Surprising Houston Astros Infielder Named Top Breakout Candidate

The Houston Astros next breakout star could be an underrated utility man on the infield.

Feb 22, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (30) steals third base as Houston Astros shortstop Shay Whitcomb (right) waits on then ball in the third inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are doing some shuffling along their infield this season, and the biggest winner could be one of their bench utility men.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports recently put together a list of top breakout candidates from each MLB team, and for the Astros, it was depth infielder Shay Whitcomb.

Anderson even went a step further by putting Whitcomb in his "high confidence" section.

The 26-year-old made his MLB debut this past season, and it was underwhelming to the say the least. He has started out spring training well this year and could be facing a bigger role in the upcoming campaign.

Whitcomb was Houston's fifth-round selection back in the 2020 draft and finally showed some real growth last season in the minors.

Over his first three on the Astros' farm, his best campaign was his first year, posting a .293/.363/.530 slash line with 23 home runs in 99 games.

He struggled a bit the season after, but bounced back with 35 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 2023.

In 2024, the California native put it all together for arguably his best showing yet, doing it at the Triple-A level.

Over 108 games, he slashed .293/.378/.530 with 25 home runs, 91 RBI and 26 stolen bases. That sort of speed-and-power combination on the infield is something that Houston has had for a while, but is not very common.

Whitcomb's gotten a nice start to spring training with a .333/.429/.333 slash line with a stolen base and an RBI over seven plate appearances.

The Astros would like to see a little bit more pop, but he is still making strides elsewhere.

Bumping up his walk rate while significantly dropping his strikeout rate is exactly what a team wants to see out of a prospect.

His best chance to breaking out in Houston this season would be to beat out Mauricio Dubon for the utility role, and even win the potential starting job at second base.

Jose Altuve has had that spot locked down for a while, but declining defense has forced the team's hand in moving him to the outfield.

Dubon has been the infield utility guy for a few years now, but a down 2024 could have the Astros ready to replace him.

Giving Whitcomb a shot could be smart for the future, seeing as though he is under team control through 2030.

Whitcomb's potential to be a 20/20 hitter at second base makes it understandable as to why someone believes he could be a break out star.