Houston Astros Have Lone Representative in Newest Top Prospects Ranking
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ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has just released their top-100 prospects rankings for the upcoming 2023 MLB season. It's that time of year when outlets begin to publish these top-100 lists and ESPN should be the second-to-last major publication to do so.
McDaniel, like many other evaluators, are not high on the Houston Astros farm system as he included just one Astros prospect in his rankings - Hunter Brown.
Brown comes in as the #41 prospect on the list and it's easy to see why. Brown played a role down the stretch for Houston last season and even got in a few meaningful innings during the postseason. He is slated for a much larger role with the Major League team this season following the departure of Justin Verlander.
McDaniel doesn't bill him as a rotational mainstay however.
"There's still some relief risk and he may fit best in a five-and-dive starter or other hybrid role, but Brown's stuff is lively enough that he doesn't need fine command to get outs," writes McDaniel. "Houston let Justin Verlander walk largely because of their rotation depth and Brown is probably their sixth best option now, so he will likely start the year in Triple-A then get another look later in 2023."
One of the major concerns about Houston's continued ability to contend in the next three to five years is the current state of the farm system. Those concerns played a large factor in hiring Dana Brown, the former Vice President of Scouting for the Atlanta Braves, as their next general manager.
Brown now currently spearheads the farm system, but his contributions at the MLB level in 2023 will likely see him removed from these lists this time next year. It will be interesting to see if any other players in the system can take a similar step forward much like Brown's in 2022.
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