Astros option Corbin Martin back to AAA, Framber Valdez gets his spot

Corbin Martin’s time in Houston is over for now, as the Astros have decided to option him back to AAA ball and Framber Valdez steps in as 5th starter.

It really comes as no surprise that Astros‘ prospect Martin is making his return to the Minor Leagues. It was apparent in his performances in these last few games that he wasn’t quite ready for the Big Leagues. Only time will tell if Valdez will succeed in his place.

According to Jake Kaplan, Houston beat writer for The Athletic, Martin will be back with the Round Rock Express. Relief pitcher Reymin Guduan will be called up from the AAA Minor League team to fill the open slot.

Martin’s debut against the Texas Rangers was a relatively good outing. Fans were excited at what they saw displaying composure and promise for the future. He went 5.1 innings allowing only two earned runs on three hits coming out of the game with a respectable 3.38 ERA. He had an impressive nine strikeout count against just one walk.

Well, unfortunately, things went downhill from there. His outings got shorter, the ERA kept climbing and the strikeout counts declined, while the walk rate raised. In the following four games after his debut, Martin’s ERA was 6.43 and he was only able to go four innings once, putting a burden on the bullpen.

He struck out ten batters total in those four games, just one more than his first game count and the walks during that period climbed to eleven batters compared to just the one in his debut.

Reymin Guduan is being called up to take Martin’s place on the roster. He came up earlier in the year for a very short visit. He only appeared in 2.2 innings in his three appearances. In that span, he gave up three hits and two earned runs accounting for an ERA of 6.75.

He has shown a lot of improvement since he was optioned back down in late April. After Guduan’s return, he has appeared in 12.2 innings in 12 games and surrendered four runs for a 2.84 ERA.

Framber Valdez has been named as the next man up for the fifth spot in the rotation and will start Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. He has 26 innings of work under his belt in 14 games this year with the Astros. He has an ERA of 3.12, 21 strikeouts and has surrendered just one home run.