With the Minor League season opening this week, here's where the Astros' Top 30 Prospects are projected to start:

1. Kevin Alvarez, OF -- Fayetteville (Single-A)
2. Xavier Neyens, SS -- Fayetteville (Single-A)
3. Ethan Frey, OF -- Asheville (High-A)
4. Brice Matthews, 2B -- Houston (MLB)
5. Walker Janek,

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.

HOUSTON -- Brice Matthews, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Astros’ No. 4 prospect, parlayed a strong performance in the Grapefruit League into a spot on Houston's Opening Day roster and made his first career start in the outfield in Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Angels at Daikin Park, with

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The day started ugly enough for the Astros prospects participating in the annual Spring Breakout game Thursday afternoon against the Marlins. They made four errors in the first three innings -- including two by shortstop Xavier Neyens -- hit into a bases-loaded double play in

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

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Astros don’t have a Top 100 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s preseason list for the third time in the last five seasons. Part of that is because of the club’s Major League success; Houston hasn’t had a top-15 Draft pick since 2017 (J.B. Bukauskas, 15th

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- They’re not related and had never met prior to this spring, but Yordan Alvarez has been thoroughly impressed with the team’s top prospect, fellow Cuban outfielder Kevin Alvarez, who shared the field with the Astros slugger for the first time Sunday afternoon. Yordan, 28, was

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?

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

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.

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