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The Houston Astros' farm system is looking a little thin of late — mainly because so many young players have made their Major League debut this season. Cam Smith, Jacob Melton, and Brice Matthews have all made it to the big leagues, and a near-empty Astros pipeline looks even more bare after the team sold off some prospects at the MLB trade deadline.
But a little-known Astros prospect could change the complexion of the team's farm system, and his latest outing revealed just how high his ceiling is. Bryce Mayer, a player the Astros took in the 16th-round of the 2024 MLB Draft, just racked up eight strikeouts over four innings during his most recent start, and his numbers on the season as a whole are quite impressive.
Mayer was just promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi at the beginning of July and has made six appearances, including three starts. Prior to that, Mayer was running roughshod over the competition at High-A. In 12 starts for the Asheville Tourists, the right-hander posted an impressive 31.6% strikeout and only walked 6.3% of the batters he faced.
Astros prospect Bryce Mayer could be Houston's next breakout star
When Astros fans think about the team's top prospects, the aforementioned Melton and Matthews come to mind. The Houston faithful are also excited about catching prospect Walker Janek, but the lack of top prospects could be problematic.
While there's hope for the likes of Miguel Ullola, Anderson Brito, and, more recently, AJ Blubaugh, Mayers continues to fly under the radar. Missing all of the 2023 college baseball season due to Tommy John surgery undoubtedly affected his standing heading into the 2024 draft.
But Houston's front office and scouting department saw something they liked. So much so that they even dipped into the bonus pool to sign him. This season, Mayer's velocity has returned, and if he can refine his command heading into next season, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Mayer make his MLB debut just two years after being drafted.
The Astros — whose rotation is an injury-riddled mess at the moment — would love to have a young, talented arm like Mayer's in the mix. He still has a ways to go before making it to the big leagues, but there's a strong chance that Mayer will break out in 2026.