Once undrafted, this Astros prospect possesses keen eye at plate

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros have been working with hitters this spring to have a better approach at the plate, which means cutting down on strikeouts and taking more walks. The very early results in Grapefruit League action have been promising, with Houston drawing 29 walks through its first three games.

Astros outfield prospect Lucas Spence is ahead of the curve -- pun intended -- when it comes to plate discipline. Spence makes some of the best swing decisions in the system, rarely straying from the strike zone while using the entire field. Spence, ranked as Houston’s No. 18 prospect following the 2025 season by MLB Pipeline, is soaking up his first big league camp.

“It's been kind of surreal, learning a lot,” he said. “Being in a big league clubhouse is definitely a little bit different than what I'm used to.”

An undrafted free agent out of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in 2024, the left-handed-hitting Spence slashed .244/.368/.403 across three levels in his first full season of professional baseball in ’25. He hit 10 homers with 55 RBIs and 27 stolen bases overall, and he finished the season with a .775 OPS in 30 games with Double-A Corpus Christi.

“I think he’s got a pretty good idea of the strike zone,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I want to see him barrel some balls, compete in his at-bats. He’s got a pretty good plan, pretty good approach. You see signs of maturity when it comes to the quality of his at-bats throughout camp.”

Competing and battling are nothing new to Spence, who began his collegiate career at Black Hawk College in Moline, Ill., where he slashed .368/.442/.600 in two seasons while also getting regular work on the mound. He continued to play both ways after transferring to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, where he won the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference batting title (.385) before signing with the Astros for $150,000 as a nondrafted free agent.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Spence said. “It's kind of the way I look at it. Whatever path it took me to get here, it doesn't matter. It’s in the past now, and I’m just looking forward.”

Not only was Spence not drafted, he was only invited to one tryout camp, and that was by the Astros in northern Illinois. Less than two years later, he’s in a clubhouse with Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yordan Alvarez.

“The way they prepare their minds, their bodies, everything like that, has really been kind of eye-opening and a change to me,” Spence said. “Being young, I kind of recover a little bit quicker. Just seeing these guys prep and stuff like that has opened me up to a new perspective on what I need to do to get myself ready.”

Spence has a high in-zone swing-and-miss rates against non-fastballs, so he'll have to learn to solve breaking balls and changeups as he rises through the Minors. He's more of an on-base guy than a slugger, but he has enough sneaky pop to produce 10-15 homers per season.

“[Drawing walks] has kind of been a part of my game for a long time, but the stuff they do here in the Minor Leagues, and even now that I'm in big league camp, they still continue to train us and get us ready for the game with what pitch shapes we're facing that day. That has really helped me since I've gotten here,” Spence said. “The preparation, that stuff’s really changed for me.”

Spence is likely to begin 2026 in the outfield at Corpus Christi, with a chance to reach Triple-A Sugar Land later this season. That will be determined by whether he can become a little more consistent at the plate and making sure his body is ready to play daily.

“I don't want to feel that I left anything on the table after the game's over, so I’m preparing myself in the best way I can and just soaking up from these guys around here,” Spence said. “They played the game for a lot longer than I have, and they've had a lot more baseball games, a lot more at-bats. So anything I could pick up from them to take into my season, help me be a more consistent player, is really what is the end goal here.”