Houston Astros: Corpus Christi Player Spotlight – Evan Grills

Future Astros Left-handed Specialist?

The Corpus Christi Hooks are full of great players that will one day help the Astros in the big leagues. Unlike some minor league teams with only a few good prospects, the Hooks really have a complete team of exciting athletes. One great pitcher, who is overlooked due to the talented pitching staff, is Evan Grills.

It has taken Grills awhile to progress through the minor leagues. But the Astros have been patient with him. Houston drafted him in the 10th round of the 2010 draft. He has been very inconsistent throughout the years, leading to his slow progression. For example, when he was in Lancaster in 2014, he had a 4.70 ERA.

The next year he had a 7.20 ERA in the same league. But this year in Lancaster and Corpus Christi combined he has a 2.47 ERA. He has shown significant signs of improvement over the last few years, and it would be great to see him stay consistent.

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Grills can be a productive pitcher for the Houston Astros within the next couple of years. He has several talents that would allow him to do so. One of them is the ability to have a low WHIP. Even when counting all the bad years of a 5.00+ ERA, Grills still has a career 1.34 WHIP. He knows how to get people out and has good control with his pitches. 

He also is a lefty, which would be very valuable on the Astros, seeing as they only have two left-handed pitchers. He also can transition between starting and relieving without any trouble, one year being a full-time reliever and the next being a starter.

This year has been a good one Grills, his best to date. At Corpus Christi so far, he has compiled a 1.19 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 8 appearances (5 starts). He was called up from Lancaster on May 13 after showing some solid pitcher down there. Should he continue his greatness, Fresno may soon be in his future.

I think that Grills will be a successful Houston Astro at some point soon. He has shown the talent to play at the big league level and could help the Stros in the bullpen or the rotation. He would definitely be a great edition to a bullpen so desperately needing another lefty to help out Tony Sipp. The bullpen is doing just fine at the moment, though, so I don’t see him coming up until help is needed.

***All stats via milb.com***