Although it’s still taking some getting used to, the Houston Astros are not playing in October for the first time in a decade. While the big league team is just beginning their offseason, the minor players are just getting started in Arizona.
Houston sent eight prospects down to Arizona to compete in the Arizona Fall League with the rest of the top prospects in baseball. As a system that is widely considered one of the bottom tier in baseball, the AFL is important to development.
A week in, the Astros players are performing quite well. Their team, Scottsdale, is 2-2, but they’re being led by Walker Janek, who is having one of the best falls so far.
Walker Janek is the Astros’ top prospect in Arizona this year. So far, he’s performing like it, too. The catcher has collected the most hits on the team with five in three games. Two of those hits have been doubles, and he has driven in two runs.
Janek was considered one of the better hitting catchers of his draft class, and a good fall could vault him up catching lists heading into next season.
Joseph Sullivan is a top ten prospect for the Astros who has been hot in the AFL so far, too. Sullivan has played a little less than Janek, but is 3-for-10 with an RBI. He has been great on on the base paths as well, stealing two bases and scoring four runs, the second most on Scottsdale.
Sullivan is coming off a career year for power (17 home runs) and stolen bases (42). If he can continue to be a threat on the bases, his power-speed combo could be the best in the system.
Jeron Williams, an unranked prospect, was a name to watch coming into the fall. However, he is just 2-for-11 in his three games with an RBI and tow runs scored.
The Astros pitching in the fall league has been terrific so far. Anderson Brito, their top pitching prospect there, is the only one who’s really struggled. He’s allowed two runs in 2.2 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He’s tied for the second most strikeouts on his team.
The four other pitchers have allowed zero runs combined. Right-hander James Hicks has thrown four innings and struck out four, allowing just one base runner.
Hudson Leach, who reached Triple-A as a reliever, has struck out three in 1.1 innings and now allowed a base runner. Another reliever, Nate Wohlgemuth, has struggled a little more, allowing three base runners in 1.2 innings. The right-hander has one strikeout.
Finally, right-handed starter Derek True. He has the least amount of work, 0.2 innings, but allowed one hit, one walk and struckout two in his long outing.
None of these Astros’ prospects are particularly highly touted or even in the top 100. But if the pitching continues to shutout opposing hitters, plenty of them could rise in the system.
Janek could benefit the most from the AFL, though. After posting a .766 OPS in the regular season, he could solidify himself as one of the better hitting catcher in the minors and make a push for the top 100.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
