Space City Prospects: Schiavone's Power Surge at Double-A, Huezo Keeps Mashing at High-A
By Drew Mitchell ·
Space City Prospects covers the last 7 days of action for the Astros farm system.
Schiavone's Double-A Power Week
Jason Schiavone (AA, C, Rank: 22) put together one of the more eye-catching weeks in the system, going 9-for-27 with five home runs and 11 RBI across his plate appearances at Corpus Christi. Two of those home runs came on August 26 against Amarillo, his third multi-homer game of the season, and the week pushed him to 27 home runs and 82 RBI on the combined season. He leads the Astros system in both categories by a comfortable margin. The counting numbers are hard to argue with, and they arrive in a Double-A environment that has tested plenty of would-be power threats this year.
The backstory here is genuinely unusual. Schiavone posted a .180 batting average at Low-A last year while drawing walks at a 21 percent clip, a profile built almost entirely on patience and the occasional blast. In 2026, he has retained the on-base instincts while adding a completely different level of power output, slashing .259/.396/.546 across 482 combined plate appearances with 30 home runs. The hit tool grades 40, and the swing-and-miss is real: his contact rate over the last 30 days has dropped to 56.9 percent, with a 41.8 percent strikeout rate that will draw more attention as he approaches the upper levels. A 55 power grade feels conservative given the production, but the elevated strikeout and the fringe defensive profile behind the plate keep the projection anchored closer to a depth catcher with offensive pop than an everyday option. Still, a 23-year-old who leads the minors in home runs and carries a 17.4 percent walk rate for the season is worth watching closely, even if the ceiling conversation stays measured. The power is genuine. The question is whether enough contact stabilizes against Triple-A arms to make this a sustainable profile rather than a hot half-season.
Huezo Keeps Finding the Seats at High-A
Anthony Huezo (A+, OF, Rank: 31) collected seven hits, including three home runs and three doubles, driving in six runs across 21 plate appearances at Asheville this week. The fourth home run in five games came on August 30, and his last-30-day numbers at High-A now show five home runs and 18 RBI with an 11.6 percent walk rate over 95 plate appearances. For a 20-year-old center fielder who opened the season at Low-A, this is a productive High-A debut on the power side of the ledger.
Huezo carries a 40 hit tool and a 50 power grade, and the current output is running ahead of both. The combined 2026 line of .252/.348/.511 with 22 home runs, 43 stolen bases, and a 29.6 percent strikeout rate across 467 plate appearances tells two stories simultaneously: a player creating real damage and a player still fighting the contact problem that defines his developmental ceiling. His swing rate has come down to 44.4 percent over the last 30 days compared to 48 percent for the season, and his contact rate has ticked up to 67.7 percent in that same window, which is at least a directional positive. The arm grades 45, so right field is not a natural fallback, and the center-field projection depends on the speed (55 grade) continuing to play on the grass. A 40 hit tool in center is a real constraint; the path to more than an up-down role runs through cutting the strikeouts while holding the power gains he has made at two levels this year. Weeks like this one keep the upside case alive, and 22 home runs before his age-21 season ends is a number worth circling.
Quick Hits
- Logan Hughes (A, OF, Rank: 1) · drove in nine runs on six hits, adding a double and a home run across 24 plate appearances at Fayetteville this week. The RBI total is a product of a ridiculous run-production stretch: Hughes is slashing .343/.459/.614 with 25 RBI over his last 30 days, with a 14.1 percent walk rate and an 82.3 percent contact rate that make him look like a different species at Low-A. He is a 55 hit and 55 power profile projected as an everyday left fielder, and the early pro sample has not offered a single reason to pump the brakes on that evaluation.
- Zach Cole (AAA, CF, Rank: 18) · reached base eight times in 23 plate appearances, going 6-for-23 with two doubles, a home run, and five walks at Sugar Land. The week is a bit of a bright spot inside a rough season: Cole is hitting .179/.274/.328 with a 39.1 percent strikeout rate across 266 combined plate appearances in 2026, a steep drop from his .277/.372/.541 line a year ago. The 30 hit tool is the obstacle, and a 41.5 percent strikeout rate over the last 30 days confirms the contact issues have not eased at Triple-A. The 70 arm and 60 speed are genuine, but the bat has to show more before a sustainable big-league role is realistic.
- Lucas Spence (AAA, CF, Rank: 24) · went 5-for-19 with a double, two home runs, four RBI, and three walks at Sugar Land. The pair of home runs is a welcome addition for a profile that grades 45 in power; his season slugging at Triple-A sits at .333 across 37 games, so any pop is meaningful. Over the last 30 days, the average has been difficult at .167, but a 19.5 percent walk rate and 28.0 percent strikeout rate show the discipline is holding. He is a 50 hit, 60 speed profile who projects as a left-field platoon piece, and the on-base skills remain the foundation regardless of the hit-rate fluctuations.
- Alejandro Nuñez (AA, 2B, Rank: 20) · went 8-for-22 with two doubles and a home run at Corpus Christi. The weekly contact is a bright spot, but Nuñez is carrying a 3.2 percent walk rate over his last 30 days at Double-A with his swing rate sitting at 57.1 percent in that window, both aggressive even for a contact-oriented profile. He hit 11 home runs at High-A and has a combined .244/.310/.375 line for the season; the jump to Double-A has exposed how thin the on-base numbers get when the hit rate dips and the walks disappear.
- Will Bush (AA, C, Rank: 19) · drew six walks and added a home run and five hits in 26 plate appearances at Corpus Christi. He is a left-handed catcher with a 55 arm and a 16.8 percent walk rate for the season, which remains his most reliable carrying tool. The contact rate is the persistent concern: his last-30-day contact rate at Double-A is 62.0 percent, and a .173 batting average over that stretch reflects how often the approach-first profile produces walks without batting average to cushion the line. The power is 50-grade and the scarcity value as a left-handed catcher is real, but the hit tool (40 grade) has to stabilize for the quad-A ceiling to shift.
- Javier Perez (A+, RHP, Rank: 39) · turned in five innings of two-run ball against Asheville, striking out five and walking one while getting 19 swinging misses on 77 pitches. A 33.3 percent strikeout rate for the season and a 34.7 percent whiff rate are genuine weapons for a 22-year-old with a 93-95 mph four-seamer and a 55 command grade. The issue is the last 30 days at High-A, where a 7.71 ERA across 18.2 innings and 26 earned runs given up reflects a hit rate that his stuff has not been able to suppress. The changeup (45 grade) remains the limiting factor, and the back-end starter projection hinges on that pitch becoming usable against left-handed hitters as he climbs.
- German Ramirez (A, SS, Rank: 40) · collected four hits and three RBI in 11 plate appearances, three of those hits going for doubles. The pop is a pleasant surprise from a profile graded 40 in power with a .294 slugging percentage for the season at Fayetteville. At 20 years old with a 50 field grade and adequate athleticism, there is developmental room, but a .223/.315/.294 season line and a 30.4 percent strikeout rate frame how much work remains on both contact quality and approach before the middle-infield projection gets more interesting.
- Parker Smith (A+, RHP, Rank: 32) · allowed no runs over 5.2 innings at Asheville, scattering four hits with four strikeouts and a walk on 37-of-81 pitches for strikes. The outing is the outlier in a rough month: Smith carries a 10.80 ERA with a 13.8 percent walk rate over his last 30 days at High-A, and his season ERA of 6.89 through 94 innings reflects a profile in which the sinker and changeup (55 grade) generate soft contact but the command inconsistency and modest bat-missing (21.7 percent whiff rate) allow too much damage. The long-reliever projection is the realistic outcome, and the scoreless week is at least a reminder that the heavy sinker and sweeper combination can suppress an offense when the release point holds.