10 Astros Prospects To Watch Beyond The Top 30

The Astros Top 30 prospects rankings are up now for Baseball America subscribers, with full scouting reports, BA grades and tools grade projections for all 30 players.

Through the process of narrowing the list down to a Top 30, there are other intriguing names who didn’t make the cut but are worth monitoring, with the potential to jump into the Top 30 in the future. Some of those are players who might be in the upper levels and could see big league time this year, though likely in a limited role, while others are lower-level players still in the complex leagues with more upside but plenty of risk.

Beyond the Top 30, these are 10 prospects to watch in Houston’s farm system.

J.J. Matijevic, 1B/OF. Matijevic debuted in the majors in 2022 but struggled against major league pitching. He’s flashed above-average power and on-base skills throughout his minor league career.

Parker Mushinski, LHP. A relief-only prospect who is a major league-ready product, Mushinski made seven appearances for the Astros in 2022. He uses a kitchen sink worth of pitches, showing five different shapes with fringy command. 

Jayden Murray, RHP. Murray was acquired from the Rays at the 2022 trade deadline as a part of the three-team trade that sent Jose Siri to Tampa. The righthander uses five pitches, the best of which is a sweepy slider sitting 79-81 mph with over a foot of horizontal break. 

Jimmy Endersby, RHP. Endersby signed out of Division II Concordia (Calif.) as a nondrafted free agent following the five-round 2020 draft. After a strong 2021 debut campaign that saw the righthander reach Double-A by season’s end, he struggled in 2022 over 12 appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land, allowing 38 earned runs over 44.2 innings. Despite his struggles, Endersby boasts a pair of breaking balls that generate high whiff rates. 

Alimber Santa, RHP. Santa is an exciting, projectable righthander whose 2022 season was derailed by injury during his first appearance of the year. He returned late in August, making two appearances with the Astros Florida Complex League team. He has an above-average four-seam fastball he can run up to 97 mph at peak, and mixes it with a higher-spin breaking ball with inconsistent shape. 

Tyler Whitaker, OF. The Astros first pick in the 2021 draft, Whitaker struggled in his first full professional season, hitting .187/.266/.313 over 122 games. Despite poor bat-to-ball skills, Whitaker showcased above-average raw power in games, boasting an average exit velocity of 89 mph with a hard-hit rate of 41% on balls in play. A toolsy athlete, Whitaker has upside if he can improve his contact skills. 

Luis Baez, OF. A physical righthanded slugger who signed during the 2022 international free agency period, Baez debuted in the Dominican Summer League and hit .305/.351/.552 over 58 games while displaying plus raw power. His 52% hard-hit rate and 91.8 mph average exit velocity were among the best in the DSL last summer. 

Edinson Batista, RHP. The Dominican righthander made 24 appearances in 2022 across two levels and performed, racking up 127 strikeouts across 107.2 innings. Batista uses four pitches led by a pair of breaking balls that generate whiffs at a high rate (a sweepy low-80s slider and a two-plane breaking curveball in the upper 70s). 

Julio Robaina, LHP. A diminutive lefthander who uses five different pitch shapes, including a pair of sweepy breaking balls in a mid-70s curveball and an upper-70s slider, Robaina struggled in 2022 as his low-90s four-seamer was hit hard by opposing batters to the tune of a .480 wOBA. 

Alex Santos, RHP. The Astros supplemental second-round pick in 2020, Santos mixes four pitches, led by a high-ride four-seam fastball in the 88-91 mph range. He combines his hoppy fastball with a pair of breaking ball shapes and a low-80s changeup. His cutter-hybrid slider is the best pitch in his arsenal, grading out as an above-average pitch on Stuf+ models.