This 'walking tool shed' ends breakout season in Astros system on high note
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As a California kid, Anthony Huezo grew up a Dodgers fan.
He hung the franchise's flag in his childhood bedroom. He grew up around Brady and Trey Ebel, the sons of longtime Los Angeles third base coach Dino Ebel and now up-and-coming prospects for the Brewers. But one of the Dodgers' top foes of the past decade emerged as their biggest threat for Huezo in the 2023 Draft.
"It came down to us and the Dodgers," said Elijah Tupuola, the Astros' area scouting supervisor for Southern California and Las Vegas. "He really saw a path. If he does what he needs to do, he can move through our system quickly. … I think he made the right decision obviously."
Prior to their regular-season home finale Sunday, over three years since drafting Huezo in the 12th round, the Astros recognized their No. 10 prospect as their Minor League Baserunner of the Year after he swiped 47 bags -- the third-most in the organization this season -- across three levels.
But Huezo also found a lot of success this season in the box as the 12th-round pick established himself with one of the best strokes in the system. The 55-grade power hitter slashed .242/.340/.485 with 22 doubles, 31 homers and 73 RBIs in a career-high 112 games, being one of only five Minor Leaguers with at least 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 2026.
Before breaking into Double-A as "a walking tool shed," Huezo served as a fill-in player for the organization two years ago. On Aug. 11, 2024, Corpus Christi heralded the 18-year-old's arrival as the youngest player to ever appear in a game for the Hooks . He struck out twice in three at-bats before being reassigned to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League two days later.
"They raised him the right way," Tupuola said about Huezo's parents, who remain in contact with the scout to this day. "He's doing this for the right reasons. He just wants to be a contributor to the Houston Astros."
In the summer of 2022 at the Area Code Baseball tryouts in Santa Barbara, California, Tupuola started to hear about Huezo, who jumped off the page with his arm strength, athleticism, bat speed, body type and power. The Astros continued to follow Huezo at more showcases that summer.
"You're sitting there, and you're like, 'OK, this guy's checking a lot of the boxes that we're looking for. Let's see how he does in games,'" Tupuola said. "He ends up going to [Perfect Game] National, hits a triple to right-center field. He stayed on it really well. … His toolset was just so unique and what you're looking for at the end of the day in our business."
Huezo didn't have a structured conditioning plan. The former UC Irvine commit worked out at a 24 Hour Fitness. And as the months progressed, Tupuola saw some weaknesses in Huezo's game. The lefty -- who has a 40-grade hit tool -- wasn't using his lower half well through a stance change, struggling with whiffs in a two-part swing that lacked balance and rhythm.
It seemed eerily similar to what the prospect overcame at the start of his pro career.
As Huezo started to turn corners across his first three seasons, his health slowed him down. The outfielder suffered a broken hamate bone in his hand and a hamstring injury. But those challenges bettered his understanding of health and preparation.
"This is so much more about him," said former FCL Astros hitting coach Brandon Van Horn, who nicknamed the prospect "107 Huezo" for his consistently high exit velocities. "Just as big as the tools, his mindset is incredible. His work ethic is incredible. The professionalism is incredible. ... I don't know if I'll ever coach another Anthony Huezo, but that kid, I think he just needed a couple bumpers to be able to fly down the line."
Huezo began to attack early into accounts, ambushing the "get-me-over" curveballs, one of the better pitches the left-handed batter faced each day. Instead of taking them, he started to hit them back up the middle. Huezo wasn't waiting for just fastballs in the upper half of the zone anymore.
"There's a lot of these conversations about approach, pitches, certain counts," Tupuola said. "Even though he's still young, he understands the game. ... He really took the bull by the horns and wanted to get better."
The culmination of those ups and downs through Huezo's first three years triggered the breakout campaign, which also featured improved arm, field and run tools as well as the ability to play all three outfield positions.
"Going back and learning from the failures and for him to be mentally strong and to battle through and to do what he did, you're starting to see the type of player he can be," Tupuola said.
"He's always going to be a swing-and-miss guy. The strikeouts are going to be there, but to see him cut him down to around 30 percent now compared to what it was 45-50 those first couple years, it's a commitment to the kid and his hard work."
Huezo just completed his longest pro season, which started in November 2025 in the Australian Baseball League. When that wrapped up in January, the outfielder made a quick pivot to Florida for the Astros' Minor League camp.
"Anthony, he's had a special year," said Sam Niedorf, the Astros' director of player development. "We've said it to all of our players: 'We're going to challenge you if you earn it.' It's a meritocracy. … We think the ceiling is absolutely not the limit for him. He's going to punch through that and continue to put his name on the map out of the prospects in his class."
"You can't measure the heart of the player, the determination," Tupuola added. "He's a really mild-mannered kid, and it's even-keeled. He'll get emotional when he does certain things, but at the end of the day, you really don't know if he was 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. That side of the game is keeping him alive still. It's keeping him in the mix."