Zach Cole: Astros 2025 Minor League Player Of The Year
Zach Cole was still in high school when Astros farm director Jacob Buffa first tried to recruit him for a summer ball team he coached in Missouri.
Cole’s talent stood out right away to Buffa, who had a company that trained baseball players in St. Louis at the time.
“I’ve always known that he’s among the most talented players on any field he steps on,” Buffa said. “That’s always been true, and that will always be true.”
The 25-year-old Cole exhibited that talent when he homered on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues. The Astros called up the outfielder to make his MLB debut on Sept. 12 after he popped 19 homers and stole 18 bases in 97 games in the minor leagues this season, mostly for Double-A Corpus Christi.
The Astros drafted Cole in the 10th round in 2022 out of Ball State. A hamstring injury interrupted his progress this season, but his high strikeout rate was the biggest issue until he finally had a breakthrough when he altered his swing in June.
Buffa praised Corpus Christi hitting coach Bobby Bell and Astros minor league hitting coordinator Aaron Westlake for the work they did with Cole’s swing.
“He changed his setup a bit, where his hands and bat started to allow him to be on time more consistently,” Buffa said. “It’s been tremendous. He came into the system already being one of the best athletes that we’ve had in the system from day one.
“You could tell there was a lot of talent there, and a lot of unproven talent.”
In 82 games for Corpus Christi plus 15 more for Triple-A Sugar Land, Cole batted .279/.377/.539 with a 35% strikeout rate. But in his final 55 minor league games, he hit .319 and slugged .628 with an improved 31% strikeout rate.
Buffa raves about Cole’s mental fortitude.
“Every single time he’s tested, he learns from it,” Buffa said. “He gets better. He’s so anchored to it in such a good way. He’s so convicted in the things that he does, and he’s so convicted in his process, the routine and the mentality he takes to the game.”
