Astros Gave Up Potentially Dangerous Duo in Mike Burrows Trade

The Houston Astros were the only team to trade away two potential Top 100 prospects so far this offseason.

Houston Astros center fielder Jacob Melton (31) bats during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astors were looking for starting pitching on the trade market and they got some. But was the price too high?

The three-way deal included a lot of moving parts, but for the Astros the deal was pretty simple. In return for Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mike Burrows, Houston sent top prospects in outfielder Jacob Melton and pitcher Anderson Brito to the Tampa Bay Rays.

One has to question if Houston gave up too much to acquire a pitcher with a young and estimable Major League career to this point.

Houston Astros’ Steep Trade Price

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Baseball America (subscription required) rated each of the prospects that have been traded this offseason. While there were no “no doubt” Top 100 prospects: traded per the publication, four fell in the category of potential Top 100 prospects. Melton and Brito were the only ones from the same organization.

The other two were catcher Harry Ford, who was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Washington Nationals; and right-handed pitcher Luis Perales, who was traded from the Washington Nationals to the Boston Red Sox.

Melton made his MLB debut last season and slashed .157/.234/.186 with no home runs and seven RBI in 32 games. He was limited by injuries in both the Majors and the minors. But, Baseball America wrote that Melton had “outstanding” underlying data at Triple-A Sugar Land, where is exit velocity of 107.7 mph was in the 90th percentile. With Sugar Land he slashed .286/.389/.556 with six home runs and 17 RBI.

The publication sees Melton as a rotational outfielder with starter upside.

Brito is further away but no less relevant in the deal. While Melton was the team’s No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Brito was No. 7. In just his second pro season Houston sent him to the Arizona Fall League, MLB’s top postseason showcase for prospects. That came after the 21-year-old started 12 games and went went 0-1 with a 3.28 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 28 walks in 49.1 innings. He’s only pitched as high as High-A Asheville.

Per Baseball America Brito already has four “average-to-better” pitches and has starter or reliever upside.

Houston gave up that for Burrows, who moved into a full-time starting role for the first time last season and went 2-4 with a 3.94 ERA. He pitched just 96 innings, as he struck out 97 and 31 walks. Houston will have plenty of control of his player rights since he’s only one year into his career.

But was Melton and Brito too high a price to pay for a player that hasn’t proven nearly enough in the Majors at a position of need? Only time will tell.