This will be your weekly hot list of prospects who are performing well at the plate and on the mound. Here is last week’s hotlist. Below is the new hotlist for Week Fifteen.
Who’s Hot At The Plate?
Anthony Huezo – Huezo was the Astros 12th round pick in 2023 and after bouncing around in rookie ball, he got an assignment to Fayetteville and came out on fire. In his first week, the 19-year-old hit .500 with 2 home runs and 9 runs batted in. Even more impressive is he struck out just once in 22 plate appearances.
Pascanel Ferreras – Ferreras was “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2023 draft but that hasn’t stopped him from climbing the ranks. After a slow start, he has turned it around including hitting .348 with 3 doubles and a triple this week for the Hooks. He is also hitting .291 over his last 23 games in Double-A.
Ryan Johnson – Johnson also had a rough start to the year but had a nice week this week for the Hooks. The 24-year-old hit .333 with 5 hits and 3 of them going for doubles. In his 28 games in Double-A this season, Johnson has a .709 OPS with 9 doubles.
Jancel Villarroel – Villarroel has been a consistent hitter in the Astros system and had a nice week for the Woodpeckers. The 20-year-old hit .318 with a double, a home run and 3 runs batted in. He’s played all over the field posting a 123 wRC+ and recently earned a promotion to High-A Asheville.
Who’s Hot On The Mound?
Anthony Cruz – Cruz has been a little up and down this season but his highs have been really high. This week, Cruz pitched in one game and went 5.1 innings allowing just 1 hit, no runs and struck out 7. The 22-year-old had a 3.75 ERA in Fayetteville and was just promoted to High-A Asheville.
Dylan Howard – Howard was the Astros 8th round pick in 2024 and after dealing with an injury, he’s finally healthy and on the mound. He’s made it here back to back weeks after tossing 4 scoreless innings this week. It’s limited innings so far, but he has been impressive posting a 3.29 ERA over 27.1 innings.
Andrew Taylor – Taylor has dealt with some injuries early in his career but has been able to find himself a bit this year in Asheville. The right-hander appeared in one game this week allowing 1 run over 4.2 innings with 4 strikeouts. Overall he has a 3.55 ERA in 45.2 innings this season.
Brandon McPherson – McPherson was signed by the Astros as a minor league free agent in June of this year. The right-hander was assigned to Fayetteville where he has been solid. This week, he made one start and tossed 5 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts. He has a 2.60 ERA this season.
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