According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Dustin Ryan Kellogg, 18, was traveling in his GMC truck on FM 1314 at Old Houston Road in the Porter area shortly before midnight when his vehicle crossed about four lanes of traffic and hit an 18-wheeler head on.
Kellogg, of Conroe, was pronounced dead on the scene.
DPS says it is still investigating the cause of the crash.
Kellogg, a pitcher, was drafted this June by the Astros in the 34th round out of Caney Creek High School . He played with Houston's Gulf Coast League rookie team appearing in 6 games with a 1-1 record and 9 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched.
Astros GM Ed Wade released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying,"We are deeply saddened by the news of Dustin's passing. Although he had only been an Astros player for a short time, we share the pain of his family. Our prayers go out to Dustin's loved ones."
Astros Assistant General Manager/Scouting Director Bobby Heck said in a statement, "We send our condolences to Dustin's family, friends, coaches and teammates. This is a very sad day for all of us. Dustin was a Texas kid, and he made his intentions very clear at our pre-Draft workout that he wanted to pitch for his hometown Houston Astros. We were very happy to make his dream come true when we signed him in July after Mike Burns and Rusty Pendergrass had continued to evaluate him while pitching for his summer team. He was a great kid with high energy and a lot of confidence, and performed well for us after signing. This is a huge loss for everyone that knew him."
The driver of the 18-wheeler was not injured.
The road was closed for several hours as crews cleaned up oil and several hundred gallons of diesel fuel.
