Where the Astros' Top 30 prospects are starting the season

Where the Astros' Top 30 prospects are starting the season

April 5th, 2023

With the Minor League season opening this week, here's where the Astros' Top 30 Prospects are projected to start:

  1. Hunter Brown (MLB No. 43), RHP -- Houston (MLB)
  2. Yainer Diaz, C -- Houston (MLB)
  3. Drew Gilbert, OF -- Asheville (High-A)
  4. Jacob Melton, OF -- Asheville (High-A)
  5. Colin Barber, OF -- Corpus Christi (Double-A)
  6. Ryan Clifford, OF -- Fayetteville (Single-A)
  7. Korey Lee, C -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  8. Pedro Leon, OF -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  9. Justin Dirden, OF -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  10. Colton Gordon, LHP -- Corpus Christi (Double-A)
  11. Spencer Arrighetti, RHP -- Corpus Christi (Double-A)
  12. Miguel Ullola, RHP -- Asheville (High-A)
  13. Misael Tamarez, RHP -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  14. Will Wagner, INF -- Corpus Christi (Double-A)
  15. Jaime Melendez, RHP -- Corpus Christi (Double-A)
  16. Joe Perez, 3B -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  17. Andrew Taylor, RHP -- Fayetteville (Single-A)
  18. Joey Loperfido, OF -- Asheville (High-A)
  19. Kenni Gomez, OF -- Extended spring training
  20. Kenedy Corona, OF -- Asheville (High-A)
  21. Forrest Whitley, RHP -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  22. Logan Cerny, OF -- Asheville (High-A)
  23. Luis Baez, OF -- Extended spring training
  24. Quincy Hamilton, OF -- Corpus Christi (Double-A)
  25. Shawn Dubin, RHP -- Sugar Land (Triple-A)
  26. Edinson Batista, RHP -- Asheville (High-A)
  27. Michael Knorr, RHP -- Fayetteville (Single-A)
  28. Camilo Diaz, SS -- Dominican complex
  29. Jose Fleury, RHP -- Fayetteville (Single-A)
  30. Corey Julks, OF -- Houston (MLB)

Team to watch

The Astros have spread their talent pretty evenly among their affiliates, but High-A Asheville stands out with the organization's top two picks in the 2022 Draft, Drew Gilbert and Jacob Melton. Fellow outfielders Joey Loperfido and Kenedy Corona are coming off breakout seasons and tooled-up Logan Cerny also plays the position, so it will be interesting to see how the Tourists parcel out at-bats. Right-hander Miguel Ullola overpowers hitters with a 93-98 mph four-seam fastball with a flat approach angle and tremendous carry.

Teams on MLB.TV and MiLB.TV

Houston Astros
Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Triple-A)
Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Single-A)

Players we could see in MLB in 2023

Power-hitting Korey Lee could serve Houston as a backup catcher, while Pedro Leon and Justin Dirden could factor into the outfield mix. Right-hander Shawn Dubin's fastball/slider combination could make him a useful bullpen piece if he can stay healthy. Could this be the year that 2016 first-rounder Forrest Whitley finally breaks through to the Majors?

New faces

The Astros pushed back the pro debuts of the top three pitchers they drafted last July -- Andrew Taylor, Michael Knorr, Trey Dombroski -- to 2023. Dominican shortstop Camilo Diaz, who signed for $2.25 million in January, had some of the best all-around tools in this year's international class and will break into pro ball in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.

On the shelf

All of Houston's Top 30 Prospects are healthy to start the season.