WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- It was his sophomore year at Sam Houston State when catcher Walker Janek began to rapidly lose weight. He dropped about 25 pounds in a month and knew immediately something wasn’t right with his body. So what does any college student with a problem do?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros have another slugging Alvarez in their system -- top prospect Kevin Alvarez, who will begin the year as the club’s No. 1-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline and will headline the team’s prospects who will participate in this year’s Spring Breakout game.

Welcome to Whataburger Field, which sits in the shadow of the Harbor Bridge along Corpus Christi Bay. The breeze, the beach, the humidity -- it all makes a unique and fun backdrop to watch Astros stars of tomorrow try to make their way up the coast to Houston. Get ready

The Astros made the playoffs for eight straight seasons from 2017-24 before that streak ended on a tiebreaker last year. Yet since MLB Pipeline began evaluating farm systems biannually in 2020, Houston never has rated higher than 27th. Obviously, the Astros keep producing enough talent to keep winning. Jeremy Peña

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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

HUMBLE, Texas -- Brice Matthews scribbled his name on a pink cast, a few pairs of shoes, a baseball, some Astros jerseys and even across a student’s forehead. He could never have imagined a moment like this a few years ago, especially during his freshman year at Atascocita High School,

HOUSTON -- The Astros acquired right-handed pitcher Kai-Wei Teng in a trade with the Giants in exchange for Minor League catcher Jancel Villarroel on Thursday. Right-hander J.P. France was designated for assignment to make room for Teng on the 40-man roster.

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Astros have already tapped into the international market this offseason, inking Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai to a three-year deal on Jan. 2. While the players they brought aboard when the 2026 international signing period opened Thursday are a few more years off, the club has long relied on the

HOUSTON -- As the first player selected by Dana Brown as a general manager, Brice Matthews has had a lot of eyes on him throughout his time in the Astros’ system. Those eyes grew wider when Matthews bashed two home runs and drove in five runs in July in his

HOUSTON – Miguel Ullola, a hard-throwing right-hander who’s ranked as the Astros’ No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was added to the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to protect players from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. Infielder Ramón Urías was designated for assignment. Ullola, 23, spent

Astros right-hander James Hicks brought the kitchen sink with him to throw at Arizona Fall League hitters, and, boy, did it work. The organization’s No. 26 prospect may not have any plus pitches, but he used all of them to earn Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Year honors after

HOUSTON – If you’ve watched any of this year’s playoffs, you probably noticed the steady stream of relief pitchers coming out of the bullpen who are throwing gas. Relievers have been lighting up radar guns all October, which is something the Astros didn’t have a ton of this year beyond

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After the Scottsdale Scorpions tapped into a Fall League classic by donning Halloween costumes during batting practice, the pitching staff decided it needed to deliver a treat of its own. Astros prospects Anderson Brito (HOU No. 7) and James Hicks (HOU No. 26) teamed up to spin

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – James Hicks figured he was done with baseball. As a senior at Conway (Ark.) HS, he weighed about 150 pounds and his fastball sat around 82 mph. Colleges were understandably not knocking at his door, but he figured that if he didn’t give it a shot, he’d

The temperature isn't the only thing that's been heating up in the desert with Week 2 of the Arizona Fall League in the books. After a shortened opening week -- due to rain from Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond, which forced the cancellation of several games -- players appeared

MESA, Ariz. – While Shohei Ohtani was authoring the greatest single-game performance in MLB history a state away, Walker Janek turned in one of the best offensive outings the Arizona Fall League has seen in the past decade. Just over 24 hours after hammering a three-run homer, the Astros’ No.