Saturday, December 06

HOUSTON – Shortstop Xavier Neyens, taken by the Astros with the No. 21 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, debuted as the Astros’ No. 3 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s midseason Top 30 Prospects re-rankings. He was behind second baseman Brice Matthews (No. 1) and outfielder Jacob Melton (No. 2), both of whom made their Major League debuts this year.

Catcher Walker Janek, who was taken by the Astros in the first round of last year’s Draft out of Sam Houston, remained at No. 4 in the re-rank, with right-hander Miguel Ullola moving up a spot and into the Top 5 after posting a 3.70 ERA in 82 2/3 Triple-A innings with 103 strikeouts and 63 walks (1.45 WHIP).

Neyens, who’s yet to be assigned to an affiliate, led his high school team in Mount Vernon, Wash., to a state title this season, hitting .456 with eight home runs, 10 doubles, 27 RBIs and 49 runs scored in 28 games. There are some swing-and-miss concerns with Neyens, but MLB Pipeline cites an “outstanding approach” that helped lead him to hit with power to all fields in high school.

Here’s a look at the Astros’ top prospects:

1. Brice Matthews, 2B (MLB No. 98)

2. Jacob Melton, OF

3. Xavier Neyens, SS

4. Walker Janek, C

5. Miguel Ullola, RHP

Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Bryce Mayer, RHP (Preseason: 30 | Midseason: 11) – Mayer, a 16th-round pick last year out of Missouri, began the season at Single-A Fayetteville and has already earned a pair of promotions, taking him to Double-A Corpus Christi. He posted a 3.22 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) combined for Fayetteville and High-A Asheville before reaching Corpus Christi on July 5. In 26 innings with the Hooks, he has a 4.85 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP with 10 walks and 34 strikeouts.

Fall: Luis Baez, OF (Preseason: 12 | Midseason: 22) – Ranked No. 2 among Astros prospects on the preseason list in 2024, Baez, who signed for $1.3 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, is slashing .200/.261/.267 with one homer and seven extra-base hits in 165 at-bats at Double-A this year. He didn’t make his full-season debut until early June because the Astros wanted him to focus on some areas he could improve upon defensively without worrying about game performance.

New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

3. Xavier Neyens, SS (Pick No. 21 in 2025 Draft)

9. Ethan Frey, OF (Pick No. 95 in 2025 Draft) 

24. Jase Mitchell, C (Pick No. 216 in 2025 Draft) 

30. Nick Monistere, SS/2B (Pick No. 126 in 2025 Draft) 

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 55 -- Kevin Alvarez

Power: 60 -- Xavier Neyens

Run: 60 -- Zach Cole (Brice Matthews, Jacob Melton, Lucas Spence, Joseph Sullivan)

Arm: 70 -- Zach Cole

Defense: 60 -- Jacob Melton (Zach Cole, Kenni Gomez)

Fastball: 70 -- Miguel Ullola

Curveball: 55 -- Alonzo Tredwell (Bryce Mayer)

Slider: 60 -- Anderson Brito

Changeup: 65 -- Jackson Nezuh

Control: 55 -- James Hicks (Ryan Forcucci) 

For the second year in a row, Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was named as the team’s winner of the 2025 Heart & Hustle Award. Created by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in 2005, the Heart & Hustle Award is voted on by former and active Major League players and is presented annually to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.

The MLBPAA formed 30 committees, comprised of former players with established relationships to each team. One player from each team is chosen by the committees based on the passion, desire, and work ethic demonstrated both on and off the field. As the season draws to a close, fans, former and active players will vote to select the final winner from the 30 team winners.

Aug. 14, 2010

Astros right-hander Bud Norris set a Daikin Park record by striking out 14 batters in seven innings in a 3-2 win over the Pirates. Several have tied his mark since, and the current ballpark record for strikeouts is 15, set by Yu Darvish of the Rangers in 2013 and tied by Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole in 2019.

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