Surprising that Dezenzo is so high. Clifford is too low in my opinion for a guy that barely turned 20. After an adjustment period at Asheville, he has absolutely torched the pitching there the last two months. Probably time to move him on up to Corpus.
Eduardo "Aaron Judge" Perez is currently 2-2 with a solo home run (4) for the DSL Blue team. The Orange team's game was rained out. Side note: Until he actually grows to Aaron Judge's size, I'll hold off on calling him that
So who is our new top prospect? To me Gilbert and Clifford had separated themselves form the pack so this trade hurt. No real feelings on Matthews yet. Baez looks amazing, but still at low levels. Melton has shown a good speed/power combo, but overall a pretty meh season at offense happy Asheville. Dezenzo has cooled off at AA. The Astros have been amazing at developing guys who never get top prospect press, but from a traditional ranking standpoint it looks really thin at the top again.
I would say Barber, Baez, Matthews, or Dezenzo. But yeah it had become pretty clear that Gilbert and Clifford were 1/2
Who are the names to watch for that can replace Tucker now? Regardless of how much the Mets are paying us, I just can't see Tucker being extended. We don't do 10-year contracts, period.
There were no players who project to be as good as Tucker, not even Gilbert or Clifford. Joey Loperfido, Collin Barber, Kenedy Corona, and Luis Baez all have decent potential to be 3+ win OF.
Has to be a mistake. Dude got off to a fast start to this season, but that is a big jump for a 12th round Sr signing with only a few games in AA. His last 10 games he has more strikeouts (16) than total bases (15). Hitting .171/.186/.366 in that stretch. Loperfido is my top guy offensively now (I can see him becoming similar to Bryan Reynolds).
Spoiler: Snake's Astros Top 30 Prospects: July/Post-deadline Update Grade 55: 1. OF Colin Barber (December rank: 9): he looks a lot like Drew Gilbert with slightly less defensive value Grade 50: 2. OF Luis Baez (21): destroyed the complex league, huge ceiling, looking great in A ball so far, could end 2024 as an elite elite prospect 3. SS Brice Matthews (NR): We won't know anything until next year, slight overdraft with big ceiling, Dana Brown gets benefit of the doubt 4. OF Jacob Melton (5): Had a good month and his k rate came down, needs to get to AA to really decide which tier he belongs in 5. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (15): Could be in the mix for a callup next month but either way he is clearly Houston's best pitching prospect; I'm not as high as most but still view him as a SP4 or elite RP 6. 3B Zach Dezenzo (HM): very high ceiling player, elite exit velos and defensive value make him a potential offseason Top 100 guy 7. RHP Alonzo Tredwell (NR): Houston's highest ceiling pitching prospect, we won't know anything until next year 8. OF/2B/1B Joey Loperfido (HM): I'm still very high on him, like Dezenzo he has hidden power and defensive value, potential star with high floor Grade 45+: 9. OF Kenedy Corona (HM): still showing really really well in AA, very high ceiling 10. OF/2B Pedro Leon (4): had a pretty good July, k rate is still high and overall value still very much tbd but his other tools are worth a lot (arm, raw power, speed, double digit walk rate) 11. LHP Colton Gordon (27): I am starting to buy in on him; 11.6 k/9 in AA usually bodes well 12. RHP Andrew Taylor (10): chugging along fine in A ball, may develop a little more slowly than expected but big ceiling still there 13. RHP Carlos Espinosa (HM): Made it to full season and has very good stuff. 2024 breakout candidate. 14. RHP Rhett Kouba (HM): 4.8 k/bb rate in AA for a 23 year old usually bodes well 15. RHP Jaime Melendez (11): this was a lost season but I'm expecting him to come back strong next year 16. SS Chase Jaworsky (NR): overslot HS draftee, my opinion of Dana Brown is doing the heavy lifting ranking him this high 17. OF Kenni Gomez (20): can't wait to see how he does in A ball next year Grade 45: 18. RHP Jake Bloss (NR): 3rd rd pick has very interesting profile, will just have to see what he looks like next year 19. RHP Jose Fleury (HM): 12.2 k/9, good stuff, may develop slow but he has a high ceiling 20. RHP Forrest Whitley (7): injury and flat performance, near the end of the line; out of options so may breakout in the MLB bullpen next year 21. OF Quincy Hamilton (HM): thru 132 pa in AAA he is walking a lot, rarely striking out, and hitting for power; if his babip were higher in Sugar Land he'd probably be getting a lot of hype. At minimum looks like a quality 4th OF. 22. OF Nehomar Ochoa Jr. (NR): overslot HS draftee, I am really high on him and resisted ranking him a lot higher, we will see how quickly he shows up in Fayetteville but when he does he will be a major breakout candidate. 23. RHP Angel Macuare (29): the exact kind of prospect in Houston's system that nobody talks about until he suddenly shows up in Houston's rotation and starts getting MLB hitters out with regularity. 24. RHP Ryan Gusto (HM): I was in on him when they drafted him but let the late start and Asheville numbers scare me off; I'm back in on him as a solid Bor/MR guy. He has looked good in AA so far. 25. RHP Tyler Guilfoil (HM): older prospect to still be in A ball but he's been very effective (12.8 k/9). No one will talk about him until he gets to AA. 26. RHP Michael Knorr (HM): doesn't stand out because of being homer prone but he's been good in High A, big time breakout candidate in AA next season; probably has the highest ceiling of the 2022 college p draftees. 27. RHP Jairo Solis (HM): he's been pretty terrible in AAA but maybe should get a pass because of how long he was out before this year. He's only 23 and is still throwing high 90s. Grade 40+: 28. SS Camilo Diaz (HM): this is mostly a pedigree pick, DSL numbers rarely carry meaning. Check back in 2-3 years and he may be a prospect. 29. IF Shay Whitcomb (HM): 30% k against 4% walks in AAA is a huge red flag but he's had that waving since the beginning; SS who hit for big power get chances in the majors. 30. OF/3B Tyler Whitaker (17): strikeouts are a big big red flag but he is posting a very good slash line as a 20 year old in full season ball and has very big power potential. Breakout candidate in High A next year. Honorable Mention / Grade 40+: C: Luke Berryhill, Miguel Palma IF: Joe Perez, Cristian Gonzalez, Will Wagner OF: Justin Dirden, Anthony Huezo, Zach Daniels, Eduardo Perez, Esmil Valencia, Logan Cerny, Jordan Brewer, Zachary Cole P: Julio Robaina, Nolan DeVos, Trey Dombroski, Aaron Brown, AJ Blubaugh, Miguel Ullola, Raimy Rodriguez, Alimber Santa, Alex Santos II, Misael Tamarez Honorable Mention / Grade 40: C: JC Correa, Collin Price, Ryan Wrobleski, Nerio Rodriguez, Sandro Gaston, Juan Santander, CJ Stubbs, Will Bush, Garret Guillemette IF: Ryan Johnson, Xavier Casserilla, Dauri Lorenzo, Waner Luciano, German Ramirez, Jeron Williams, Alejandro Nunez, Alberto Hernandez, Tim Borden II OF: Matthew Barefoot P: Carlos Mateo, Diosmerky Taveras, Luis Angel Rodriugez, Juan Pablo Lopez, Manuel Urias, Cole McDonald, Tyler Brown, Jose Guedez, Valente Bellozo, Brayan De Paula, Blair Henley, Jose Nodal, Alain Pena, Austin Hansen, Jayden Murray, Ethan Pecko, Joey Dixon, Wilmy Sanchez, Luis Vega, Deury Carrasco, Adrian Chaidez Honorable Mention / Grade 35+: C: Andrews Sosa, Jancel Villarroel, Carlos Cauro, Kedaur Trujillo IF: Darwin De Leon, Narbe Cruz, Ricardo Balogh, Sandro Pereira, Chad Stevens, Rafael Ramirez, Jackson Loftin OF: Ross Adoph, Cristopfer Gonzalez, Richi Gonzalez, Kobe Kato, Karniel Pratt, Ariel Lebron, Marco Marcelino, Marty Costes P: the rest of them Traded: Drew Gilbert (2), Korey Lee (6), Ryan Clifford (13) Graduated: Hunter Brown (1), Yainer Diaz (3), Shawn Dubin (14), Corey Julks (18), JP France (25), Grae Kessinger (HM) Fell off the top 30: Joe Perez (8), Alex Santos II (12), Jayden Murray (16), Justin Dirden (19), Cristian Gonzalez (22), Misael Tamarez (23), Miguel Ullola (24), Adrian Chaidez (26), Julio Robaina (28), Tyler Brown (30) Losing Clifford and Gilbert hurt and this farm will be ranked in the bottom 3 in the offseason, but don't let that fool you. Every one of the top 17 on this list could end 2024 as either a Top 100 prospect or an established MLB player. There is a glaring lack of elite pitching prospects but the position player side is plenty healthy and the pitching depth paired with the org's track record still give me faith the pipeline will continue as it has for the last 4+ years since the "decline" of the farm began.
Joe Perez DFA'd... sad to see yet another 2nd rounder let go, especially for a 23-year old in AAA... what is with our 2nd round picks. It kind of puts into perspective the Korey Lee trade, who was just one pick away from the second round... at least we got something out of that one.
