Welcome to our 2022 team top prospect rankings series. Leading up to Minor League Opening Day, Eric Cross and Chris Clegg will go through all 30 Major League organizations, continuing today with their Houston Astros Top Prospects for dynasty leagues. In each installment of this series, you’ll find the top-20 rankings from both Eric Cross (AVG) and Chris Clegg (OBP) along with one prospect each that they’re targeting heavily in dynasty leagues right now. Hopefully, these rankings will help you in your dynasty leagues, and maybe give you some new trade targets to consider.
While this farm system isn’t currently one of the top organizations in baseball on paper, the Houston Astros track record speaks for itself. It also doesn’t help that they lost a few draft picks over the last few years due to the cheating scandal from 2019. But don’t write off a lot of the names in this system. Houston has a way of taking prospects that aren’t big names and turning them into productive Major Leaguers, especially on the mound. Well, except for Forrest Whitley.
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Houston Astros Top Prospects
| Eric Cross (AVG) | Rank | Chris Clegg (OBP) |
|---|---|---|
| Pedro Leon (OF/SS) | 1 | Jeremy Pena (SS) |
| Jeremy Pena (SS) | 2 | Pedro Leon (OF/SS) |
| Forrest Whitley (RHP) | 3 | Hunter Brown (RHP) |
| Hunter Brown (RHP) | 4 | Korey Lee (C) |
| Joe Perez (3B) | 5 | Joe Perez (3B) |
| Shay Whitcomb (SS) | 6 | Yainer Diaz (C) |
| Yainer Diaz (C) | 7 | Alex Santos (RHP) |
| Alex Santos (RHP) | 8 | Forrest Whitley (RHP) |
| Korey Lee (C) | 9 | Tyler Whitaker (OF) |
| Freudis Nova (INF) | 10 | Matthew Barefoot (OF) |
| Tyler Whitaker (OF) | 11 | Jairo Solis (RHP) |
| Jordan Brewer (OF) | 12 | Colin Barber (OF) |
| Colin Barber (OF) | 13 | Grae Kessinger (INF) |
| Richi Gonzalez (OF) | 14 | Cristian Gonzalez (SS) |
| Dauri Lorenzo (SS) | 15 | Tyler Ivey (RHP) |
| Matthew Barefoot (OF) | 16 | Jaime Melendez (RHP) |
| Tyler Ivey (RHP) | 17 | Peter Solomon (RHP) |
| Zach Daniels (OF) | 18 | Shawn Dubin (RHP) |
| Yohander Martinez (SS) | 19 | Richi Gonzalez (OF) |
| Cristian Gonzalez (SS) | 20 | Dauri Lorenzo (SS) |
Cross’ Prospect to Target: Jeremy Pena
As it stands now, this Houston Astros farm system lacks a ton of excitement, but one name I’m definitely targeting both for dynasty and deeper redraft leagues is Jeremy Pena. The former University of Maine shortstop has quietly put together a solid minor league career. In 182 games, Pena has slashed .291/.371/.444 with 59 extra-base hits, 18 home runs, and 29 steals. His power really took a step forward last season as well with 10 homers, a .579 SLG, and .282 ISO in 37 games.
Now he gets a chance to take over at shortstop in Houston with Carlos Correa’s departure and Houston not bringing in another big-name shortstop this offseason. To me, that shows that they were content with their in-house options, including Pena. While he doesn’t project as a major impact offensive talent, Pena projects as an average to above-average hitter with above-average speed, and the power has grown to where he could settle in as a 15-18 homer guy, especially with the Crawford Boxes. For both redraft and dynasty leagues, his price tag is very reasonable, so I’d highly recommend trying to acquire a few shares before people see him producing in the Majors.
Clegg’s Prospect to Target: Yainer Diaz
Looking to acquire a player in dynasty that no one is talking about? Yainer Diaz is that player. Diaz was traded to Houston from Cleveland in the Phil Maton trade. Diaz has hit at every level and makes elite contact. He has a career .328 batting average in 966 career minor league games. The power began to come last season as he hit 17 home runs in 412 plate appearances while still running very good contact rates.
Diaz is a catcher which causes some people to turn their nose up for fantasy purposes. The good news is that he has played some first base, but for a catcher, he has a unique skillset. There is a strong possibility that Diaz is not rostered unless you are in a deep dynasty league. Check the wire and pick up Diaz before his value takes off.
Media Credit: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
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