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?
Kevin Alvarez – Alvarez, who is one of the Astros top prospects, put together a ridiculous week for the Woodpeckers. The 18-year-old played in five games for the Woodpeckers and hit .571 (12-for-21) with 7 runs scored, 6 doubles, 3 runs batted in and even more impressive was that he didn’t strike out once.
Ethan Frey – Frey flew up the Astros prospects list after a great showing following the draft. He got off to a slow start this season but has turned it around recently. This week he hit .476 with 4 doubles, a home run and 5 runs batted in. He finished May hitting .293 across 25 games.
Trevor Austin – Austin has been in the system a few years after signing as an undrafted free agent. He’s quietly had a good season and was good this last week as he hit .500 with two triples and a run batted in. Overall this year he has a .842 OPS over 45 Double-A games.
Caden Powell – Powell suffered a broken hamate bone last year so the power was slow to come this season, but it came on with a vengeance this week. Over five games for Asheville he had a double and three home runs while hitting .375. Overall he is hitting .303 this season.
Cole Hertzler – Hertzler ends up on this list again, and feels like he’s been here every week. This week the right-hander struck out 8 over 5.2 innings allowing just 1 run. On the season he has a 2.54 ERA with a system leading 57 strikeouts over 39 innings in High-A.
Charlie Weber – Weber was signed as an undrafted free agent last year and turned in his best professional outing allowing 2 hits and 1 run over 6 innings while striking out 3. Overall this year he has a 4.25 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 29.2 innings.
Brett Gillis – Gillis has been in the system for a few years but this is two weeks in a row on the list. This week, the right-hander allowed 1 run over 5 innings while striking out 4. He has a 4.32 ERA this season in Double-A.
Juan Fraide – Fraide put together a good year in 2025 and is off to a nice start this season. This week in one start for the FCL Astros he struck out 9 over 5.2 innings. The 20-year-old should get a chance in Fayetteville this season.
Bryce Mayer– After being named the Astros minor league pitcher of the year last year, Mayer has followed that up with good numbers in 2026. This week Mayer struck out 9 over 4.2 innings allowing 1 run. He has 46 K in 29 innings in Double-A.
TEAM ERA and OPS:
Sugar Land – From 4.88 ERA to 5.11 ERA – From .690 OPS to .673 OPS
Corpus Christi – From 4.45 ERA to 4.41 ERA – From .676 OPS to .675 OPS
Asheville – From 8.14 ERA to 8.05 ERA – From .786 OPS to .782 OPS
Fayetteville – From 4.91 ERA to 4.66 ERA – From .710 OPS to .723 OPS
On Wednesday, the Astros officially announced the minor league rosters for all four full-season affiliates. This is always one of my favorite times of...
