This will be your weekly look at the hottest prospects in the system, highlighting the top performers at the plate and on the mound. Below is the hotlist for Week Three. Check out the previous week’s hotlist here.
Who’s Hot At The Plate?
Xavier Neyens – Neyens, the Astros first round pick last year, put together another big week. In 5 games he hit .333 with one home run and an impressive 9 walks to just 3 strikeouts. Neyens has a .985 OPS this season so far.
Nehomar Ochoa – Ochoa is truly having a bounce back year. He had a monster week hitting .545 with 3 doubles, a home run and 4 runs batted in. Playing the best ball of his career, Ochoa is hitting .326 with a .906 OPS over 26 games.
Jason Schiavone – Schiavone has been on an absolute tear. After being on this list last week, he is here again. In six games in Asheville this week, Schiavone hit .400 with 2 doubles, 4 home runs and an OPS of 1.671. He has 15 home runs this season.
Ethan Frey – Frey was a favorite as a prospect who was going to fly up the system but he got off to a slow start. This was a strong week for him though as he hit .391 with 2 home runs, 6 runs batted in and drew 5 walks for Asheville.
Caden Powell – Powell also got off to a slow start but put together a monster week. In four games for Asheville, Powell hit .563 with a double, a home run and 5 runs batted in. Powell is hitting .277 through 24 games this season.
Kyle Walker – Walker also had a big week for Asheville. The 23-year-old played in five games last week and hit .389 with 3 doubles, a home run and 5 runs batted in. He’s hitting .293 through 22 games this season.
Who’s Hot On The Mound?
Ryan Verdugo – Verdugo was drafted in the 12th round of the 2024 draft, and the right-hander turned in his best pro outing this week. In his one start for the Woodpeckers, he tossed 5 no-hit innings while striking out 5 batters.
James Hicks – Hicks has been a bit up and down this year, but this week was a good outing for him. Hicks made one start for the Hooks and went 6 innings allowing 2 runs while striking out 6. He has a 4.55 ERA this season.
Javier Perez – Perez has been one of the best pitchers in the Astros system this season and this week he had a nice start for the Woodpeckers allowing 2 runs over 6 innings. Overall he has a 2.73 ERA with 35 K in 29.2 innings.
Luis Rodriguez – Rodriguez was acquired a couple of years ago in the Julks trade and has been a pleasant surprise. This week in his one outing for Asheville he went 5 innings allowing 2 runs with 4 strikeouts. He has 22 K in 21.2 innings.
TEAM ERA and OPS:
Sugar Land – From 3.84 ERA to 4.33 ERA – From .700 OPS to .708 OPS
Corpus Christi – From 4.48 ERA to 4.90 ERA – From .691 OPS to .703 OPS
Asheville – From 6.92 ERA to 7.75 ERA – From .719 OPS to .770 OPS
Fayetteville – From 5.06 ERA to 4.98 ERA – From .735 OPS to .730 OPS
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