Last month, Baseball Prospectus released their newly updated top 101 prospects for the 2025 season. While the Astros have seen some turnover in the system over the last few years, they were able to land two prospects on this list, and the two were rated quite high.
Cam Smith, the 2024 first round pick who was acquired by the Astros in the Kyle Tucker trade, was ranked as the #20 prospect in all of baseball. Smith was a standout at Florida State showing off an advanced approach that led to him hitting .387 with 16 homers his junior year after a monster Cape Cod league where he hit .347 with a .981 OPS in 44 games. Following the draft, Smith played in 32 games and hit .313 with 7 home runs and 24 runs batted in, making his way up to Double-A. Smith is a good athlete that generates high exit velocities and shows off good bat speed. He has well above-average power and could profile for 30+ homers at the highest level. Smith has a strong arm and if he outgrows third base, he could move to a corner outfield spot.
Brice Matthews, the Astros first round pick in 2023, came in at #68. Matthews was seen as one of the best athletes in the Big 1o going into the 2023 draft. The 21-year-old had a breakout junior season slashing .359/.481/.723 with 20 HR, 20 SB for Nebraska. He has a quick swing with strong exit velocities, even for his size. Scouts note he has 20-25 HR potential with good pull power. He covers a lot of ground at shortstop and has the toolset to move to the hot corner if the Astros deem him a fit there. He has some swing and miss in his game but the other positives make up for it. Matthews was able to show off his upside in 2024 hitting 15 home runs and stealing 32 bases as he made it up to Triple-A.
The last prospect the Astros had ranked this high on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 was before the 2022 season where Jeremy Pena was ranked as the #16 prospect. The system is starting to take shape and there are a few that are just off the top 101.
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