Sep 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Zach Cole (16) reacts after hitting a two run home run to right field against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Astros Rookie Outfielder Zach Cole Named Team’s Breakout Prospect

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI
By Sean O'Leary | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The Houston Astros have been as successful as any team in baseball over the past decade and that was in large part to really a historic run of building the farm system. Homegrown players like Carlos Correa, George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and more have led the Astros to two World Series wins in the past decade.

Sure, they brought in proven commodities to fill out the rosters, but the homegrown talent was the bulk of the reason for their success.

As those players have aged and even left the team, Houston has continued that success. They are fighting for another AL West championship this season as they head into a big series against the Seattle Mariners this weekend.

However, it's been a different formula over the last few seasons. The farm system has suffered in terms of developing the superstars everyone has grown accustomed to in Houston. However, MLB Pipeline considers outfielder Zach Cole to be the biggest rising prospect for the team.

Cole Rises as a Prospect, Rakes In the Big Leagues

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Cole was a 10th round pick out of Ball State University in the 2022 draft. He's spent parts of four season in the minors and hit double digit home runs three times, including two 19-homer seasons in 2023 and 2025.

Although he showed a lot of power throughout his minor league career, he hadn't stayed healthy. He played just 76 games in 2024 and 111 games in 2023. He even dealt with two injury stints in the minors earlier this year before finally getting healthy.

The 25-year-old has some impressive tools. Along with some nice raw power, he has plus speed and a 70-grade arm as a plus defender. His biggest issue has been the swing-and-miss. Between Double-A and Triple-A over the past two seasons, he had a 37.7 percent strikeout rate in 2024 and 35.1 percent this season.

Despite that, he displayed enough power and showcased is speed with 18 stolen bases to earn his call up as the 19th ranked prospect in the Astros system.

Since being called up, Cole has done nothing but hit. In six games, he is hitting .333/.429/.667 with two home runs and seven RBIs. If he continues to stay hot, he will be a viable option in the mix to replace Yordan Alvarez while he is out with an injury.

Time will tell how big of a role Cole plays in the future of the Astros moving forward. His tools and performance so far seem to point to him being a contributor at the big league level, especially if the power is for real.

This article first appeared on Houston Astros on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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