Houston Astros' Boss Predicts His Rookie Standouts For Upcoming Season

The sentiment surrounding the Houston Astros is much more positive now than throughout the majority of the offseason.

Signing the best player at his position will do that as Josh Hader is set to join the organization on an unprecedented contract. Jim Crane took some heat off of himself by opening up his checkbook after it looked like he would stand pat in his refusal to spend into the luxury tax.

So, as the Astros get ready for the 2024 season and another World Series title pursuit, the roster is seemingly set.

The lineup is still one of the most feared in baseball and the starting rotation looks identical to last year. The only thing that could look a bit different is which of Houston's rookies are able to get extended playing time this season.

General manager Dana Brown spoke to students at the University of Texas business school and was asked about which of of his rookies could potentially have breakout years.

To no one's surprise, he talked about two players he's continued to have glowing remarks about throughout the offseason.

"So, we have a pitcher in the minor leagues right now, [Spencer] Arrighetti, who is a right-handed pitcher, he's got a really good arm ... so we think he's got a chance to come up and add to our rotation," Brown said about his No. 3 overall prospect.

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding the 24-year-old former sixth round pick. He appeared in 15 Triple-A games last year and is on the verge of getting called up.

The other one Brown mentioned should shock no one.

"A hitter I would talk to you about is Jacob Melton. He's an outfielder projected to be in the center or right. He's got big power, he can run, he's got all the tools. We're trying to clean up his approach to hit a little bit," he said about their No. 1 overall prospect.

Whenever it comes to anything about the players in the Astros' farm system, there's always a wonder about how good they are since they're the worst-ranked pipeline in baseball.

However, Brown is high on these two and Houston has shown when their rookies make the MLB, they become impact players.

It seems like these two have an opportunity to do the same.