Saturday, December 06

ARLINGTON -- The Astros have a prospect at Single-A Fayetteville whose sprint speed eclipses 30 feet per second, which is considered elite, who can throw 87 mph across the diamond and has hit a ball with a 113 mph exit velocity this year, which indicates elite bat speed. All those tools, and infielder Caden Powell still isn’t on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Astros prospects list.

That could soon change.

Powell, a sixth-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft from Seminole State Junior College, possesses an abundance of raw physical tools and is off to a solid start at the plate for Fayetteville. He’s largely flown under the radar because he was drafted out of junior college.

“Quite frankly, his triple-slash line last year wasn't very good,” Astros senior director of player development and performance science Jacob Buffa said. “I think you add that he’s a sixth-rounder from JUCO, the fact that he didn’t have a good first showing in pro ball and I think that's probably why [he’s unheralded]. But if he continues this trend, this performance through the year, then by the [Trade] Deadline, he'll be in those conversations.”

In his 24-game introduction to professional baseball last year at Fayetteville, Powell slashed .241/.287/.379 with two homers, six stolen bases and only four walks. Through his first 32 games this year at Fayetteville, he’s slashing .262/.331/.446 with six home runs, nine steals and 12 walks, while striking out 45 times.

Defensively, he’s made 21 starts at shortstop, six at second base and three at third base.

“At those lower levels, we’re trying to expose them to a couple of different infield positions, but he’ll stick on the dirt,” Buffa said. “His role right now is basically the three-hole hitter. He's performed excellently up there at Fayetteville. He’s got an OPS over .800. It's been a really good start to the season.”

Powell was named the 2024 NJCAA DI Baseball Player of the Year last year, hitting .502 with 109 hits and 104 RBIs for Seminole State. In 217 at-bats, he had 32 home runs, 17 doubles and seven triples. He signed with Oklahoma State but wound up taking a $422,500 signing bonus from the Astros.

The biggest issue Powell faced last year at Fayetteville was plate discipline, with four walks and 34 strikeouts. He’s improved those numbers this year while still exhibiting his elite tools.

“Obviously, if there wasn't any holes in his game, he'd be in the big leagues,” Buffa said. “There’s some swing-and-miss and some chase that were pretty prevalent last year. … It's a big adjustment going from JUCO to Fayetteville, but he's made those strides so far this year where those things are not completely gone, but they're significantly better, which I think if he's selecting better pitches to swing at, those types of physical tools show up a little bit more.”

Powell is a right-handed hitter whose offensive profile remains extremely high, even if the prospect world hasn’t fully taken notice of him yet.

“He's going to find barrels, and he's going to slug, especially with that type of bat speed,” Buffa said. “I think he could develop into a lot of contact, and in [that] case, you're looking at one of the more elite hitters in the game, just in terms of a triple-slash line -- average, OBP and slug. Or he could develop into more walks, and in which case you're looking at a kind of Kyle Schwarber [comparison]. I hesitate to drop those names, because I don't necessarily want to think that any player will turn into a hitter like that, but those are the type of profiles that he could be looking at.”

Here's a look around the rest of the Minor League system:

After launching two homers on Wednesday for his second consecutive multihomer game, No. 15 prospect Shay Whitcomb leads the Pacific Coast League in home runs with 13. Entering Friday, he had reached base in 17 of his last 18 games, going 25-for-73 (.342) with six doubles, eight home runs, 14 RBIs, and seven walks over that span. He was first in the PCL in extra-base hits (26), total bases (95) and second in slugging percentage (.597).

Right-hander Jose Fleury (Astros’ No. 16 prospect) has a 2.25 ERA and 0.94 WHIP through his first seven starts. He’s struck out 34 batters and walked nine batters in 32 innings.

“Each year, he continues to get better and better at refining and executing his game plans,” Buffa said. “I mean, he's one of the best competitors that we have, like to the point where I want other players to be around him, because he's such a good example there. He takes his work very seriously. And when he has a game plan, he goes out there and he sticks to it. And that sounds really simple, but a lot of guys, when they get punched in the mouth, they deviate, and Fleury will just punch back.”

Cuban infielder/outfielder Alejandro Nunez (No. 29 prospect) is off to a great start for the Tourists, slashing .303/.386/.475 with five doubles, four homers and seven steals in 27 games entering Friday. His .861 OPS represented a marked improvement over the .687 he posted last year, most of which was spent at Fayetteville.

“Alejandro Nunez is someone who's really exciting in Asheville, because he plays multiple positions [he’s played second, third, shortstop, left field and right field this year], and I think he's someone who maybe suffers from a little bit of prospect fatigue,” Buffa said. “He wasn’t a high-dollar signee, and this is his third year in the system, but he's not even 21 yet. And he plays three outfield positions, he can play three positions on the dirt. And this year, he's really putting together a solid season at the plate.”

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