Astros Prospect Walker Janek Has Massive Offensive Game in Arizona Fall League

Walker Janek, one of the top Houston Astros prospects at the Arizona Fall League, had a massive game earlier this week.

Sam Houston Bearkats' Walker Janek (3) celebrates his 3-run home run against the GCU Lobos during their WAC Tournament game at Hohokam Stadium. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Houston Astros sent catcher Walker Janek to the Arizona Fall League to get their top prospect behind the plate more at-bats. It’s working.

On Friday, Janek started for the Scottsdale Scorpions and had perhaps the best offensive game of the AFL season with a seven RBI performance against Mesa in an 11-0 victory. It was the first time any AFL player had seven RBI in a game in six years.

He hit a grand slam in the first inning of the contest to put Scottsdale a lead it would never give up. It also came a night after Janek hit a three-run home run on Thursday. It was the latest big game for the 2024 first-round pick the Astros see as a potential catcher of the future.

Walker Janek’s Impressive Start to AFL

Have a night, Walker Janek!

The @astros 2024 first-rounder becomes the first player since 2019 to deliver a 7-RBI performance in the @MLBazFallLeague. pic.twitter.com/WvVimGFOwN

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 18, 2025

His first six AFL games have been terrific, according to MLB.com, which wrote about Janek’s huge game on Friday. In those games he slashed .360/.407/.840 with 16 RBI. That included six extra-base hits out of his nine hits.

But seven RBI in a game is rare at any level. So rare that the last player to do it was New York Yankees prospect Brandon Wagner on Sept. 29, 2019. But this isn’t the first time Janek has had seven RBI in a game. Per MLB.com he had seven RBI in a game with Sam Houston in 2023.

His offensive outburst feels like a continuation of his work with High-A Asheville in 2025, his first full season in professional baseball. He slashed .263/.333/.433 with a .766 OPS. He also had 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 92 games. He struck out 106 times in 358 at-bats with 46 walks and 58 runs.

That was a big step up from his cup of coffee with the Tourists in 2024 after he was drafted. He slashed only .175/.214/.289 with a home run and 11 RBI. He struck out 30 times in 97 at-bats with 11 walks and 10 runs.

Janek is playing alongside other Astros prospects in Arizona, including pitchers Anderson Brito, James Hicks, Hudson Leach, Derek True and Nate Wohlgemuth, along with infielder Jeron Williams.

The Scorpions wrap up the week hosting Surprise on Sunday. After an off day on Monday, Scottsdale travels to Peoria on Tuesday, Surprise on Wednesday and Salt River on Thursday before another off day. The Astros are playing alongside players from the San Francisco Giants, the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers.