Astros tab injured teen as PTBNL in Jose Veras deal

The Astros and Tigers have agreed on the player to be named later to complete the trade deadline deal that sent Jose Veras to Detroit. Tigers beat writer Jason Beck is reporting that 19-year old David Paulino is now property of the Houston Astros organization.

Paulino, a 6′ 5″, 180-pound right-hander from the Dominican Republic, pitched in four games this season for the Gulf Coast Tigers before injuring his elbow. He would eventually undergo Tommy John Surgery. Paulino’s older brother, Brenny, is also a pitcher in the Tigers organization. He too has experienced arm troubles and hasn’t pitched since 2011. The Astros are obviously hoping that David will recover quicker than his brother has.

The Astros obviously like Paulino’s size as well as the outstanding K/BB numbers he has posted in the minors. Granted, we are looking at a small sample size (39 IP) but the numbers practically jump off the page at you. At only 19 years of age, and rehabbing a serious arm injury, it’s going to be a long time before we know exactly who got the best of this trade. The other player acquired in the deal, outfielder Danry Vasquez, is also 19. Vasquez was considered to be one of the Tiger’ top five prospects, so I already liked the deal for Houston.

Twelve of Paulino’s 15 minor league appearances came as a starter. He now joins fellow Astros hopefuls Alex White and John Ely on the road to recovery from TJS.