Astros Minor League Catcher Makes History with 30-30 Season

The Houston Astros farm system has never been highly ranked over the recent years, but talent still finds its way through. The Astros now have a very young core across their minor league system and recently had their full slate of picks for just the second time in the last six years.

There are some intriguing players being developed, and it seems like the Astros might have a unique catcher on their hands.

Current Sugar Land Space Cowboys catcher Jason Schiavone made some incredible history earlier this week. Schiavone started the season at High-A in Asheville before getting eventually getting called up to the Triple-A level in Sugar Land earlier this month.

He's had a productive year in the minors so much so that he was recently named the Astros Minor League Player of the Year. Schiavone is the No. 6 ranked prospect in the Astros system according to MLB Pipeline and just did something that puts him in rare air as a catcher.

Special Moment for Astros Minor League Catcher

With a steal in the fourth inning, Sugar Land C Jason Schiavone joined rare company, achieving a 30/30 season. It was one of three steals for the catcher as the Space Cowboys matched up with Las Vegas on Wednesday. @RedDiamond Recap - https://t.co/AVmOB2Hm8M pic.twitter.com/ze3aRgJCrQ
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) September 17, 2026

Schiavone stole his 30th base on Wednesday night and achieved a 30/30 season as a result. That is generally unheard of for a catcher to steal at least 30 bases in a season. Schiavone hit his 30th home run of the year back on Aug. 29 at Double-A Corpus Christi.

He stole three bases overall on the night that tied a Space Cowboys single-game record for stolen bases.

That power and speed combination is hard to find, but Schiavone has it as a catcher. He became the first minor league catcher in 45 years to reach the 30/30 milestone. The last player to do so was Willie Royster of the Charlotte O’s in 1981.

Schiavone is just the second player in the minors this year to reach a 30/30 season and is the 10th player since 2005 in Minor League Baseball to achieve this feat.

JASON SCHIAVONE 🤝 30-30!

Schiavone is just the second player in MiLB to achieve a 30-30 season this year, and the 10th since 2005 😤#Ascend pic.twitter.com/B15FKgxxCc
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) September 17, 2026

Schiavone is also the third Astros' minor leaguer since 2013 to get to 30/30. The other two were Kyle Tucker in 2019 (34/30) and George Springer in 2013 (37/45). That's quite the company to have, especially considering how they are both stars in the MLB and are also outfielders. A catcher stealing 30 bases is a big deal.

Schiavone is currently up to 32/32 at this point with just four games left in the minor league season.

The right-handed catcher is listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds and moves better than most of his counterparts at the position. That's why he reached 20/20 before the All-Star break this year.

The 23-year-old Schiavone was an 11th round pick out of James Madison in 2024 and played 20 games at Single-A Fayetteville that year. He played 70 games at that level in 2025 before he moved up to Asheville later in the year.

Schiavone quickly rose through the system this year, but still has to improve his approach at the plate as well as some certain areas of catching. Schiavone has great power and a strong arm, but strikes out at a high rate. He currently has 170 strikeouts this year.

Schiavone is also able to play a capable first base. His current ETA to the Astros is listed as 2028 according to MLB Pipeline.

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