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Flashback: Astros as prospects

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Jose Altuve

Altuve signed out of Venezuela for just $15,000 in 2007 and never appeared on a Top 100 list, but he nearly hit .400 in the Minors in '11 before cementing a spot in the Astros lineup for the next decade plus.

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Jeremy Peña

A third-round pick out of Maine in 2018, Peña rose to the top of the Astros' Top 30 prospects list entering this season before a strong rookie campaign

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Yordan Alvarez

Alvarez first appeared on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 rankings at No. 42 in 2018. The slugger clubbed 21 doubles and 20 homers across Double-A and Triple-A that season before debuting the following June

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Alex Bregman

The No. 2 overall pick out of LSU in 2015, Bregman began the ‘16 season as MLB Pipeline's No. 22 prospect before making his big league debut on July 25, two days before being named MLB's No. 1 overall prospect

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Kyle Tucker

Tucker debuted at No. 65 in the 2015 midseason Top 100 after being selected fifth overall in the MLB Draft. He rose to No. 8 overall by the ‘18 midseason rankings

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Yuli Gurriel

Gurriel signed out of Cuba in 2016 at age 32. He debuted with the Astros on June 9, but not before appearing in 15 games across four Minor League levels

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Trey Mancini

After a brief MLB debut in 2016, Mancini entered ‘17 as the Orioles’ No. 5 prospect before finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year Award voting

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Chas McCormick

A 21st-round pick in 2017, McCormick first emerged at No. 25 on Houston’s Top 30 list in 2020 after he posted an .813 OPS in his first taste of Triple-A the year before

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Justin Verlander

Verlander cruised to a 1.29 ERA in his 20 Minor League starts between going No. 2 overall in the 2004 MLB Draft and debuting on July 4, 2005. He was baseball's No. 5 prospect entering the 2006 season.

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Framber Valdez

Valdez signed at age 21 in 2015 and quickly broke into Houston's Top 30 list at the final spot in 2017. A 2.19 ERA across 37 big league innings the following year brought him up to No. 12 at the start of ‘19