Astros’ first-rounder looks to prove critics wrong with dominant Fall League showing

Expectations were high for Walker Janek when the Astros selected him in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. The Sam Houston State product grew up an Astros fan in Corpus Christi, Texas, but when it came time for him to make his professional debut, he fell flat.

Taking the field at High-A Asheville, Janek struggled mightily. In 25 games and 103 plate appearances he'd hit just .175/.214/.289 with one homer and a 29.1% strikeout rate. It was expected that there would be a learning curve, but Janek's struggles were concerning given his billing.

Both MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Janek as the best catcher in the draft. Baseball America labeled him as the 20th best player in his class overall, while MLB.com didn't have him much lower than that, coming in at No. 24. It was too early to panic, but Janek certainly wasn't living up to the hype.

Walker Janek looks to continue his bounceback 2025 for the Astros in the Arizona Fall League

After an offseason of training and a mental reset, Janek returned to Asheville determined to put last year's struggles behind him. In 2025, he did just that, slashing .263/.333/.433 with 12 homers over 93 games. A top-five prospect in the Astros' system, Janek is now highlighting the club's Arizona Fall League class. He is confident he's learned his lessons from 2024's struggles.

Janek said the draft process and its aftermath were all a little overwhelming. Everything hitting him all at once was a lot, and as a result, he got away from his game. In speaking about what changed from his 2024 struggles to his 2025 rebound, he stated, "I would say if I changed anything, it probably was just the mental side of it. Just trying to stay locked in every single at-bat and treating every at-bat the same. That's probably what helped me the most this season."

It's not an overstatement to say that Janek has talent, guts, and grit to become a star. In college, he had a spike go through his pinky finger and continued playing. Wow.

In addition to being tough as nails, the 23-year-old has some elite defensive skills behind the plate. Athletic and agile, he excels at blocking and framing pitches while relishing the opportunity to gun down would-be base stealers with his cannon of an arm. In 2024, he threw out 44% of runners while keeping his average pop time under 1.9 seconds.

While his defensive traits are the first thing that catches one's eye, Janek isn't a slouch offensively either. His hit tool might only be around average, but in concert with his plus raw power, he has the potential to be an impact hitter, especially given the fact that he is a catcher.

A strong AFL performance would only strengthen his case as a fast-track candidate, meaning we could be seeing him up in Houston sooner rather than later.