Astros Minor League Spotlight: Mike Hauschild

Time to shine a spotlight on Astros’ Triple-A affiliate Fresno Grizzlies pitcher Mike Hauschild.

It’s been somewhat of an atypical career path for starting pitcher Mike Hauschild thus far. He was drafted by the Astros and has spent his entire minor league career with the Astros organization. Yet in spite of that, he made his major league debut last season with the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers made him a Rule 5 draft pick in 2017, but later returned him to Houston. He’s now in his fourth season pitching for Fresno and is awaiting his chance to get back to the bigs. He’s also strung together some quality outings to help Fresno to a hot start.

The Stats

The 28-year-old Hauschild was the Astros’ 33rd-round draft pick in 2012. He worked his way up to Triple-A in 2015, posting a 3.49 ERA in 15 starts. The righthander followed that up with an even better 3.22 ERA in 24 starts in 2016.

After joining the Rangers in 2017, he struggled in four relief appearances. Hauschild surrendered 10 runs on 14 hits in eight innings of work. After returning to Fresno, he posted a 4.58 ERA in 18 starts.

The 2018 season got off to a rough beginning, as he coughed up seven runs in his first start. He’s strung together three quality starts since, allowing just three earned runs in 18.2 innings.

The Outlook

By now, Hauschild is one of Fresno’s elder statesmen. A difficult 2017 has clouded the picture, but he could re-enter the Astros’ plans with a strong 2018 campaign. With Frances Martes struggling and David Paulino on the disabled list, Hauschild could be in line for a call-up if the injury bug strikes Houston.

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This season has some make-or-break to it for Hauschild. If he’s going to get a shot at establishing himself as a big league pitcher, he’ll need to put together a strong campaign in Fresno. If he does, he’ll likely get another shot – either in Houston or elsewhere.

***Statistics courtesy of MiLB.com***