Astros Minors: Fresno Player Spotlight- Jandel Gustave

With the abundant amount of roster moves the Astros made at the beginning of August, it created a major amount of instability, especially on the mound, that has not left.

New pitchers, like James Hoyt and Joseph Musgrove, were getting their first taste of the big leagues. Former major leaguers, such as Brad Peacock and Kevin Chapman, seemed to be facing their last chance to pitch in an Astros uniform.

With 23-year-old right-hander Jandel Gustave, the Astros knew his first major league stint would be short. However, in the four days he was in the big leagues, he was put to work. In three appearances, Gustave gave up an earned run on four hits and struck out two in 3.1 innings pitched. Finishing two games, he posted an ERA of 2.70 and a 1.20 WHIP.

As I wrote about in the “Fresno Player Spotlight- Underrated Bullpen Pieces” a couple of weeks ago, Gustave has pitched much better in 2016 at the Triple-A level. He has a 3.81 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP in 42 appearances. He also struck out 52 in his 52 innings of work.

Before Gustave left for his short stint with the Astros, he began to get save opportunities. In two of the three games before he got called up, Gustave recorded his first two saves of the season, striking out five in his four hitless innings.

However, any closer for Fresno is going to have big shoes to fill. In Hoyt’s time as closer for the Grizzlies, he recorded 28 saves in 31 chances, which is still the league lead by nine saves, and had a 1.62 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.

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With Hoyt in a stable position at the major league level, the job is Gustave’s to lose. He did look a bit rusty in his return to Fresno. In his inning of work on August 17th against Omaha, Gustave gave up an earned run on two hits and two walks.

His short stint in the majors gave fans a better idea of what Gustave had in his arsenal. Gustave is a typical right-handed flamethrower, relying on a high nineties fastball and cutter with a high eighties slider. His transition from Double-A to Triple-A did increase his strikeout total, from averaging 7.5 at Corpus Christi to a strikeout per inning at Fresno.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch showed what kind of pitcher Gustave could be at the major league level. When he is called up in September, Gustave could see time in a late inning mop up role, similar to what rookie right-hander Michael Feliz has been in all season. Gustave’s high velocity and strikeout ability on his slider could prove valuable in close games.

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Gustave’s future on the major league roster could be decided based on his performance in September and next spring. Until then, Gustave has the chance to impress some people late in ballgames for the Fresno Grizzlies.

**Stats provided by MiLB.com, Baseball Reference and FanGraphs**