As always, there are prospects that breakout in the system. Check out the best performances below and vote on who you think is the Astros breakout prospect of the year!
Jason Schiavone
Schiavone put together a monster breakout season. The 23-year-old catcher got off to a hot start in Asheville hitting .289 with 17 home runs in 35 games. He earned a promotion to Double-A where he hit 14 more home runs to go along with 20 stolen bases. He finished the 2026 season in Triple-A and had 32 home runs and 32 stolen bases, the first 30 HR/30 SB for a catcher in 45 years putting himself in a strong spot for Spring Training in 2027.
2026 Stats: 97 G, .252 BA/.391 OBP/.531 SLG, 26 2B, 32 HR, 90 RBI, 32 SB, 134 wRC+
Jagger Beck
Beck was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 draft. The 19-year-old had a breakout season for the Woodpeckers. In pitched in 22 games and posted a 2.80 ERA with 102 strikeouts over 86.2 innings. He also pitched once in the post-season allowing 1 run over 4.2 innings. Beck went from a potential afterthought to a top 20 prospect in the system with a dominant performance in 2026. Read more here.
2026 Stats: 22 G, 2.80 ERA, 86.2 IP, 68 H, 27 ER, 39 BB, 102 K, 10.6 K/9
Anthony Huezo
Huezo was a 12th round pick by the Astros in 2023 and after having a mini breakout in 2025, the big time breakout came in 2026. He started the year in Single-A and had a .856 OPS with 20 doubles, 14 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He promoted to High-A where he hit .248 with 10 doubles, 8 home runs and 16 stolen bases over 38 games. He finished with a few games in Double-A and overall compiled 22 home runs and 47 stolen bases in 112 games.
2026 Stats: 112 G, .242 BA/.340 OBP/.485 SLG, 31 2B, 4 3B, 22 HR, 73 RBI, 47 SB, 111 wRC+
Cole Hertzler
Hertzler dealt with a few injuries early in his career but finally had a healthy season and was able to show what he could do on the mound. The right-hander started in Asheville dominating with a 2.72 ERA over 10 starts. He was promoted to Double-A where he posted a 4.20 ERA over the final 40.2 innings of his season. He was nearly unhittable this season holding opponents to just a .183 BAA.
2026 Stats: 22 G, 3.44 ERA, 83.2 IP, 53 H, 32 ER, 46 BB, 103 K, 11.1 K/9
Justin Thomas
Thomas was an 11th round pick by the Astros in the 2025 draft and put together a big year. He started the season in Asheville and had a .868 OPS with 20 doubles, 17 home runs and 34 stolen bases over 94 games. He was promoted to Double-A where he .750 OPS with 2 home runs over the final 20 games. He finished the year with 19 home runs and 41 stolen bases over 114 games between High-A and Double-A.
2026 Stats: 106 G, .248 BA/.408 OBP/.442 SLG, 22 2B, 3B, 19 HR, 67 RBI, 41 SB, 117 wRC+
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