HOUSTON -- As Joe Espada aspired to be a big league manager, he dreamed of one day making a future player’s call-up to the Major Leagues a special moment.

HOUSTON -- Standing at the base of the Astros’ dugout steps, Cam Smith, with his bat tucked under his left arm, took a few steps up, pulled on a bright orange batting glove and cracked a wide smile as he headed out for his first batting practice at Daikin Park

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – When players reported to Spring Training more than a month ago, Astros manager Joe Espada was very direct with his messaging to outfield prospect Zach Dezenzo: You have a chance to make this club. Final decisions are looming, and it’s not quite time to make

The MLB Spring Breakout showcase returns with 16 games across the Cactus League and Grapefruit League from March 13-16. Among MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects, 72 are on team rosters for Spring Breakout games, including 20 of the top 30. The Astros’ Spring Breakout roster includes 19 of the organization’s

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Cam Smith, the Astros top prospect who’s impressed the club this spring with how well he’s swung the bat, will get some games at right field in Grapefruit League action sooner rather than later, manager Joe Espada said Tuesday morning. “It’s going to happen fast,”

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart's Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Despite being on the same team with players like Jacob Melton, Cam Smith and Chase Jaworsky, 19-year-old Astros prospect

The Astros keep on winning and their unheralded farm system keeps contributing. They made their eighth straight playoff appearance in 2024, though their streak of seven straight American League Championship Series appearances came to an end. Though Houston hasn’t placed higher than 27th since MLB Pipeline started ranking all 30

This weekend at Daikin Park, a Texas baseball tradition that marked its 25th year continues: the Astros Foundation College Classic, in which six college baseball teams descend on the Lone Star state competed in an annual tournament featuring many future MLB stars. “There have been a lot of future Major

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- It didn’t take long for Cam Smith, the Astros’ top-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline (No. 59 overall in '25), to show his stuff in Grapefruit League play on Tuesday. Smith walloped a pair of opposite-field home runs in his only two at-bats in the Astros’

This is an exciting time of year at MLB Pipeline. The new Top 100 prospects list is out, Spring Breakout is right around the corner, and prospects across baseball are making their presence felt in big league camps. The smell of the new season hangs in the air. And that

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart's Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

While the Astros didn’t sign Yordan Alvarez as an international free agent out of Cuba, the three-time All-Star has undoubtedly become the face of Cuban baseball in Houston. The club repeatedly taps into the baseball-rich island to find talent, and 2025 is no different. Kevin Alvarez, MLB Pipeline’s No. 7

The Astros on Wednesday acquired right-handed pitching prospect Matthew Linskey from the Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Grae Kessinger. Linskey, 22, appeared in 22 games across three levels in the Diamondbacks' Minor League system in 2024, going 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA. The 22-year-old also recorded 51 strikeouts, a .180

Welcome to the final MLB Pipeline Inbox of 2024! We’re about to enter into the holiday season and I’m in a giving mood, and clearly you were, too, given the volumes of questions folks sent in. I’m going to give a hat tip to frequent contributor Stevie D., who asked

HOUSTON -- When the Astros lost star outfielder George Springer in free agency to the Blue Jays after the 2020 season, they had Kyle Tucker set to emerge as a star. When Houston lost star shortstop Carlos Correa to the Twins in free agency a year later, it had shortstop