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 Eighteen.
Who’s Hot At The Plate?
Walker Janek – Janek had a rough start to the season and ended up on the injured list. He got healthy and has been crushing ending up on this list again this week. In four games for the Hooks, Janek hit .529 with a double, 2 home runs, 7 runs batted in and 4 stolen bases.
DJ Newman – Newman also faced some injuries issues but has been really good since coming back. This week in five games for the Woodpeckers, he hit .583 with 2 doubles, a home run, 7 runs batted in and 2 stolen bases. He has a .883 OPS through 37 games this season.
Kevin Alvarez – Alvarez, one of the Astros top prospects, put together a really nice week for the Woodpeckers. In five games the 18-year-old hit .375 with 2 doubles, a triple, a home run and 6 walks to 3 strikeouts. Overall this season, Alvarez is hitting .281 with 23 doubles and 9 home runs.
Jason Schiavone – Schiavone has been one of the breakout prospect this season and despite slowing down a bit in Double-A, he had a big week this week. In four games for the Hooks, he hit .500 with 4 doubles, 5 runs batted in and 3 stolen bases. Schiavone has a .973 OPS overall this season.
Who’s Hot On The Mound?
Bryce Mayer – Mayer has continued to dominate in the minors and this week had his best outing of the season. In his one start for the Hooks, Mayer tossed 6 scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits with 9 strikeouts. On the season, he has a 2.61 ERA with 100 strikeouts over 69 innings.
Nolan DeVos – DeVos looked like a great pick back in 2023 when he had a breakout season, but injuries over the last couple of years have hurt him. This year after some time in Asheville, DeVos has promoted to Double-A and been great. This week DeVos struck out 7 over 6 innings allowing 2 runs.
Ryan Verdugo – Verdugo was drafted by the Astros in the 12th round of the 2024 draft and has been really good at times this year. In one outing this week for the Woodpeckers, Verdugo tossed 6 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. He’s allowed just 47 hits over 65.2 innings in Single-A.
James Hicks – Hicks seems to alternate good and bad outings, and this week was a good one. In his start for the Hooks, Hicks allowed one runs over 5.1 innings. On the season, he has a 4.96 ERA but has also turned in some really good outings and might see Triple-A this year.
TEAM ERA and OPS:
Sugar Land – From 4.56 ERA to 4.50 ERA – From .702 OPS to .712 OPS
Corpus Christi – From 4.58 ERA to 4.57 ERA – From .719 OPS to .727 OPS
Asheville – From 7.19 ERA to 7.39 ERA – From .808 OPS to .806 OPS
Fayetteville – From 4.87 ERA to 4.75 ERA – From .733 OPS to .746 OPS
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