Astros Promote Former Second-Round Pick Alex Santos to Triple-A Sugar Land

Alex Santos probably hoped to reach the Houston Astros sooner. But he’s on the doorstep for the first time in his pro career.

Santos, a pitcher the Astros selected with their second-round compensatory pick in 2020, has been promoted to Triple-A Sugar Land, per his MiLB.com page. When he pitches with the Space Cowboys it will be his first appearance at the Triple-A level.

For Santos, a 24-year-old right-hander from Mount St. Michael Academy, Bronx, NY, this is chance to show Houston that he’s ready for The Show sometime in 2027.

But the path to get there has been a long one.

Alex Santos’ Path to Sugar Land

Alex Santos struck out 6 over 2 scoreless innings as he closed out the win for the Hooks! #Astros pic.twitter.com/2izsf648Mb
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) August 1, 2026

Santos earned the promotion with his best season as a professional. With Double-A Corpus Christi this season he went 4-2 with a. 3.38 ERA in 39 games. He had three holds and three saves in five chances. He also struck out 82 and walked 33 in 53.1 innings as batters hit .230 against him. It’s his first season as a full-time reliever and it appears to be agreeing with him.

Santos missed considerable portions of the 2024 and 2025 seasons on the injured list, slowing down what had been steady development since he started his pro career in 2021 with Class-A Fayetteville. He spent two seasons with the Woodpeckers before he was promoted to High-A Asheville in 2023, where he spent the entire season.

Perhaps his most notable accomplishment to that point had been his 2022 season, when he went 0-11 with a 5.99 ERA in 23 games, with 14 starts, including 104 strikeouts and 37 walks as batters hit just .229 against him.

In 2024 and 2025, thanks to the injuries, he only pitched in 16 games and threw 52.1 innings. In 2024 he went 0-5 with a 7.83 ERA in six games (five starts), with 24 strikes and 14 walks in 23 innings. His biggest issue was allowing batters to hit .290 against in his first season pitching at Corpus Christi.

He rebounded in 2025 to some degree. In 10 games (seven starts) he went 0-4 with a 4.60 ERA as he struck out 38 and walked 23 in 29.1 innings. Batters only hit .208 against him, his best opponent batting average since his first pro season in 2021 when batters hit only .205 against him in 41.2 innings.

Sugar Land is wrapping up a home series with Oklahoma City through Sunday. The Space Cowboys’ next home series starts Sept. 1 against Reno.

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