Hunter Pence tops Baseball America’s list of top ten Astros prospects. Pence had a great season at Double A and he was on his way to a great season in the Arizona Fall League before his legal difficulties hit. There’s room for Pence on the big league club so if he doesn’t start 2007 with the Astros, you’ll be seeing most likely by the All Star break.
Number two is left hander pitcher Troy Patton. The starter was very good at High A but struggled at Double A. This is another guy you could be hearing about by the end of the year.
Matt Albers, who got a cup of coffee for the Astros last year, comes in at number three. He was very good at Double A but he split time at three different levels. He could compete for a spot in the rotation at spring training so keep an eye on him in March.
Jimmy Barthmaier and Juan Gutierrez round out the top five. Both are solid arms but Gutierrez is closer to the big leagues then Barthmaier, who was solid at High A in 2006.
So we’ve got some good arms and a major league ready outfielder down on the farm. Good stuff here, and the Astros need it.
