Three Intriguing Astros Prospects to Watch Heading into 2026 Season

The Houston Astros farm system is towards the bottom of the league in terms of rankings, but there are still interesting prospects to keep an eye on.

Hooks pitcher Miguel Ullola throws a pitch on Opening Night at Whataburger Field on Friday, April 5, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. | Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Houston Astros have arguably been the most dominant team in baseball over the last decade, but their postseason streak ended in 2025. What made them so good for so long was their ability to draft and develop stars all over the field.

Form Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve to Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, they seemingly had a new star player coming from the minors every season. A majority of those players are gone now and the farm system isn't what is used to be. That's helped, in part, by late first round picks that they just haven't hit on.

But, over the past year or two, the system has slowly improved. This next season could be instrumental for a few prospects and with the Arizona Fall League, that time might come even sooner. Such is the case for a catching prospect who was recently taken in the first round.

C Walker Janek

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Janek was Houston's first round pick in the 2024 draft and was considered one of the better offensive catchers available. While they have Yainer Diaz, he isn't the most reliable defender and Janek has well above average grades defensively, with his arm being the calling card.

The backstop struggled in his first 25 games at High-A in 2024, but returned to play there the entire season in 2025 where he had a great year offensivley. The 23-year-old slashed .263/.333/.433 with a .766 OPS, 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. Notably, he stole 30 bases, which is unheard of as a catcher.

According to MLB Pipeline, Janek threw out 52 percent of base runners in his final season of college, and the Astros saw him as the best defender in the draft. He will play above High-A for the first time next season, and if he can continue to be an above average defender with good power at the plate, he could be fast tracked to the big leagues.

Janek is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he could raise his prospect stock in a big way going against the best of the best. Through four games, Janek has hit .375 with two doubles, a home runs and six RBIs.

RHP Miguel Ullola

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Ullola is the highest ranked pitcher in the system according to Pipeline, but he also has the highest ceiling. The right-hander was signed out of the Dominican Republic as an 18-year-old in 2021 and pitched in Triple-A as a 23-year-old this season.

He throws four pitches, with two of them being plus. His slider is slightly above average and is his best offspeed pitch. His fastball is one of the best in the minors, given a 70 grade and reaching 98 with "a flat approach angle and tremendous carry up in the zone," according to his scouting report.

Ullola's calling card is the strikeout. He has a career 12.0 K/9 in the minor leagues and struck out 131 batters in 113.2 innings, a 10.4 K/9, this season. The arm is electric and the stuff has continues to play at every level of the minors.

However the issue is his command. In 28 outings in 2025, Ullola walked 6.2 batters per nine innings, which is something he's consistently done throughout his career. It will be the main thing to watch with the right-hander next season because if he can tone that down, the ceiling is sky high. If not, well, he's going to be a reliever.

RHP Ryan Forcucci

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Forcucci is maybe the most interesting prospect in the system heading into 2026. He was drafted in the third round of the 2024 draft out of UC San Diego, but he wasn't going to pitch due to having already had Tommy John surgery. Despite hoping to make his debut at the end of 2025 or even in the Fall League, he didn't pitch this year.

The right-hander has great stuff. A mid-90s fastball that he pairs with a plus slider as his out pitch, as well as a curveball and changeup that are still in the development stages, but both the fastball and slider are plus.

In his career at UC San Diego, Forcucci threw 132.1 innings, posting a 3.67 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. In his final season, the 22-year-old was surging before he got hurt, allowing just six earned runs in 25 innings while striking out 37.

When he returns to action, it will have been two years since he's thrown a pitch in a game. It might take some time to shake off the rust, but Houston liked him enough to take him in the third round even despite the surgery.

Forcucci is essentially a complete unknown, but the upside and stuff is worth paying attention to, even if there are ups and downs.