Woodpeckers Watchlist 2025

The 2025 season is around the corner and within a couple of weeks the Fayetteville Woodpeckers roster will be finalized for Opening Day, Friday April 4th at Segra Stadium. The Woodpeckers Watchlist is a projection of players that you could see on the diamond in the opening months of the season. This year’s list features five position players and five pitchers to watch for early in the season. No assignments are official until released by the Houston Astros.

Bryce Mayer - RHP

Mayer was picked up in the 16th round of the 2024 draft out of Missouri and has emerged as a Top-30 prospect on the latest MLB.com ranking following a brief stint with Fayetteville at the end of last summer. He struck out ten hitters across three appearances and 6.2 total innings and showcased a fastball ranging from 94-96 mph. Mayer will be one of Fayetteville’s top arms if he starts the season in Single-A and at 23-years-old profiles as a candidate for quick promotion.

Cole Hertzler - RHP

Hertzler was Houston's highest pitching selection out of the 2024 draft crop to make his professional debut with Fayetteville last summer. The fifth rounder out of Liberty appeared in just two games for the Woodpeckers and struck out six over his brief stint. Hertzler has a strong 6-foot-4 frame at just 21-years-old and should factor into Fayetteville’s alternating starter/reliever tandem as he looks to build upon his 2024 numbers with a full professional season.

Parker Smith - RHP

Smith is a Houston native and Astros fan turned Astros prospect that was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Rice. His first appearance of the 2025 season will also mark his professional debut as he did not pitch during the 2024 summer after signing. Over his final college season at Rice, Smith led the Owls in wins (5), innings (89.1), and strikeouts (78) and tied for the lead in starts (15) and complete games (1). He was also named to First Team All-Conference USA as a sophomore in 2023.

Dylan Howard - RHP

Howard is set to make his professional debut in 2025 after an eighth round selection in the 2024 draft out of Radford. As a draft eligible sophomore in 2024, Howard started 14 games for Radford and struck out 76 across 69.2 total innings.

Franklin Gil - RHP

Gil is a relatively under the radar international prospect who signed with Houston out of Barcelona, Venezuela in 2022. Over three seasons across the Dominican Summer League, and most recently the Florida Complex League, the 22-year-old Gil has pitched to a 2.66 ERA over 35 games and struck out 107 hitters across 88.0 innings. After pacing the FCL Astros in strikeouts during the 2024 summer, Gil should receive more exposure in 2025 with a full-season assignment.

Drew Vogel - INF

Vogel was the Astros 15th round pick out of Murray State in 2024 and made his pro debut with 22 games in Fayetteville last season. Despite a 6-for-71 showing at the plate, Vogel made consistent contact while drawing 13 walks and keeping his strikeout rate at 23%. The Tennessee native will also play a key defensive role all over with Woodpeckers infield if assigned to Fayetteville.

Jason Schiavone - C

The Woodpeckers backstop for the final month of the 2024 season could make his return to the Fayetteville catching core in 2025. Schiavone was grabbed in the 11th round of the 2024 MLB draft out of James Madison and showcased his slugging ability with two homers and three doubles over a 20 game sample.

Camilo Diaz - INF

Diaz was ranked on the Astros Top-30 prospect list at the start of the 2024 season and recently fell off following the latest MLB.com update. That is not to say that the former $2.25 million dollar signing out of the Dominican Republic won’t have a chance to break out with an assignment to Fayetteville in 2025. At 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, Diaz carries raw power and highly-graded bat speed that could make him a main power source in the Woodpeckers lineup.

German Ramirez - INF

Ramriez was called up to the Woodpeckers during the final series of the 2024 season and got his first taste of full-season ball at just 18-years-old. The agile shortstop and middle infielder signed professionally out of the Dominican Republic in 2023 and will likely be one of Fayetteville’s youngest Latin American prospects on the April roster.

Lucas Spence - OF

The left-handed hitting outfielder was signed by the Astros as a free agent out of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and appeared in 24 games with Fayetteville to close 2024. Over that stretch he showcased a sharp eye at the plate, drawing 15 walks and reaching base at a .347 mark. If Spence returns to Fayetteville in 2025 he will play everywhere in the outfield and create favorable matchups against right-handed pitchers who he slugged .318 against last year.