Houston Astros Will Reportedly Start Top Pitching Prospect vs. Kansas City Royals
The Houston Astros are reportedly not done making tweaks to their pitching rotation in the wake of moving pitcher Framber Valdez to the 15-day injured list.
The Athletic reported that the Astros intend to call up their top pitching prospect, right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, to make his Major League debut in Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.
Houston has not made a formal announcement about Wednesday’s starter.
That would likely mean pushing back Wednesday’s scheduled starter, Hunter Brown, to Thursday’s finale.
Arrighetti is the Astros’ No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com and the No. 1 ranked pitcher in their pipeline. He was assigned to Triple-A to start the season, but he spent time in Major League spring training with Houston.
He pitched in two games, going 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. He gave up six hits and five runs (four earned) in five innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Arrighetti has already made two starts with Triple-A Sugar Land, where he has a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings. For his minor league career, the 2021 sixth-round pick is 19-15 with a 4.37 ERA.
He arrives at a time where the Astros are in flux in their rotation. They put Valdez on the injured list Tuesday after he was diagnosed left elbow inflammation and will be shut down for a few days.
Former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander is preparing for a bullpen session and another rehab start as he recovers from a shoulder ailment that derailed the start of his spring training. Another starter, Jose Urquidy, is dealing with a forearm injury that he suffered at the tail end of spring training.
In addition, the Astros have Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. recovering from significant injuries that kept them out for most of last season. They are expected to be ready to contribute at some point this year.
They probably wanted to give Arrighetti a little more time in the minors, but, assuming this report is accurate, the time for his Major League debut is now.
MATTHEW POSTINS
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.