The Houston Astros have been one of the premier teams when it comes to drafting and developing talent. After years of playing terrible baseball, earning some pretty good picks (which certainly aids in developing elite talent) they are continuing to produce major leaguers, despite penalties and lower draft picks.
After a few key contributors from the first World Series in 2017 like Carlos Correa, Dallas Keuchel, and George Springer all departed, they have since replaced them with a new wave of young, elite talent. Guys like Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Jeremy Pena have ushered in a new era of Astros baseball, culminating with another World Series in 2022.
As this era of Astros players begin to move on (trading Kyle Tucker and Bregman leaving in free agency), Houston will call upon their player development group to continue their run as one of the best dynasties in baseball.
MLB.com projects top catching prospect, Walker Janek, to break out in 2025
MLB.com recently released a piece talking about each team’s potential breakout prospect and had a lot of good things to say about the Sam Houston product, despite his struggles in his first taste of professional baseball.
“The Astros nabbed the best catching prospect in the 2024 Draft with the 28th overall selection. Janek, a Sam Houston product who won the Buster Posey Award as college baseball’s top backstop, offers plus arm strength and 20-homer pop.”
MLB.com staff
The Astros were able to snag Walker Janek with the 28th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, someone that they were continuously linked to in the pre-draft process. Janek is a plus defender and receiver, giving Houston a high floor prospect that could lead a starting rotation for years.
His offense has more question marks, but he gets solid praise for his plus raw power and pull-side power that should play well in the Crawford Boxes. Catchers are usually slow movers through the minor leagues, but Janek’s maturity and solid ability as a catcher should allow him to focus more on his offense, hopefully catapulting him to a major league spot by late 2026 or 2027.
Prize of the Kyle Tucker blockbuster trade, Cam Smith is a prospect to keep an eye in 2025 according to MLB.com
MLB.com also put out a piece naming some prospects to watch in 2025 and they went with the obvious choice here, Cam Smith. Smith was one of the top infield prospects in the 2024 MLB draft, going 14th overall to the Cubs out of Florida State and he wasted no time showcasing his talent.
Acquired in the blockbuster Kyle Tucker trade, Smith slashed .313/.396/.609 in 32 games in the Cubs organization, making it all the way up to Double-A Tennessee. At 6’3 and 225 lbs., Smith is large human being and though he still maintains a lot of athleticism, his size could land him in a corner outfield spot sooner rather than later.
He will be 22 for all of the 2025 season, but having already made it to Double-A, Astros fans could see Smith pretty soon. 2025 will be the first year for Astros fans to get a look at Smith and they should love following along as their new top prospect rakes his way through the minor leagues.
