Houston Astros 2025 International Signings Review

Top Of The Class

The Astros signed lefthanded outfielder Kevin Alvarez for $2 million, their top bonus this year and tied for the second-highest bonus for any Cuban player signed in 2025. Alvarez grew a couple inches during the scouting process into a long, lanky 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, adding more physical upside to an already sound hitting foundation.

Alvarez’s hitting polish is what drew scouts to him initially. It’s a mature approach for a player who regularly registers quality at-bats with good barrel awareness. It’s a line-drive, all-fields approach, showing more flashes of home run power now with the space on his frame for more to come once he fills out. Alvarez stands out more for his instincts at the plate and the field than for being a quick-twitch athlete. He’s an average runner who moves around well in center field, where he has good reads and routes. It’s not prototype center field speed, but he should get a chance to develop there at least in the lower levels. If he does move to a corner, he has an above-average arm that would fit in right field. 

Names To Know

Sami Manzueta, INF, Venezuela: Manzueta is from Venezuela but trained in the Dominican Republic at the same academy as Alvarez, though he was a later addition to the Astros’ class, signing in April for $847,500. He’s 16 until Aug. 21, so he’s one of the youngest players signed in 2025. At 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, Manzueta doesn’t jump out physically, but he has shown a knack for barreling balls in games.

The righthanded bat is the calling card for Manzueta, a high-contact hitter who is consistently on time with good rhythm, balance and strike-zone judgment. It’s mostly gap power without huge physical upside, but he has a knack for driving the ball in the air to his pull side. Manzueta trained as a shortstop but he’s a below-average runner who’s more likely to be a second or third baseman, with an above-average arm and hands that should fit at either of those spots. 

Omar Damian, RHP, Dominican Republic: Damian has been an up-arrow pitcher since he signed with the Astros for $397,500. As an amateur, Damian pitched for the Dominican Republic in 2024 at the U-18 World Cup Americas Qualifier and posting an 11-2 K-BB mark with two runs allowed over five innings. He showed his pitchability there with a loose, easy delivery and a skinny, projectable frame, but his velocity has taken a significant leap forward since then.

Still 16, Damian signed at 6-foot-2, 160 pounds with a fastball that was mostly sitting mid-to-upper 80s and could scrape 90 mph. He’s now reaching 95 mph and has the strength projection for more in the tank. That adds significant power for a pitcher who already stood out for his control and ability to manipulate multiple secondary pitches, particularly a changeup that is well beyond his years and projects to be a big swing-and-miss pitch for him. He shows feel to spin a curveball too and has more recently added a slider to his repertoire. 

Anthony Millan, OF, Venezuela: Millan is 5-foot-11, 170 pounds and projects as a true center fielder as a diligent worker on his defense. He’s a quick-twitch athlete and an easy plus runner with well above-average arm strength. Millan has a quick first step, gliding around center field with advanced instincts for a player who just turned 17 in May. A righthanded hitter signed for $472,500, Millan hit well during tournaments on the amateur showcase circuit, using a quick stroke with a flatter path geared for line drives with doubles power. 

Juan Rojas, SS, Dominican Republic: The Astros signed Rojas, 17, for $447,500. He’s 6-foot-1, 190 pounds with a good eye for the strike zone and solid bat-to-ball skills from a sound lefthanded swing with gap power from a line-drive approach. He’s a solid-average runner with a wider frame who has improved his conditioning over the past year and could play all around the infield, with some scouts viewing second base as potentially his best fit. 

Santiago Martinez, SS, Venezuela: Martinez, 17, signed with the Astros for $347,500. He’s an athletic, high-contact hitter from the right side with a line-drive approach and gap power from his 6-foot, 170-pound frame. He has a good chance to stick somewhere in the middle infield, whether it’s at shortstop or second base. 

Pablo Martinez, SS, Dominican Republic: Martinez is 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, a smaller frame from a righthanded hitter with good bat-to-ball skills and occasional sneaky pop for his size. Signed for $247,500, Martinez is a tick above-average runner who could see time at shortstop but is likely to move all around the infield. 

Luis Amador, RHP, Dominican Republic: Amador is a 17-year-old righthander signed for $167,500 with a prototype frame for a young, projectable pitcher. He’s 6-foot-4, 185 pounds and athletic with a fastball up to 92 mph and the look of a pitcher who could eventually throw in the upper 90s. Amador is still learning to corral his stuff in the strike zone and sharpen his secondaries (a curveball and changeup) but has the athleticism that bodes well for his ability to make adjustments.  

Sleeper Watch

The Astros added a pair of intriguing, lower-bonus pitchers from Mexico to their signing class. One is righthander Juan Fraide, who turned 19 in April, and signed for $10,000. Like Damian, he also pitched well last year at the U-18 World Cup Americas Qualifier, where he struck out 15 batters with no walks and allowed two runs in 10 innings. He’s 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, and while he’s not that big, he has the arm speed to run his fastball up to 96 mph. He generates outstanding spin above 3,000 rpm on his breaking stuff with both a curveball and slider and shows feel for a changeup, with a cutter in his repertoire as well.