SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Astros’ baffling paradox of a last-ranked farm system proved true again over the last week when the Sugar Land Space Cowboys swept two games to win the Pacific Coast League title and took down a winner-take-all Triple-A National Championship in Las Vegas.
The video above is from a 2022 report on the launching of the rebranded Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
The Space Cowboys, who boasted 2024 major league call-ups like Shay Whitcomb, Zach Dezenzo, and Forrest Whitley, secured a Triple-A-best 93-win regular season before heading into their PCL championship series against the Reno Aces at Constellation Field.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Space Cowboys outscored the Aces 19-4, spread out over two victories to clinch the PCL title and qualify for the overall national championship game against the International League champions, the Omaha Storm Chasers, the following Saturday, about 1,400 miles away in Las Vegas.
Whitcomb, sent down to Sugar Land days after a disastrous four-error game with the Astros last Wednesday, drove in three runs on three hits to energize the Space Cowboys to a 13-6 victory and the title, the club’s first ever. Whitcomb was named MVP of the game.
The historic season came despite the MLB Pipeline ranking the Astros’ farm system 30th out of 30 ballclubs due to the team’s absence of a top-100 prospect.
However, MLB Pipeline said Houston has had at least one player earn a Rookie of the Year vote in each of the past five seasons. The Astros’ future looks bright still – shortstop and Houston native Brice Matthews, who scored three runs in the Triple-A title game, waits in the wings after the team selected him in the 2023 draft. Houston also has Walker Janek, the 2024 draft’s best catcher, in its developmental system.
SEE ALSO: Digging into the process of rebranding from Sugar Land Skeeters to Space Cowboys
The Houston Astros’ mission of a third World Series championship starts with the American League Wild Card series. Watch Game 1 on ABC13, Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
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