Astros: Fresno Player Spotlight- Underrated Bullpen Pieces

Brendan McCurry

With only 11 games under his belt at the Triple-A level, Brendan McCurry, the number 21 prospect in the Astros organization, has already impressed many. In 11 outings, including one start, he has a 2.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched.

In his last outing against Round Rock, McCurry was especially filthy. In his 2.2 innings of work behind Shirley, he gave up no runs on no hits, walked one, and struck out five.

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These five strikeouts came from a guy who was averaging only eight strikeouts per nine innings in his limited time with Fresno. With McCurry striking out 55.6% of batters in that outing, that may show that he is becoming more comfortable against Triple-A batters.

In his career with the Astros at Double-A Corpus Christi, he was dealing strikeouts. In 39.2 innings there in 2016, he had 50 strikeouts with a 2.27 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. With a fastball in the low nineties and a plus curveball, his unique throwing style has been proving tough, especially against left-handed batters, who are hitting only .130 against him at Triple-A.  That could prove valuable to the major league club as soon as September.

With a left on base percentage that is hovering at about 80%, McCurry has the stuff to be a valuable piece of the Astros major league bullpen. Look for the young right-hander to be in the hunt for a bullpen spot as soon as Spring Training 2017.

Next: Jandel Gustave