Astros rookies' excellent debuts prove farm system wasn't such a disaster after all

Much of the narrative surrounding the Houston Astros coming into the 2024 season was that their competitive window may be closing in part because their farm system is so weak. In some respects, that certainly passed the eye test, as there are still no long-term deals in place with Alex Bregman, Framber Valdez, or Kyle Tucker, and their prospect depth had taken a hit between promotions and trades like the one that brought Justin Verlander back to Houston.

However, some of those concerns have appeared to be overstated for a while now. Before he got traded to Toronto at the deadline, Joey Loperfido looked like a budding star as a rookie, and it is easy to forget that Spencer Arrighetti started the season in the minors and has looked great lately. For a farm system that has been called "bad" by almost everyone, Houston still seems to find prospects that help them every single year.

Now, with Zach Dezenzo impressing after his recent promotion and yet another prospect that Houston traded away excelling in his big league debut, it is fair to wonder if the "experts" were right about the Astros' farm system at all.

Zach Dezenzo, Will Wagner help bolster case that Astros' farm system was stronger than we thought

So many of these discussions are aided with the benefit of hindsight. Looking at it objectively, the Astros have lost multiple draft picks in recent years and, when they have picked, it has been near the bottom of each round, thanks to the big league squad playing well. It is understandable that many considered their farm system to be lacking, given the available information.

However, it is hard to argue with their results. Dezenzo posted five hits and a homer in his first five games in the big leagues, and now the Astros are considering trying him out in the outfield to give him more playing time. In the case of Will Wagner, who was shipped out along with Loperfido in the Yusei Kikuchi trade, he just picked up three hits in his big league debut.

It is fair to say that a couple of the examples here not being in the Astros' organization any longer isn't ideal, and helps make the case that Houston is bailing on prospects too soon, especially given their current depth. However, what these examples also show is that the Astros are still very good at talent evaluation, and they are still using that depth to their benefit.

With Dezenzo, Brice Matthews, Jacob Melton, Walker Janek, and Luis Baez still with the organization and Shay Whitcomb now pushing for a promotion, it appears as though the Astros' talent pipeline is far from dead, despite the team's challenges in recent years.

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