Minor League Baseball

Houston Astros' Well-Regarded Prospect Leads Triple-A Affiliate into Impressive History

Shay Whitcomb hit three home runs on Wednesday for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
Brady Farkas|
Houston Astros pinch hitter Shay Whitcomb (10) runs to first base on an RBI single during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park in 2024.
Houston Astros pinch hitter Shay Whitcomb (10) runs to first base on an RBI single during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park in 2024. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

Houston Astros' prospect Shay Whitcomb hit three home runs on Wednesday night for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys, marking the fifth straight season that the franchise has had a three-homer game.

Whitcomb, a 26-year-old utility player, is listed as the No. 15 prospect in the organization, per MLB.com. He was a fifth-round draft choice of the Astros in 2020 out of UC San Diego. He actually made his major league debut in 2024, hitting .220 in 20 games. He had three doubles, but still retains his prospect eligibility.

Currently, he's hitting .264 at Triple-A with 16 homers and 35 RBIs. He had 25 homers in 2024 and 35 in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Whitcomb has generated some of the best raw power and highest exit velocities in the system since turning pro, and he continued to crush ball in the air to his pull side in 2024. The difference was that he toned down his leg kick and streamlined the load in his right-handed stroke while also showing some semblance of plate discipline. He still chases too many pitches and big leaguers exploited his lack of selectivity while he went 9-for-41 in his debut last summer, but career-best walk (11 percent) and strikeout (20 percent) rates were a step in the right direction.

At the major-league level, the Astros enter play on Thursday at 30-25 and 0.5 games back of the Mariners in the American League West. They'll host the Tampa Bay Rays in Houston.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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