This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- The Astros have a prospect at Single-A Fayetteville whose sprint speed eclipses 30 feet per second, which is considered elite, who can throw 87 mph across the diamond and has hit a ball with a 113 mph exit velocity this year, which indicates elite bat speed. All those tools have landed infielder Caden Powell on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Astros prospects list at No. 30.
Powell, a sixth-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft from Seminole State Junior College, possesses an abundance of raw physical tools and is off to a solid start at the plate for Fayetteville. He’s largely flown under the radar because he was drafted out of junior college.
“Quite frankly, his triple-slash line last year wasn't very good,” Astros senior director of player development and performance science Jacob Buffa said. “I think you add that he’s a sixth-rounder from JUCO, the fact that he didn’t have a good first showing in pro ball and I think that's probably why [he’s unheralded]. But if he continues this trend, this performance through the year, then by the [Trade] Deadline, he'll be in those conversations.”
In his 24-game introduction to professional baseball last year at Fayetteville, Powell slashed .241/.287/.379 with two homers, six stolen bases and only four walks. Through his first 32 games this year at Fayetteville, he’s slashing .262/.331/.446 with six home runs, nine steals and 12 walks, while striking out 45 times.
Defensively, he’s made 21 starts at shortstop, six at second base and three at third base.
“At those lower levels, we’re trying to expose them to a couple of different infield positions, but he’ll stick on the dirt,” Buffa said. “His role right now is basically the three-hole hitter. He's performed excellently up there at Fayetteville. He’s got an OPS over .800. It's been a really good start to the season.”
Powell was named the 2024 NJCAA DI Baseball Player of the Year last year, hitting .502 with 109 hits and 104 RBIs for Seminole State. In 217 at-bats, he had 32 home runs, 17 doubles and seven triples. He signed with Oklahoma State but wound up taking a $422,500 signing bonus from the Astros.
The biggest issue Powell faced last year at Fayetteville was plate discipline, with four walks and 34 strikeouts. He’s improved those numbers this year while still exhibiting his elite tools.
“Obviously, if there wasn't any holes in his game, he'd be in the big leagues,” Buffa said. “There’s some swing-and-miss and some chase that were pretty prevalent last year. … It's a big adjustment going from JUCO to Fayetteville, but he's made those strides so far this year where those things are not completely gone, but they're significantly better, which I think if he's selecting better pitches to swing at, those types of physical tools show up a little bit more.”
Powell is a right-handed hitter whose offensive profile remains extremely high, and the prospect world is starting to take notice.
“He's going to find barrels, and he's going to slug, especially with that type of bat speed,” Buffa said. “I think he could develop into a lot of contact, and in [that] case, you're looking at one of the more elite hitters in the game, just in terms of a triple-slash line -- average, OBP and slug. Or he could develop into more walks, and in which case you're looking at a kind of Kyle Schwarber [comparison]. I hesitate to drop those names, because I don't necessarily want to think that any player will turn into a hitter like that, but those are the type of profiles that he could be looking at.”