Baseball is back with pitchers and catchers reporting today. With that, the Astros extended invites to some prospects that weren’t on the 40 man roster. While there are some obvious top guys like Walker Janek and Joseph Sullivan, I will focus on a few that might not be as well known. Here are a few prospects to look out for during Spring Training.
Lucas Spence
Spence had a strong junior season at Southern Illinois Edwardsville, batting .385 with an OPS over 1.000, but ultimately went undrafted. The Astros signed the outfielder as an undrafted free agent, and he made the most of his first professional season. He started 2025 in Fayetteville and after hitting .286 in Single-A, he was promoted to High-A where he connected on 6 home runs with a .774 OPS. He earned another promotion to Double-A where he added 4 more home runs with 17 runs batted in and 6 stolen bases. He finished the season with 31 doubles, 27 stolen bases and a .771 OPS in 116 games, and an impressive 14.3% walk rate. A left-handed hitting outfielder, Spence is known for his disciplined approach at the plate, showing strong swing decisions. He also possesses excellent speed, which he puts to good use both on the bases and in the outfield defensively. Read more on him here.
Will Bush
Bush took an interesting route to professional ball, spending one year at Tyler Junior College before being selected by the Astros in the 16th round of the 2023 draft. The left-handed hitting Bush has some above average raw power and solid plate discipline. He has split time between catcher and first base, and may end up at first base long term. The 21-year-old started the season in High-A and posted a .812 OPS with 12 homers before getting a promotion to Double-A. For the Hooks he added another 3 home runs and 14 walks in 24 games. Overall he posted a 121 wRC+, which was near the top in the Astros system. The offensive approach with power and patience really helped him fly up the rankings and now he gets a chance in Spring Training with the big league club.
Hudson Leach
Leach was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 draft. He was solid in 2024 striking out 49 over 38.2 innings. Leach was dominant at times in 2025, but his command would get away from him and he ended up with a 5.54 ERA overall, though he had a 3.51 FIP. He did finish with 63 strikeouts in 39 innings, including some run in Triple-A. The Astros sent Leach to the Arizona Fall League where he struck out 13 in 6.2 innings allowing 3 runs. He turned some heads in the AFL with a really good breaking ball and a fastball that was sitting high 90s, touching 99 MPH. Given the lack of certainty in the bullpen, a dominant spring from Leach could see him on the big league club in April.
Here is the full list of invites.
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