Houston Astros Southpaw Continues to Climb the Ranks
The 2023 Major League Baseball season has been filled with ups and downs for the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros.
Chasing their interstate rival Texas Rangers all season long, the Astros made some necessary moves prior to the trade deadline, including picking up relief pitcher Kendall Graveman while re-landing starter Justin Verlander.
They've also made some phenomenal moves internally, with youngsters Hunter Brown, J.P. France, Yainer Díaz, Mauricio Dubón and Corey Julks (prior to recently being sent back down to Triple-A Sugar Land) all making major impacts on the team this season while Houston has been dealing with multiple injuries and player setbacks.
Young talent abounds in Houston's farm system, despite the lack of players in MLB's top 100 prospects.
Another former top prospect, Jon Singleton, was also recently called up to the Astros after tearing it up with the Triple-A Space Cowboys.
Bringing us to former Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks southpaw Colton Gordon, who was called up to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday after a highly successful season thus far in 2023.
Through 20 games (18 starts) at Corpus Christi this season, Gordon had a 4-5 record with a 3.95 ERA, 121 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP.
He also breezed through rookie league, Single-A and High-A play in 2022, concluding the year with a 2-1 record and 2.35 ERA over 11 starts with 78 strikeouts and a 0.80 WHIP.
And he's already made an impact with the Space Cowboys, as Gordon pitched five solid innings in his first start for the team on Tuesday night -- giving up just three hits (88 pitches), two walks and three strikeouts while allowing no runs as Sugar Land destroyed El Paso, 18-1.
So far with Sugar Land, Gordon is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.
Gordon, who currently sits at No. 7 in the Astros latest top 30 prospect rankings, will likely make his second start for the Space Cowboys on Sunday -- although at this time, a starter has not been named.
Over his entire Minor League career, the 24-year-old southpaw is now 7-6 with a 3.26 ERA (152.0 innings pitched), 202 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP.
Could Gordon garner an Astros uniform sometime this season?
It's still too early to tell, but regardless of whether it's this year or next, Gordon appears to be primed for a phenomenal professional career.
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