Jacob Melton

Jacob Melton

24-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Houston Astros
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Melton may not be quite ready for primetime, but he'll likely get a shot as a regular in Houston's outfield sometime this season. Known best for his ability to play quality outfield defense in all three spots, Melton has good size (6-foot-3, 208 pounds) and is a plus runner with a chance to hit 20-plus home runs in a season, but his hit tool still needs refinement. He slashed .260/.314/.405 with five home runs, 11 steals, a 25 percent strikeout rate and a 6.8 percent walk rate in 47 games of Pacific Coast League action, which was well below league average (78 wRC+). On the season, he hit .253 with 15 home runs and 30 steals in 105 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. Melton's ability to steal 20-plus bases in a season is his main fantasy appeal in 2025, but he could develop into a more well-rounded fantasy outfielder in 2026 and 2027, and his defense should keep buying him opportunities amid early-career struggles. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#392
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Astros in June of 2025.
Called up, starting in CF in debut
OFHouston Astros
June 1, 2025
The Astros selected Melton's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday. He'll start in center field and bat eighth in the Astros' series finale versus the Rays, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Regarded as one of the Astros' top prospects, Melton receives his first big-league call-up after slashing .254/.371/.508 with two home runs, three stolen bases and a 21.4 percent strikeout rate over 70 plate appearances with Sugar Land. Melton's ability to play all three outfield spots could allow him to see at least semi-regular playing time, especially while the team has the designated hitter spot open with Yordan Alvarez (hand) on the injured list.
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Batting Stats
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2025
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2025
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Since 2023vs Right .533 6 0 0 0 0 .200 .333 .200
2025vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right .533 6 0 0 0 0 .200 .333 .200
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+100%
OPS at Home
2025
 
 
+100%
OPS at Home
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .667 3 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333
Since 2023Away .333 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .333 .000
2025Home .667 3 0 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333
2025Away .333 3 0 0 0 0 .000 .333 .000
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Jacob Melton compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.50
 
BB Rate
16.7%
 
K Rate
33.3%
 
BABIP
.333
 
ISO
.000
 
AVG
.200
 
OBP
.333
 
SLG
.200
 
OPS
.533
 
wOBA
.263
 
Exit Velocity
102.3 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
33.3%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.154
 
Expected SLG
.178
 
Sprint Speed
30.5 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
100.0%
 
Line Drive %
0.0%
 
Fly Ball %
0.0%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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58 days ago
There's some up-and-comers heading in different directions on Jesse Siegel's latest review.
2024 Fantasy Outlook
The 6-foot-3 Melton has intriguing tools, with above-average power and plus speed, but it's still to be determined if he will make enough contact to be a regular. He is already 23 (turns 24 in September), and while his line as an old-for-the-level player at High-A was fine (.244/.338/.453), it wasn't the type of offensive production most older prospects manage while playing half their games in the hitter's paradise in Asheville. Melton hit 23 home runs with 46 steals in 99 games, so the power and speed is tantalizing, but his age/level is going to be working against him unless he absolutely destroys Double-A and Triple-A pitching this year. Defensively, he might fit best long term in left field, which would put more pressure on his bat.
More Fantasy News
Set to be called up from Triple-A
OFHouston Astros
May 31, 2025
Melton is expected to be called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Ari Alexander of Houston KPRC 2 TV reports.
ANALYSIS
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Still working through groin issue
OFHouston Astros
May 4, 2025
Melton hasn't played in a game with Triple-A Sugar Land since April 17 due to a groin injury, MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returns from IL
OFHouston Astros
April 23, 2025
Melton (back) has gone 4-for-21 with two home runs, two doubles, three walks and a stolen base over six games since being reinstated from Triple-A Sugar Land's 7-day injured list April 9.
ANALYSIS
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Placed on IL with back injury
OFHouston Astros
Back
April 4, 2025
Triple-A Sugar Land placed Melton (back) on its 7-day injured list Friday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Cleared for Spring Breakout game
OFHouston Astros
March 6, 2025
Melton (back) is listed on Houston's roster for its March 14 Spring Breakout game versus Washington prospects, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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