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Astros: Fresno Player Spotlight- The New Pitchers

By Colin Gay |
Apr 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view outside Minute Maid Park before a game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view outside Minute Maid Park before a game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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Some of the Corpus Christi Hooks Move Up in the Astros System.

Apr 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view outside Minute Maid Park before a game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view outside Minute Maid Park before a game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Every year at the end of July and the beginning of August, major league teams vying for contention try to improve their team before their playoff run. Most of the Astros moves came from within with the return of players that have had a taste of the major leagues in Tyler White, Preston Tucker, and A.J. Reed, and highly touted prospects in Alex Bregman, Joseph Musgrove, and James Hoyt.

With this influx of promotions, the Triple-A affiliate of the Astros had to make some changes as well. Third, in the Pacific Coast League with a 3.89 ERA, the Fresno Grizzlies gained six new pitchers from Double-A Corpus Christi from July 25th to August 4th. Here is a look at those six pitchers and their expectations for the rest of the 2016 season and the years to come.

Chris Cotton

Drafted out of LSU in the 14th round of the 2013 draft, Cotton has proved to be a reliable left-handed reliever in the lower levels of the Astros organization.

Spending the majority of his time at Corpus Christi for the past two seasons, Cotton had a 2.53 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in his 49 appearances for the Hooks.

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He is not known for striking many batters out, averaging only 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings with Corpus Christi. However, one of his strengths is keeping the ball in the ballpark. In his 67.2 innings pitched, he only gave up four home runs.

In 2016, Cotton was lights out for Corpus Christi. In 26.1 innings, he gave up only five earned runs with a 1.71 ERA and 18 strikeouts.

Even though he has limited runs scored against him, Cotton has had some trouble with keeping runners off base. In his four years in the minors, Cotton has averaged nine hits given up per nine innings and 1.9 walks.

Called up on July 31st, those same struggles have shown up in his short career at Fresno. In his ten career appearances, including a brief two-game stint in 2015, Cotton has a 5.85 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP. He averages 13 hits given up per nine innings and only strikes out batters 11.25% of the time.

Triple-A hitters have had a field day with Cotton on the mound. However, with more experience in Fresno, he could become a reliable left-handed reliever for them. The need for a southpaw reliever is still currently at the major league level. If Cotton can put up solid numbers, then he could very well be in talks to be in the Astros bullpen in 2017.

Next: Edison Frias

Edison Frias

Signing with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic, Frias has been overlooked throughout his career. His numbers have not earned their attention, with a 3.76 career ERA in the minors. However, his 2016 season with Corpus Christi has been sensational.

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In 15 games, including ten starts, Frias has a record of 4-1 with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He also struck out 62 batters in his 73.2 innings pitched.

Although he has not been much of a strikeout pitcher, averaging only 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings this season in Corpus Christi, Frias has limited the number of hits given up. With a .222 average against, he has given up only 60 hits in 73.2 innings. However, he has struggled with command, averaging 3.7 walks per nine innings.

According to an article from minorleagueball.com, from the SB Nation network, Frias has done this with a three-pitch arsenal. In a scouting report of his 2015 stint with Lancaster, he throws a low to mid-nineties fastball that doesn’t have the command to blow by hitters. However, his other two pitches, his changeup and curveball, “flashes plus potential”. He mostly uses his changeup as a strikeout pitch, “down and into right-handed batters” after a first pitch fastball.

In his first two starts with Fresno, he has struggled. He has given up eight earned runs on 12 hits in 12 innings pitched, striking out six and walking four.

Frias is going to have to work on his command and trying to make his fastball less hittable compared to his secondary pitches before the Astros even think about calling him up. He will probably have a long stint with Fresno ahead of him.

Next: Brian Holmes

Brian Holmes

Brian Holmes (Mandatory Credit: Richard Guill)
Brian Holmes (Mandatory Credit: Richard Guill) /

Drafted in the 13th round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest, Holmes has gone under the radar in his first five seasons in the Astros system. With a career ERA of 3.57 with a WHIP of 1.22, his stats will not blow any major league scout away. With expectations low, Holmes has a perfect opportunity to succeed at Fresno.

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As Holmes has moved up through the organization, it has taken him awhile to adjust to the level he is at. For example, when he was called up to Single-A Lancaster in 2014, he had a 4.55 ERA in 20 appearances. Then, when he came back to Lancaster in 2015, he had a 2.37 ERA in seven appearances, earning a call-up to Double-A Corpus Christi.

After struggling in 2015, Holmes pitched very well for the Hooks in 2016. In seven appearances, including four starts, Holmes had a record of 4-2 with a 3.73 ERA and a WHIP of 1.26.

Like Cotton, Holmes has struggled with getting runners on base. In his Double-A career, he has averaged 9.8 hits and 3.3 walks per nine innings. He did have higher strikeout numbers, averaging about a strikeout per inning.

When he was called up to Fresno on August 4th, Holmes came out of the bullpen and struggled. In one inning of work, he allowed three earned runs on four hits, including a home run.

Holmes is going to have to settle into Fresno as he has in every other level he has been in. Once he gets comfortable, we will see how high his ceiling really is.

Next: Albert Minnis

Albert Minnis

Based on his career statistics in the Astros organization, Minnis’ promotion is a questionable move. With a career 4.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP, it is not like Minnis has improved much so far in 2016.

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In Corpus Christi this season, he gave up nine earned runs on 16 hit in 18 innings pitched. He also struck out 10 and walked five.

However, if you look closer, he has become less and less hittable as his career continues. Drafted in the 25th round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Wichita State, the left-handed reliever has decreased his hits given up and walks given up each season. Also, his average against has decreased to .250 this season.

In his first game in Fresno after being called up on August 3rd, Minnis blew a save and gave up a home run in his two innings of work. He also struck out two and walked two.

Like Cotton, Minnis will be looked at especially because he is a left-handed bullpen piece. The combination of these two lefties may be in the future of the major league bullpen.

Next: Aaron West

Aaron West

As Michael Knight predicted in his Corpus Christi spotlight earlier this year, West has earned himself a spot in Triple-A.

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After taking over the closer’s role when Brendan McCurry was called up, West got the job done. In 37 games, he converted 15 saves in 18 opportunities and had a 3.47 ERA. However, he did struggle with getting runners on base. West had a 1.33 WHIP with a .280 batting average against him.

Like any closer should, though, West is lights out in a couple of situations. First, when there are two outs, he has a 0.44 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP and a .228 average against. Also, when he is ahead in the count, he has a .250 average against with a 0.93 WHP.

In 2012, minorleagueball.com said West features, “a low-90’s fastball, a good slider, and a workable changeup.”  He does not have big strikeout numbers, though, averaging only around seven to eight strikeouts per nine innings in his Double-A career.

With the loss of Hoyt, Jandel Gustave and Jordan Jankowski have been getting save opportunities at the end of games. With West there and multiple guys in the Fresno bullpen with save experience, it will be interesting to see who manager Tony DeFrancesco gives the ball at the end of games.

Next: Keegan Yuhl

Keegan Yuhl

The youngest pitcher brought up of these six; Yuhl was drafted in the 35th round of the 2014 Draft out of Concordia University.

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His stats in Double-A Corpus Christi this season show why he deserved the call-up. In 19 appearances, including 17 starts, Yuhl had a 3.04 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and a .258 average against. He also struck out 75 in 97.1 innings pitched.

As of the posting of the article, Yuhl has not made his debut for the Grizzlies, so it is unclear what his role will be. However, he has proven he can do both. In his two games out of the bullpen, he has a 1.13 ERA and a 0.38 WHIP in eight innings. He also has a save and has struck out seven. As Knight said in another Corpus Christi spotlight, this ability is similar to what Chris Devenski is doing at the major league level.

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With a rotation that is spotty after Brady Rodgers and Mike Hauschild, Yuhl would fit right in perfectly in the rotation. However, he could be a valuable long man from the bullpen as well. However they use him, the Fresno Grizzlies have yet another underrated weapon that will elongate whatever position he plays.

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

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