Format = Player Position | Age on 1-4-2026 | Highest level played | Estimated time of arrival
1. BY Jacob Melton | 24 | MLB | 2025
Melton is a left-handed hitter standing at 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds. Melton at his best has speed, patience and strength and a serviceable defense in midfield. His 2025 has been interrupted a few times by injuries, but he is talented enough to compete for a spot in the spring. In 35 Triple-A games, he slashed .286/.389/.556 with six home runs, 12 steals and a 20 percent strikeout rate. He withered under the bright lights, slashing .157/.234/.186 in 78 plate appearances across 32 games.
2. 2BBrice Matthews | 24 | MLB | 2026
Matthews, a 2023 first-round pick out of Nebraska, stands at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds and has an easy pull from the right side: tailor-made for the Crawford boxes. He has enough speed and power to make an impact in the fantasy game, but he strikes out so much that he could struggle to find a full-time job at the highest level. We can look beyond the 42.6 percent percentage he produced in 47 MLB appearances, but the 27.9 percent in 498 Triple-A PAs isn’t particularly encouraging, nor is the 31.4 percent percentage he posted the year before. Houston is quite stacked all over the infield. It could be a while before he returns to the big leagues.
3. SS-Xavier Neyens | 19 | AFTER | 2030
Neyens is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-handed hitter. He has a lot to dream about as a two-way player in high school who could have gone either way as a high draft pick out of high school. Houston drafted him 21st overall and signed him for $4.12 million with plans to develop him as a shortstop, where his double-plus arm and strength would make him a unique fit. More likely he’ll move to third base, but that’s fine for fantasy purposes.
4. RHP Miguel Ullola | 23 | AAA | 2026
Ullola relies on a double-plus fastball that often throws hitters off because it’s all over the place, but his blend of slider, curve and change could work alongside that fastball if he could consistently control two and showcase the others. The stuff is nasty, and he has good balance and athleticism in his delivery, so I’m betting the non-fastball offering will improve over time as he’s exposed to coaching at a higher level. I’m a little surprised the team didn’t add him to the big league staff this season. He posted a 3.88 ERA and allowed just 75 hits in 113.2 innings at Triple-A in a hitter-friendly setting. I wouldn’t be surprised if he broke camp with the Major League team.
5. FROM Zach Cole | 25 | MLB | 2025
Cole is a solid midfielder with plenty of speed and power from the left side. Cole doesn’t have to max out in the batter’s box to become a functional Major Leaguer, but that’s exactly what he did in his brief big league debut, hitting four home runs and racking up three bases in just fifteen games. He also struck out 38.5 percent of the time after shooting 35.1% in 97 minor league games. So it wasn’t all roses and moonshine, but if the season were to start tomorrow, Cole might start in midfield. He hit 23 home runs and stole 21 bases in those 112 games across three levels. Is that something you might be interested in?
6. FROM Kevin Alvarez | 18 | DSL | 2030
Listed at 6’4″, 184 pounds, Alvarez signed for $2 million in January and went to work in the Dominican Summer League, slashing .301/.419/.455 with two home runs and 11 steals in 47 games. He also walked 23 walks (12%) against just 19 strikeouts (9.9%) with a patient approach and a smooth swing, especially for a teenager his size from the left side.
7. BY Ethan Frey | 22 | A | 2028
Houston has long had a shine on bigs, and Ethan Frey checks in at 6’6” 225 pounds from the right side and won two national titles during his time at LSU, where he was a linchpin in the lineup during his junior season to get himself drafted 95th overall in 2025. Houston sent him on a conservative assignment to Low-A, where he slashed .330/.434/.470 with three home runs and nine stolen bases in 25 games. He opens 2026 in High-A with a chance to play three levels in a season if he plays well.
8. RHP Ryan Weiss | 29 | KBO | 2026
Houston signed Weiss for a guaranteed $2.6 million with a $5 million option through 2027, so it’s probably safe to say he’ll be on the Major League roster. He might end up being a reliever, but I think they’ll give him a chance to cement a rotation spot in spring training. He made the most of his two-year stint in the Korean Baseball Organization, doubling his innings total from year one to year two and posting a 2.87 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 207 strikeouts in 178.2 innings across 30 starts thanks to good command of a plus fastball and slider. I think the self-realization aspect of living and playing abroad is sometimes underestimated, especially for pitchers.
9. C Walker Janek | 22 | A+ | 2027
The 28th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Janek brings athleticism and strength with the kind of defense that opens doors for him. Houston sent him to High-A after the draft; he didn’t hit, so they sent him back for 2025 and left him there, where he hit a symmetrical .263/.333/.433 with 12 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 92 games. It’s hard to enjoy the 26.6 percent strikeout rate for a college hitter on a repeat trip to High-A, but that’s the way it goes in this system.
10. FROM Joseph Sullivan | 23 | AA | 2027
A seventh-round pick out of South Alabama in 2024, Sullivan hit a wall during his first full professional season. Not literally. Although he probably did too. Hard to avoid for an outfielder, especially if he has more speed and range. After reaching High-A in 75 games with an .873 OPS, he slashed just .191/.357/.264 in 31 Double-A games. Statline suggests he was passive. Maybe he didn’t see the ball early enough to attack. Either way, he hit 17 home runs and stole 42 bases in 104 games at two levels, so we’d be wise to keep an eye on him.
Thanks for reading!
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