A seven-pound metal hook crashed through the windshield of a car driven by Houston Astros prospect Nehomar Ochoa Jr. while he was driving on an interstate in March 2025, an accident that left the outfielder with a frontal sinus fracture.
Ochoa, a 21-year-old Galena Park High School graduate drafted by the Astros in the 11th round in 2023, is now working through his development in the Arizona Fall League, houstonchronicle.com reported. The harrowing incident occurred during spring training when a black GMC pickup truck hit a pothole, sending the heavy metal hook flying straight toward his vehicle.
“I had no time to react, I had no time to move or anything,” Ochoa said by phone from Arizona to houstonchronicle.com. “It hits me in the head, and I kind of swerve, but then I hold myself together so I wouldn’t crash.”
Doctors told him that if the hook had struck just two inches to the right, he would have been knocked out, and two inches to the left would have been fatal on impact. “I’m just glad to be alive, to be honest,” Ochoa told houstonchronicle.com.
The aftermath proved difficult on the field. A limited 2025 campaign saw him play just 29 games and hit .158 at Single-A Fayetteville. Yet, a bounce-back 2026 season brought a promotion to High-A Asheville in June, where he posted a .305 batting average and a .909 OPS across 28 games before a broken right ring finger halted his progress, houstonchronicle.com reported.
Across 272 plate appearances this season, Ochoa tallied a .287/.349/.500 slash line with 11 home runs and 29 stolen bases. Astros director of player development Sam Niedorf called it a “really impressive season” to houstonchronicle.com, highlighting his unique physicality and ability to impact the game in the batter’s box and on the bases.
Now in the Arizona Fall League, Ochoa is fine-tuning his defensive versatility at both first base and the outfield while working on his swing decisions. Though his finger is fully healed, he notes that yelling too loudly or taking direct contact can still make his head ache from the 2025 fracture.
Other Astros prospects participating in the Arizona Fall League include right-hander Joey Dixon, infielder Nick Monistere, and right-hander Jank Pichardo, as detailed by houstonchronicle.com.
