2 former Astros prospects that are flourishing with their new teams, 2 who have cratered

When you are a team that has been actively competing for playoff spots for years, like the Houston Astros are, it is inevitable that you will trade some prospects away to keep the good times rolling. Some teams are more protective of their top prospects than others, but good teams typically make trades to bolster the roster, and those trades are (usually) not free.

In the Astros' case over the last few years, wheeling and dealing on the trade market has been complicated by the fact that Houston hasn't exactly had a lot of prospect capital to trade from. However, the Astros have made a few moves here and there, and so far, those moves have been a bit of a mixed bag.

Here are the former Astros prospects that have excelled with their new teams...and those that really haven't

Now, this isn't a list of guys that were Astros prospects, became Astros stars, and then left in free agency. In other words, you will not find Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman on this list. Instead, this is a look at guys who were traded more recently as prospects and whose performances with their new teams have covered the entire spectrum.

Drew Gilbert

It has been a while since Drew Gilbert was in the Astros' organization, as he was sent to the Mets in the Justin Verlander trade. After having his ups and downs in the Mets' farm system, Gilbert ended up landing with the Giants and made his big league debut back in 2025. While he has carved out a role with San Francisco, his performance has left something to be desired, especially at the plate. Through 274 plate appearances in the majors, Gilbert only has a .633 OPS, and it feels unlikely his hit tool will let him stick in the majors for very long.

Will Wagner

Many Astros fans were upset at the time when Will Wagner was included in the Yusei Kikuchi trade back in 2024. While that trade aged pretty well for Houston over time, as Kikuchi was quite good with the Astros, Wagner has turned into a pretty decent player. His time in Toronto was short as he ended up getting traded to the Padres, where he has hit pretty well with a .768 OPS in a small sample in the majors this season.

Jake Bloss

At the time of the aforementioned Kikuchi trade, Jake Bloss was one of the Astros' better pitching prospects. Given Houston's pitching deficiencies back then, sending Bloss out felt like a decision that could come back to bite the Astros. However, it looks like they made a sound decision as not only did Bloss require elbow surgery in 2025, but he hasn't pitched particular when he was on the field. Bloss sported a 6.46 ERA at Triple-A with Toronto last year before he got hurt, and his recent return to Double-A has not gone particularly well so far, though he didn't look too shabby during his rehab before that.

Anderson Brito

The Mike Burrows trade is already looking like a disaster, but it hasn't helped that Anderson Brito has been playing well with the Rays. While including Jacob Melton in the deal doesn't look like it will end up being painful, Brito has struck out 42 batters in 32.1 innings of work at high-A. Walks continue to be a problem, but Tampa is unfortunately very good at maximizing talented players and making adjustments. If they can get Brito to throw more strikes, his swing-and-miss stuff could haunt Houston for years.

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