Houston Astros Putting Tons of Pressure on Newly Called-Up Pitching Prospect
The Houston Astros' starting rotation has been decimated with injuries since the start of the year, having placed three on the injured list during and after Spring Training.
Coming into the season, there were questions about how this unit might perform outside of Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez considering J.P. France and Hunter Brown are in their second years of Major League Baseball, Jose Urquidy was hurt in 2023, and Cristian Javier struggled mightily in the regular season.
Now, both Verlander and Valdez are on the injured list.
The Astros are expecting to get back Verlander in then near future as he continues his rebab progression, but Valdez could take a bit more time as they figure out next steps after his official diagnosis.
Houston called up their top pitching prospect Spencer Arrighetti and will be handing him the ball for his Major League debut on Wednesday as they get set for the penultimate game in their series against the Kansas City Royals.
This is a lot of pressure on the 24-year-old to perform.
Considering his career numbers in the minors are 19-15 with an ERA of 4.37 across 63 appearances and 42 starts, things could be rough for Arrighetti.
The Astros got a taste of what things might look like when calling up a young pitcher for a debut after Blair Henley gave up five earned runs in the first inning and was yanked following only recording one out.
They're hoping Arrighetti is much more ready than Henley after the No. 3 prospect in their pipeline spent time with them in Spring Training, but he also gave up four earned runs in five innings pitched during his two starts in Florida.
For a team who needs rotation help and stabilization before their veterans are healthy enough to return, Houston has now placed a ton of pressure on their youngster, something that will show if he can sink or swim at this level.
BRAD WAKAI
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai