Astros Pitching Prospect Dominates as an AFL Week Three Top Performer

The Houston Astros are in desperate need of some young talent from their farm system entering 2026, and one pitching prospect has looked outstanding this fall.

Apr 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Astros hat and glove in the dugout during the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros enter the upcoming offseason with quite a few decisions to make surrounding their current core of players. Following a 2024 offseason in which the franchise took a step in the direction of younger talent by trading away some key veterans, they now have a pretty even mix of veterans and younger prospects.

Additionally, their farm system has shown some promising signs of improvement in recent years following many seasons of postseason contention.

One of the names who has been intriguing to watch develop lately has been pitcher James Hicks, a 2023 13th-round pick who has managed to climb all the way up to Double-A already. Now, he has been given the chance to compete against some other top prospects in the Arizona Fall League, and is making the most of the opportunity so far.

MLB.com writer Joe Trezza recently detailed some of the top performers from week three of the Arizona Fall League schedule, and among the group, he had a segment regarding Hicks and his latest appearance. This latest game for Hicks was another outstanding one, and just added to an already extremely effective campaign for the young pitcher.

What Did Trezza Have to Say About Hicks' Recent Performance in the AFL?

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In the article from Trezza, he talked about a few of the biggest standouts from week three of the Arizona Fall League. Following another four innings of work with six strikeouts and no earned runs, Hicks made his way onto that list, with Trezza stating the following regarding his production over the past few days:

"The 24-year-old righty is putting together one of the finer Fall League campaigns from the mound in a while. Hicks remains unscored upon over his three outings, after striking out six across four more scoreless innings in his latest effort. He's worked 11 innings without allowing a run while compiling 14 strikeouts in that span. Dating back to 2016, just 13 Fall League hurlers have gone unscored upon in at least 11 frames, and 11 of those were full-time relievers pitching in shorter stints, meaning Hicks is the third starter with such a streak."

The No. 26 prospect in Houston's farm system, according to MLB Pipeline, has shown quite a bit at most of the levels he has played at. While he still has work to do to showcase similar skills at the Double-A level, he is proving a ton by being able to maintain a 0.00 ERA through three appearances in Arizona so far.

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