DIG IN!
Bun B and Astros' Alex Bregman join forces: Exclusive smash taco collab
May 10, 2024, 4:01 pm
DIG IN!
Houston’s smash hit smash burger restaurant Trill Burgers has a new menu item that features another celebrity-backed brand. This time, Bun B’s burger joint has teamed up with Astros star Alex Bregman’s salsa company Wild Sol to create Trill Smash Tacos.
Available for the next couple of weeks, Trill Smash Tacos combines a smashed burger patty with American cheese, citrus slaw, pickled jalapenos, and chipotle aioli on a corn tortilla. The tacos then receive a generous dollop of mild or spicy Wild Sol salsa. Chefs Fernando Valladares and Mike Pham created the taco recipe, which includes a special seasoning mix. Served with a side of french fries, diners may purchase the tacos for dine-in, to-go, or drive-thru.
“Trill Burgers has wanted to introduce a smash taco for a long time, and collaborating with Wild Sol salsa for Cinco de Mayo was the perfect opportunity,” Bun B said. “With a special taco seasoning courtesy of chef Nando and Alex Bregman’s amazing Wild Sol salsa, this one hits different. We can’t wait for y’all to try it.”
Reagan and Alex Bregman launched Wild Sol earlier this year as a replacement for the Breggy Bomb brand. Currently, the company sells four flavors of salsa via its website — Hot, Mild, Salsa Verde, and Mango Habanero. Notably, the Wild Sol salsas get their distinctive flavors from a splash of Flecha Azul tequilas, which counts actor Mark Wahlberg as one of its founders.
“We are so grateful for all of the support for Breggy Bomb — and when we put our heads together at night, all we could think about was how to perfect what we already have, and born was Wild Sol,” the couple said in a statement. “It’s a direct reflection of our hard work and the type of product we want to put our names behind.”
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
The Houston Astros entered the 2025 MLB Draft with limited capital but a clear objective: find talent that can help sustain their winning ways without needing a full organizational reboot. With just under $7.2 million in bonus pool money and two forfeited picks, lost when they signed slugger Christian Walker, the Astros needed to be smart, aggressive, and a little bold. They were all three.
A swing on star power
With the 21st overall pick, Houston selected Xavier Neyens, a powerful left-handed high school bat from Mt. Vernon, Washington. At 6-foot-4, Neyens is raw but loaded with tools, a slugger with plus power and the kind of bat speed that turns heads.
He’s the Astros’ first high school position player taken in the first round in a decade.
If Neyens develops as expected, he could be the next cornerstone in the post-Altuve/Bregman era. Via: MLB.com:
It’s possible we’ll look back at this first round and realize that the Astros got the best power hitter in the class. At times, Neyens has looked like an elite hitter who’d easily get to that pop, and at times the swing-and-miss tendencies concerned scouts, which is why he didn’t end up closer to the top of the first round. He was announced as a shortstop, but his size (6-foot-4) and his arm will profile best at third base.
Their next big swing came in the third round with Ethan Frey, an outfielder/DH from LSU who was one of the most imposing college hitters in the country.
He blasted 13 home runs in the SEC and helped lead the Tigers to a championship.
Filling the middle
In the fourth round, the Astros grabbed Nick Monistere, an infielder/outfielder out of Southern Miss who won Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.
If Kendall likes the pick, I like the pick. https://t.co/NQKqEHFxtV
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) July 14, 2025
He doesn’t jump off the page with tools, but he rakes, hitting .323 with 21 home runs this past season, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
They followed that up with Nick Potter, a right-handed reliever from Wichita State. He projects as a fast-moving bullpen piece, already showing a mature approach and a “fastball that was regularly clocked in the upper-90s and touched 100 miles per hour.”
From there, Houston doubled down on pitching depth and versatility. They took Gabel Pentecost, a Division II flamethrower, Jase Mitchell, a high school catcher with upside, and a host of college arms, all in hopes of finding the next Spencer Arrighetti or Hunter Brown.
Strategy in motion
Missing multiple picks, Houston leaned into two things: ceiling and speed to the majors. Neyens brings the first, Frey and Monistere the second. And as they’ve shown in recent years, the Astros can develop arms with late-round pedigree into major league contributors.
The Astros didn’t walk away with flashy headlines, they weren’t drafting in the top 10. But they leave the 2025 draft with a clear direction: keep the farm alive with bats that can produce and arms that can fill in the gaps, especially with the club managing injuries and an aging core.
If Neyens becomes the slugger they hope, and if Frey or Monistere climbs fast, this draft could be another example of Houston turning limited resources into lasting impact.
You can see the full draft tracker here.
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