ethan Fry and and
38:23
and and Zach Cole you mentioned too.
38:27
But talk about some of the outfield, other outfield depth
38:30
that you have in the minor leagues, like guys like Lucas
38:33
Spence, Joseph Sullivan, Anthony Huizo, you know, guy, guys like
38:39
that that you, that you see, you know, really developing
38:43
themselves into good outfielders.
38:46
I'm smiling again, Rob, because you brought up two guys that I
38:49
really like and Joseph Sullivan and Anthony Huizo and that
38:53
nothing against Lucas Spence. I I think that's another great
38:55
UDFA for the Astros that they found in the Midwest ranks or
38:59
the Mid South with Joseph Sullivan.
39:01
It's so intriguing. If you could grade approach, I
39:04
think he would give him, you know, something above average
39:07
probably in like a 65 level and he has twelve walks and 19
39:13
strikeouts this year. And just one of those things
39:15
where, you know, he can hit 196 right now, but his OPS is over
39:18
740. That's just who he is. 13 games
39:20
so far at double AI mean he had a little bit of a swing change.
39:24
He talked to Brian Mctaggart about it at MLB.com last year
39:27
before he went to the Arizona Fall League.
39:29
So something he was working on. I'd like to see him be a tiny
39:32
bit more aggressive. He has three extra base hits
39:34
this year. He has a triple and two homers.
39:37
But I want to see him, you know, tapping at the power a little
39:38
bit more. He's a freak athlete.
39:40
I think he's a great defender. He showed that right off the bat
39:43
for the the Astros. And it's another thing we're,
39:46
you know, the best tool for him probably right now if you're
39:49
looking at traditional ones is his speed and his ability to
39:52
run. But I think overall he's a very,
39:54
you know, above average left in hitting outfielder that the
39:57
Astros have and you'd like to see him in AAA a little bit
39:59
sooner than later. If you guys want a fun fact
40:02
about him too, His grandfather won the Heisman Trophy in 1991.
40:08
Patrick Sullivan. We're going to Lucas Spence
40:12
next, like I mentioned. Another guy is UDFA for the
40:16
Astros. Just, you know, the Astros keep
40:18
keep pulling this off from the Illinois side.
40:22
He spent two years at at Blackhawk Community College and
40:26
then he went to Ohio Valley in the Ohio Valley Conference with
40:29
Southern Illinois at Fritzville SIUE.
40:31
He hit well there 368 and you know, didn't get drafted and
40:35
signed with the Astros in July of 2024.
40:39
Last year moved up pretty fast. He got up to to triple.
40:43
He got up to AA, he's been off kind of a little bit slower
40:46
start as well, not really tapping into a lot of power.
40:49
But you know, seven walks, 14 strikeouts.
40:51
I think that's a fine sign to see early on too.
40:53
It's just a matter of him just kind of continue to iron that
40:56
out. I think he's going to be a
40:57
great, you know, is ceiling wise, you know, left fielder,
41:01
even like a 1/4 outfielder. I think he's perfect for that
41:04
and that's I wouldn't even say like sliding of it all.
41:06
I just think that's, you know, perfect opportunity for him to
41:08
just kind of get up there and you know, be loud like Zach Cole
41:12
too did last year. He's got similar tools with the
41:14
sixty grade run, sixty grade arm.
41:17
His fielding's above average. He doesn't really have the power
41:19
like Zach Cole does. His hit tools a little bit
41:21
better, but I think he has an opportunity to come in and and
41:24
be just kind of like this electric guy in the outfield.
41:26
If the Astros need him in the next couple months or even next
41:29
year, which would probably be the the better ETA for him
41:34
pulling down Anthony Weiso? Man, I love this guy.
41:37
I wish he had had, you know, clear opportunities in the Astro
41:41
system. He just, you know, kept getting
41:42
banged up and even in spring training.
41:44
I think that really sets you back.
41:46
He's still 20 years old. He was a 12th round pick back in
41:48
2023. Went back-to-back with Naomar
41:51
Ochoa Junior, another high schooler in that 2023 draft.
41:54
And Naomar's kind of had an up and down professional career as
41:59
well. But Anthony Reiso can hit the
42:01
ball hard, man, A50 grade power right now.
42:04
But I think if he really taps in that potential, I think could
42:06
start with a six. I do like the the run tools, the
42:09
arm tools, above average. He was a fine fielder as well.
42:12
He played in Australia this past summer and I always think that's
42:15
a good side of the Astros like to do that with some of the
42:17
younger guys. Neilmar Choi Junior did that as
42:20
well the year before, but with Anthony Rezo, he was kind of
42:24
getting bounced around for a little bit.
42:26
I was kind of, you know, I wouldn't say it was worrying,
42:28
but more so the fact that they made him go play in Corpus
42:31
Christi at one point in 2024 and took three at bats and didn't do
42:34
anything in those. They had him up in Sugar Land
42:36
last year for two games, but you know, this year they just let
42:39
him go to Fayetteville, just let him play the game. 245 batting
42:43
average so far, 866 OPS and 13 games.
42:47
The other extra bases hits are spread out.
42:48
That's exactly what you want to see is 12 hits so far. 3 double
42:52
s. Three of those are double s,
42:53
three of those are triples, and two of those are homers.
42:55
Of course the strikeouts are going to be kind of the worry
42:57
with him moving forward. 21 KS to five rocks.
43:00
But I've always been a fan of the Anthony Huizo model and I
43:04
think, you know, if you just let him just be a prospect, let him
43:06
take his time, get up to to high at some point this year and let
43:09
him attack the Texas League next year.
43:11
I'm pretty excited to see where Anthony Huizo goes.
43:15
So when you look at the the infield depth in the system,
43:19
right, because there's a couple guys like I because I know Rob
43:23
has the next question about the short steps that are way down
43:26
the road, but there's a couple couple guys that I look at here
43:30
is Sammy Manzueta and Nick Monistaera.
43:35
I believe that's his name. So talk about couple of those
43:38
guys. And if there's other guys,
43:39
because you already have the Disenzo's that's already up in
43:42
the majors, but he's hurt right now.
43:43
Probably played 1/4 outfield or Shay Whitcomb who plays primary
43:47
third base and stuff like that. Like if are those type of
43:51
prospects that could be any factors like do you see anything
43:54
with those guys? It's tough.
43:59
Just haven't seen the Astros, you know, produce like you know,
44:02
some of these guys like we're talking about the bottom right
44:04
now and Sammy Manzoita and I think, yeah, I think he is
44:07
stateside now. He does get still listed the
44:09
DSL, but I think he's going to be in, I think I, I think
44:15
someone told me that recently that he will be stateside in the
44:18
Florida Complex League. But, you know, he's a ways away
44:20
and seeing an ETA of 2030 is terrifying to know that we are
44:24
that close to projecting what the rosters will look like in
44:27
20-30. But yeah, I don't really have
44:29
too much to point out about Sammy just because, you know,
44:32
it's ADSL and I I don't get to even watch much other than the
44:36
highlights that the Astros player development will post
44:39
with Nick Masseri, you know, 4th rounder back in 2025 this past
44:42
summer. He's got a guy that's no very
44:45
average tools as well hitting wise, but power can be above
44:48
average. Same with his running and his
44:50
arm. I think, you know, tagging that
44:53
infield tag tab on him is not a bad thing.
44:56
I think it's going to be one that, you know, try to find his
44:58
spot moving forward, if that's going to be a second base, third
45:01
base or just as utility utility guy.
45:04
He played it Southern Miss, which had a pretty decent amount
45:07
of draft picks, if I recall correctly in 2025 and hit really
45:10
well. Now it's just a matter of seeing
45:12
how that translates in single a this year.
45:15
And he's had a fine start so far.
45:17
And I think there's been an approach kind of change around
45:21
the Astro system too, with a lot of these more these older guys
45:24
that are in the in the lower levels that were drafted of
45:27
being a little bit more steady at the plate, taking pitches.
45:31
And you see the nine walks of 14 strikeouts.
45:33
And I just don't really have too many infielders from for you
45:37
right now. Rocky, you're really jumping off
45:38
the page at me. You know, we could point out
45:41
Xavier Nayans again, but some of these guys, I just think it's
45:44
just way too early to tell because we've ran into these
45:46
before where the Azure's have some success with some guys down
45:50
there and they kind of, you know, bottle out by Corpus
45:52
Christi or really don't become more much more than just
45:56
organization depth and AAA. The two guys Rocky was referring
46:02
to that one to bring up here was they're both shortstops and Air
46:06
Bond Ramirez and Albert Fermin for mean being in.
46:13
I believe he's in, he's in a ball right now and and Ramirez
46:18
is in the DSL. Or do I got that mixed up?
46:22
Mixed up, yeah. So for me is in the DSLI.
46:25
Could I could just take it from there just talking about those
46:28
guys. Yeah.
46:29
So for me, and it's just another one, you know, another one of
46:31
these, you know, tops, top dollar I guess is the best way
46:36
to put it. He signed for over $2,000,000
46:38
this past winter back in January and his 17 year old.
46:43
And I think it's a good sign that, you know, he's still a
46:45
switch hitter coming in from the the Dominican Republic.
46:48
And he's going to be a product of the Hanley Ramirez.
46:55
Yeah, sorry. He's reminiscent of the, I
46:56
thought he was at Hanley Ramirez's Academy.
46:58
No, he's just reminiscent of the the kind of the the same style
47:01
that he's coming up with, like similar to Hanley Ramirez.
47:05
You know, I think it's going to be one of those that there's
47:07
going to be, you know, a lot of eyes on Albert Fermin this
47:10
summer as he's in the DSL and everyone's going to be, you
47:14
know, over analyzing those numbers.
47:15
And do I think he's going to be in the DSL for very long?
47:18
No, I think one season would probably be the best if he has a
47:21
very similar year to Kevin Alvarez, who only played one
47:26
year in the DSL and his first first pro season.
47:29
So I think you know, if everything goes as planned,
47:31
you're seeing another guy that makes a similar jump as Kevin
47:34
Alvarez with Albert for mean. And I don't have too much to
47:36
really point out. You know, he's more advanced
47:38
from the left side, which you see a lot.
47:40
I think with switch hitters, even if they are right-handed
47:43
throwing and it's going to be someone that we can see it flash
47:47
a lot of plus speed as well. 55 grade runner right now.
47:51
We know that Arm plays well, so he's going to get shortstop
47:53
probably for a good amount of his minor league career as he
47:56
moves up. Armand Ramirez is an interesting
48:00
one. The Astros, like I mentioned,
48:02
have fallen into this camp where they haven't consistently
48:04
churned out Latin American position players.
48:08
And I think you'd hope that your Armand Ramirez could figure out
48:12
a little bit more offensively than he has.
48:14
And the defense was always good calling card.
48:16
And he was a guy that signed for over $1,000,000.
48:18
So he was going to be one that you were hoping for a little bit
48:23
more. And you know, Camilio Diaz and
48:27
there's just been a lot of these guys where it just hasn't
48:30
really, you know, worked out in the Astros favor yet.
48:32
And I think it's just kind of wait and see how it goes
48:35
offensively and for a AA. Let's talk about some of the,
48:41
the development, the managers in the organization, right?
48:45
And you look at guys like Mickey Story and Ricky Rivera and Nate
48:49
Shavers, all, all in AAA, AA and hi.
48:52
And if you want to talk about other guys, by all means, go
48:55
ahead. But like just talk about the
48:57
development, the process, because they always find guys
49:00
who come out of nowhere and become factory.
49:01
It's like, who do you give credit to all that?
49:03
And and and and. How do you look at the process
49:06
of that whole development? I think it's different at every
49:11
level right now. And there's, you know, been some
49:13
guys that have stuck around. I think Mickey's story even goes
49:17
back to 2018-2019 when they were the Round Rock Express before
49:22
they purchased Sugar Land and made that the AAA home.
49:25
And of course, Mickey's story has time in the major leagues.
49:28
And one of the biggest things for him right now is I'm just
49:30
getting these guys ready to compete.
49:32
And you know, he's joked around with me before just about, you
49:35
know, wearing the Scooby-doo jerseys and just, you know,
49:38
remembering that they are in the minor leagues.
49:40
It's not the big leagues. But if anything, you know, he
49:42
cares about winning because he knows that at the next level,
49:45
that's what the Astros want to do.
49:47
Even though last year they didn't make the postseason.
49:49
And this year they're, they're not, you know, out of the gates
49:51
really hot. The, the mindset of the Astros
49:53
has been the same since 20/15/2017.
49:56
And that in that time of when the golden era started is that
49:59
they've always kind of wanted to win.
50:01
So I think that's always a good spot that you can think about.
50:03
Mickey's story. AA hasn't had much success in
50:06
recent years. And I do like Ricky and goes
50:08
back even to his time in Fayetteville back in 2024 and I
50:12
think he was in the DSL. It's Oh no, he's in the FCL
50:15
before then. So he's been with a lot of these
50:17
guys for a long time. He knows him from different
50:19
levels and that always plays a good factor as well.
50:22
I don't know too much about Nate Shaver.
50:24
I've never met him or spoken to him, but he's been a guy that
50:27
players have liked. I think he's a good manager or
50:31
players manager and he's worked really well with a lot of these
50:35
guys just, you know, treating them the right way and, you
50:38
know, giving them fun promotional stories that they
50:40
can tell for years when they move up to Corpus Christi.
50:43
And, you know, he's been a guy that probably has a revolving
50:46
door of players that are always, you know, moving up pretty
50:48
quickly. And he's told a lot of guys, you
50:50
know, it's time to hit the road, you're going to Corpus Christi.
50:53
So I've I've always kind of heard positive things about him.
50:57
One guy I'll point out that's not a manager that has been
51:00
around the Astros block for a while, Sean Buchanan, he's a
51:03
pitching coach at AAA now for the Astros.
51:06
I've no Buck for a while and he's done a good job of, you
51:09
know, finding a lot of positives within outings.
51:13
Go back to a guy like Ryan Gusto, who's traded to the
51:15
Marlins last year. And Gusto was not, you know, did
51:17
not have the best numbers at hi A before he was promoted to
51:20
Corpus Christi. And remember talking to Buck
51:22
about it. And he was like, oh, we didn't
51:23
really, you know, we cared about the numbers.
51:25
But, you know, what we're trying to find was positives in each
51:27
inning, you know, and then put piece all that together and, you
51:31
know, the numbers didn't really show that.
51:32
But once he got to Corpus Christi, he was, I think he had
51:34
a Texas League Pitcher of the Week award.
51:36
And it was part of one of the best rotations the Astros have
51:38
had in the minor leagues in a in a while.
51:39
So yeah, that's a guy that I'd highlight as well.
51:43
Well, if you look at that, since you mentioned a couple of those
51:46
names, is there any pathway for them to be in the majors in the
51:50
future like you mentioned about Buchanan, right?
51:53
Like it could he be a pitching coach or bullpen coach in the
51:56
near future? Because you've seen
51:58
organizations that promoted guys from the minors to be up to like
52:01
John Schneider, he was a double AI, think a AA coach or a coach,
52:04
a high a coach, AA coach. And he's now the major.
52:07
And you see what exactly could you see any of that from the
52:09
Astros that could be promoted in the future?
52:12
Yeah, You know, it takes years even if you look.
52:14
Yeah, if you're talking about, you know, the way the Blue Jays
52:17
handled that as well, and, you know, it could be a while.
52:20
And I think a guy like Mickey Story definitely deserves a shot
52:23
as a bench coach the future. I think he's a very smart
52:26
baseball mind, very well liked by the players, too, and that
52:29
plays a big part. I don't know too much about
52:32
where that kind of goes for Buck.
52:33
He doesn't have too much professional experience yet.
52:36
And I don't I think it's different for everyone and the
52:39
success that they have with their track records as well.
52:42
And I'm sure, you know, that's a goal for a lot of people.
52:44
And I don't know what his goals would be, but I could definitely
52:46
see it. I think it would probably be a
52:48
couple more years or maybe like 2.
52:50
And I think he's in a coordinator spot.
52:51
I think it's the one thing that's always kind of stuck out
52:53
to me about Buck is that he does everything.
52:56
You know, he's always trying to help out as much as he can.
52:58
And I remember he was posting his streaks on Duolingo for a
53:03
while too, like over 1000 days, because he wanted to communicate
53:06
with the Latin American pitchers without having an interpreter.
53:08
I mean, I think that's a big positive as well.
53:11
One more guy will point out the AAA level.
53:12
It's been up with the Astros before and help them out.
53:15
I think Mickey's story has done this as well.
53:17
Whenever they need, you know, someone to come up and be an
53:19
extra coach is Vladimir Sutil. He's been in this Astro system
53:23
for years now. I think even a decade
53:25
development coach for space coach does a lot of infield
53:28
drills. But I think Sutil is a guy that
53:31
the Astros could really rely on, maybe in the near future, even
53:33
if another organization just sees the skills that he brings
53:36
to Sugar Land and takes him away.
53:40
Rocky brought up about some of the future coaches that you just
53:44
talked about, and let's talk about the coach that's at the
53:48
helm right now is Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown are
53:52
in the final years of their contract.
53:56
You know, what do you see going on with this situation,
54:00
especially if things keep going the way they're going right now?
54:06
Yeah, I think it'd be remiss if I don't say the seats are
54:09
probably pretty warm even if their injuries are stacking up
54:12
and nothing's really falling in the Astros direction.
54:17
You know, I'd like a friend point out if they sell in August
54:20
or late July, that's probably it.
54:22
But I don't know, you know, if they can sell in into a spot
54:25
where they prepare themselves for next season.
54:27
If this year just doesn't workout and no one comes back
54:30
injury wise on time and the Astros just don't figure it out
54:33
off, you know, keeping it consistent pitching wise and
54:37
everyone stays healthy offensively to, you know, can
54:40
Dana Brown put himself in a position to keep his job for one
54:42
more year? I don't necessarily know.
54:45
They've only been to the postseason twice in this regime
54:50
with Joe Espada as a manager and you get bounced in the ale.
54:56
No, it's only been actually, it's only been two Times Now you
54:59
get bounced in the wild card and then you don't make the
55:00
postseason in 2025. So there's, you know, a lot of
55:03
question marks on on where you go from there.
55:05
And you can point out injuries and all this, but I think it's
55:08
really in a spot where if they do have to become sellers and
55:11
that's been the first time in a while.
55:12
And, you know, I don't think the Astros are, you know, favorable
55:15
to that. If they're even like if there's
55:17
a slim chance of making it, I'm sure that they will be buyers in
55:20
some capacity by the the end of the summer.
55:23
I think you're looking at it to where they just have to set
55:25
themselves up for, you know, an opportunity to compete next year
55:29
because I don't think Dana or I don't think Jim Crane would keep
55:32
these guys around if they are going to enter full rebuild
55:34
mode. Yeah, I'll say, I'll say this
55:38
quick. The league as a whole right now
55:40
seems very mediocre. So it's very wide open.
55:44
So, you know, getting back into it is, is very much a real
55:48
possibility for a lot of teams, so.
55:54
So let's talk about the the rest of the division with their farm
55:57
systems, because we know that the Astros have a story track
55:59
record. But I mean, we could say that
56:01
Seattle always have this pedigree of something somewhere
56:05
like the Oxford building through pitching, right?
56:08
And that's that's a bread and butter throughout the most part
56:11
with the roster and all. And and talk about the other
56:14
systems. And what do you think, which
56:17
team you would say has an intriguing farm system in the AL
56:20
West? Yeah, I'll just point out just
56:24
one guy real quick on the Mariners side.
56:26
Of course, you know, there are those a lot of those names, Colt
56:28
Emerson, Kenny Anderson, Ryan Sloan, Lazaro Montes, Michael
56:31
Arorio, Johnny Farmelo. I mean, it's just it's just a
56:34
good farm system. Again, even when they make a lot
56:36
of these trades, I think Ryan Sloan is so underrated and
56:39
that's even a guy that's a top 100 prospect, sixty grade
56:42
fastball, 55th grade slider, 60 grade change up.
56:45
It's just going to be a system that just continues to catch my
56:48
eye. We, you know, go through some
56:50
other ones with the angels. You know, no one's really
56:52
jumping off the page right for me right now.
56:54
You know, it's a lot of guys on the younger side still with
56:58
Joswell Lugo, who's who's 6IN that in that system.
57:01
But George Classen has been up to the major leagues now.
57:04
Nelson Rada, you've been hearing about him forever.
57:06
And Tyler Bremner, of course, was the second overall pick in
57:09
the draft. Kind of a little bit of a
57:11
surprise. But I mean, not necessarily.
57:12
I think for some of those more like hardcore draft analysts,
57:16
it's, you know, I think it is very wide open just in the sense
57:19
of the talent that's coming up to back to it.
57:22
Rob's point was even in the ALS, Sebastian Walcott is at the face
57:25
of the Rangers franchise right now and he underwent elbow
57:28
surgery and he's not going to play probably the majority of
57:30
the season, if not the whole season.
57:33
So I think right now, and that's a Rangers system that traded
57:35
away a bunch of guys due to the Nationals this offseason.
57:38
I almost said Oakland, but with the Athletics, we have to talk
57:44
about Leo Devries. And that's probably the last
57:46
thing I'll point out is, you know, I love LDV.
57:49
I think he's a El Mutante switch hitting shortstop, and he's
57:53
going to play shortstop for a long time.
57:54
Sixty grade hit tool. I think he's number three
57:57
overall right now in #4 yeah, he's right behind Jesus Maday,
58:01
he's at. He topped into a lot of more
58:03
that power this past week. He got to be excited if you're
58:07
an ace fan with LDV. So I'll end with this question
58:11
here. Who are some prospects in the
58:13
system that have caught your eye?
58:15
Maybe some guys that we haven't talked about that that have
58:18
really opened your eye this year?
58:21
Yeah, the Astros side feel like we've talked about every single
58:25
player. Let's go.
58:28
We'll go Parker Smith real quick.
58:30
I think he's a pitcher that's I think they asked some somewhere
58:33
a little bit surprised at the Astros took him and maybe it was
58:35
just because of the connections to Bel Air and to Rice.
58:39
But overall, I think it's it's a very good pick for the Astros.
58:43
And Parker Smith, who's coming off, you know, a back injury
58:46
that he had in 2025 was limited in 2026.
58:50
This year he has 15 innings and strikeout numbers a little bit
58:53
down. But I think he's going to be a
58:54
fine, you know, pitcher for the Astros.
58:56
Another kind of back into the rotation, maybe long reliever in
58:59
the near future for Houston. Well, Kenny, we appreciate you
59:04
doing this man. Seems like a yearly tradition
59:08
that we do this and hopefully we can do this again down the road
59:10
once again. But thanks for being here and
59:12
great work as always. Great information, man.
59:15
Astros fans, you got, even baseball fans need to go look at
59:19
Kenny Van Durham. But Kenny, where can we find
59:22
you? And social media and everywhere
59:23
else? Yeah, you can follow the Astros
59:27
Future on X Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and you can find all the
59:31
work there that we do, highlights from Jimmy Price and
59:33
podcast as well. And then check me out at The
59:37
Vandalorian if you just want any like Mizzou coverage.
59:39
All pretty much I'm doing but find the Astros Future podcast
59:42
review, listen your podcasts and on YouTube as well.
59:46
Yeah, man, you're a great guy. You do a lot of good work, man,
59:49
and we love having you on, so we appreciate it, man.
59:52
Thanks for joining us and hope we didn't keep you from being
59:56
late to your movie man so. Yeah.
59:59
Thank you, guys. Thank.
1:00:00
You all right, we'll place a description below where you can
1:00:03
find Kenny Van Doren in social media and everywhere else.
1:00:06
But until next time, take care, be kind to each other.
1:00:09
Signing off from Sports Ave. Twisted podcast on Monday, April
1:00:13
20th, 2026.