Houston Astros name Jason Schiavone and Bryce Mayer minor-league player and pitcher of the year
· Yahoo Sports
Jason Schiavone surpassed 30 home runs in the minors this season while playing primarily catcher. Bryce Mayer parlayed an eye-opening stretch at Double-A into a promotion to Triple-A in August.
Visit catcross.org for more information.
Tuesday, the Houston Astros' player development department named Schiavone and Mayer their 2026 minor-league player and pitcher of the year, respectively.
Schiavone, 23, an 11th-round draft pick in 2024 out of James Madison, broke out in his second full minor-league season. The right-handed hitter entered Tuesday with a .246/.386/.521 slash line, 31 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 118 games across three levels, earning a promotion to Triple-A earlier this month. He had 90 walks and 170 strikeouts in those 118 games.
Jason Schiavone (right), pictured with Corpus Christi teammate Will Bush, hit 31 homers across three levels of the minors in 2026. (Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)Mayer, 24, was named the Astros' minor-league pitcher of the year for a second consecutive season. A 16th-round pick in 2024 out of Missouri, the right-hander posted a 2.61 ERA in 69 innings at Double-A Corpus Christi before an early August promotion to Triple-A Sugar Land, where he has a 4.66 ERA in 29 innings. He has 132 strikeouts and 47 walks in 98 total innings this season.
Baseball America rated Mayer as the No. 3 overall prospect in Houston's system and Schiavone as its No. 7 overall prospect in its midseason rankings. MLB Pipeline ranks Schiavone as the No. 6 overall prospect and Mayer as the No. 8 prospect in the Astros' system.
Astros player development also named outfielder Anthony Huezo its minor-league baserunner of the year and infielder Max Holy its minor-league defender of the year. Infielder Yamal Encarnacion received the 2026 Standard Award, a recognition established this season that "highlights a player who represents the core values of the organization in a positive way both on and off the field," per the team.
Arizona Fall League rosters released
Eight prospects from Houston's system are scheduled to participate in the prestigious Arizona Fall League this year, per rosters released Tuesday by Major League Baseball.
Pitchers Juan Bello, Joey Dixon, Francisco Frias, Railin Perez and Jank Pichardo; infielders Waner Luciano and Nick Monistere; and outfielder Nehomar Ochoa, Jr., are slated to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Fall League, which begins Oct. 3.
Neither MLB Pipeline nor Baseball America has any of the Astros' eight representatives ranked among the top 30 prospects in their system. Monistere was a fourth-round pick by Houston in the 2025 draft. Bello was acquired from the Cubs in the Astros' trade of reliever Ryan Pressly.
Subscribe
There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Houston Astros name Jason Schiavone and Bryce Mayer minor-league player and pitcher of the year.