{
  "id": 18019692,
  "title": "Houston Astros made some notable hires in player development. What they bring to organization",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/houston-astros-made-some-notable-hires-in-player-development-what",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-03T21:05:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/houston-astros-made-notable-hires-210540831.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Houston Astros recently made several notable hires in player development, including former Yankees Triple-A pitching coach Spencer Medick, who will focus on helping prospects throw harder. Conner Watson was hired as the director of hitting, previously the Guardians' assistant director of hitting development. Clayton Thompson was brought in as the assistant director of player development, formerly the Dodgers' coordinator of integrated performance. All three new hires previously worked at Driveline Baseball. The Astros are aiming to improve their pitching velocity, as they ranked 15th in average velocity among 30 teams in 2026. The new directors will primarily oversee the minor-league system, with the hope of modernizing the velocity development phase, which the Astros have found lacking in recent years.",
  "summary": "Houston hired three player development leaders, including Spencer Medick, whose pitching work will focus on helping prospects throw harder.",
  "key_points": [
    "Houston Astros hire former Yankees Triple-A pitching coach Spencer Medick.",
    "Conner Watson appointed as director of hitting, former Guardians assistant.",
    "Clayton Thompson named assistant director of player development, former Dodgers coordinator."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}