Jeff Luhnow

Jeff Luhnow was named the 12th General Manager in Astros franchise history on Dec. 7, 2011. Since Luhnow took over the baseball operations functions, the Astros player pipeline has become one of the best in the industry and the results are beginning to take root at the Major League level.

In 2014, the Houston Astros team finished with 19 more victories than in 2013, the second largest season-over-season improvement in franchise history and the second highest in MLB in 2014. Luhnow signed Scott Feldman and acquired Colin McHugh prior to the 2014 season and these two pitchers, along with farm system product Dallas Keuchel, helped turn the starting rotation from a weakness in 2013 into a strength in 2014. Acquired via trade in 2013 by Luhnow, Chris Carter slugged 39 home runs and led an offense that finished with the third most home runs in the AL. Jose Altuve, signed to a long-term extension by Luhnow during the 2013 season, had a career year which resulted in the first batting title in franchise history to compliment an AL stolen base title. The bright spots in the 2014 bullpen were Luhnow's acquisitions of Chad Qualls, Tony Sipp, Josh Fields and Kevin Chapman that should all play important roles in 2015 and beyond.

To build on this improvement and get back to Houston's winning ways, Luhnow and his front office team have made several acquisitions to bolster a young and promising core of players this offseason. Luke Gregerson (originally drafted by Luhnow in St. Louis) and 2014 All-Star Pat Neshek provide quality arms and veteran leadership to the back end of the bullpen. Jed Lowrie (acquired by Luhnow in 2011 and traded in 2013) returns to add offense and leadership to the infield. Catcher Hank Conger was acquired via trade with the Angels and should help the club both defensively and offensively.

The Astros pipeline of young players has been improving since Luhnow's arrival and is now considered among the best in baseball. Top prospects brought in via trade by Luhnow include Josh Hader, Colin Moran, Max Stassi, Asher Wojciechowski, Alex White, Kyle Smith and Gonzalo Sanudo. Top prospects drafted under Luhnow's watch include Carlos Correa, Mark Appel, Brett Phillips, Rio Ruiz and Tony Kemp among others.

Luhnow spent eight years with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to joining the Astros as Vice President of Baseball Development (2003-2005), Vice President of Player Procurement (2005), and Vice President of Scouting and Player Development (2006-2011). During much of his time with the Cardinals, he oversaw the scouting, international, and player development functions of the club that brought in many players instrumental to the 2011 World Series victory, the 2012 NLCS team and the 2013 World Series team. Of the 25 players on the Cardinals' 2013 World Series roster, 16 were drafted while Luhnow oversaw player development and scouting.

Prior to joining the Cardinals, Jeff founded Archetype Solutions, where he served as President and COO. His background also includes stints as General Manager and Vice President of Marketing at Petstore.com, and five years with the global management consulting firm of McKinsey and Company.

Jeff is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in economics and engineering. He also earned his MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Jeff is a U.S. citizen, but was born and spent more than 15 years in Mexico City, Mexico, and is fluent in Spanish. He and his wife, Gina, reside in Houston. Jeff has three children, Elizabeth, Jeffrey and newest addition Henry.