The Astros have a proven track record of uncovering star talent without relying on top draft picks. Once again, they may have worked their magic with their 2024 seventh-round selection, outfielder Joseph Sullivan.
Sullivan, the grandson of former Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, attended the University of South Alabama. But given his ties to football in his family, the decision to pursue only baseball was one he definitely had to think about.
“It wasn’t too terribly difficult,” Sullivan told AstrosFuture on the AstrosFuture Podcast. “I knew I would like to play professional ball, whether that be baseball or football. I didn’t know, but I was a little bit undersized in high school, so I kind of geared toward baseball and also just like longevity of having like a long career and health wise, I knew that would probably be the safer option.
“And so then I think it was my sophomore year high school was when I really decided to kind of go all in on baseball and just to see where it could go and then I also finished playing football in high school, which I’m so glad that I did finish playing throughout my senior year and had a blast and left it all out there.”
Sullivan also talked about how his defensive position in football helped him in baseball.
“Definitely the physical tool and just kind of the daily grind of your body wearing down and just kind of how to play through that,” Sullivan said. “So that’s definitely one thing, but also the footwork in the outfield and kind of tracking down balls. I was a safety, so I had to do a lot of footwork drills and hip, like just kind of rotating and explosive stuff”
At the University of South Alabama, Sullivan put together a nice college career including a breakout sophomore season where he hit .304 with 13 home runs. He then played in the MLB Draft League, a wood bat league, where he had great success hitting .288 with a 1.097 OPS in 19 games.
“It was definitely great just to get out there with wood bat and playing against good competition,” Sullivan said. “But it definitely helped me a ton and there were definitely some scouts out there watching me and being a draft sophomore as well up there had helped going into my junior year in college.”
Sullivan began the 2025 season with Asheville and quickly made an impact. The 22-year-old posted impressive stats, including a .872 OPS, 15 home runs, and 34 stolen bases across 75 games. He also showed excellent plate discipline, drawing 65 walks and getting hit by pitches 14 times.
“Yeah, I have no idea [on why he gets hit by pitches so often]. I even got hit a ton in college and high school, and I don’t even stand that close to the plate,” Sullivan said. “I’ve talked to some people about it, and they might say like presence in the box, where they don’t really want to throw it over the zone, and they’re thinking too much, maybe.
“But as far as my approach and stuff, I really am just looking right over the plate. And then I know what I’m looking for, and if it’s not there, then I don’t swing, hopefully.”
Following his success in High-A, Sullivan was promoted to Double-A. Despite the promotion in minor league levels, the travel gets worse going to the Texas League.
“The Texas League is definitely a grind,” Sullivan said. “I mean, I just got back from my first road trip and it was 12 hours and they don’t do the sleeper buses so you can’t lay down necessarily on the bus, which is even more difficult. So it’s been an adjustment, but it’s also fun bonding time with the guys and playing cards and just games on the bus. It makes it enjoyable.”
Sullivan quickly adapted to the Texas League connecting on a double, 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in over his first series. While he has cooled off a bit, he still has an OPS around .700 in Double-A, in his first full season.
“For me, honestly, it was a confidence booster and it’s just one step closer to Triple-A and then one step closer to the show and just having a deep confidence and knowing that hopefully I could be a big leaguer for a long time in the future,” Sullivan said.
“And honestly, the biggest thing is my faith is what drives me. And so at the end of the day, I just play as hard as I can and then leave it up to the Lord with the results,” Sullivan said. “And that just gives me the piece that I can play with every single day and not really worry about what happens.”
Before the season even started though, Sullivan earned an opportunity to play with the big league club Spring Training. This was an experience that he really learned from.
“Yeah I really enjoyed my time up there with them [Astros],” Sullivan said. “Just the way they approached the game, it was honestly really cool because it’s the same game at the end of the day, but they’ve been around a long time and so just like their intent and how they handle their business and the way they play is very focused.
“And I’ve noticed that all the little details matter in a sense of going to the postseason and win a World Series. It really opened my eyes to how much really goes on in the game so that was really cool just to be around such a great group of guys and just very talented,” Sullivan added.
Now being a minor league baseball player for over a year, Sullivan has been able to don multiple different uniforms with some of them being fun jerseys. The AstrosFuture Podcast asked him what his favorite jersey is that he has worn so far.
“Yeah, I was first so confused about the Oat Milkers jerseys in Fayetteville… I didn’t really understand that,” Sullivan said with a laugh. “But then the Harry Potter ones were really cool. They’ve [Fayetteville] got a great thing going on down there with just the fan interactions and it was such a great experience like right after the draft.”
Surprisingly, Sullivan revealed he’s never seen any of the Harry Potter movies. After a strong debut season as a full-time professional, though, he’ll have plenty of downtime this offseason to finally dive into the iconic series.
The Astros’ scouting department has distinguished itself by consistently uncovering hidden gems in the draft. It looks like Joseph Sullivan could be their latest find.
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