Astros: Pitching prospect Tyler Ivey may be the one to watch in 2020

The Astros have quite a few pitching prospects that will be under the spotlight this season, but you may want to keep tabs on the up-and-coming Tyler Ivey.

With the exodus of pitchers heading to the free-agent market this offseason, the Astros could end up relying heavily on their young pitching prospects in the upcoming season. Jose Urquidy, Bryan Abreu, and Forrest Whitley are the names that usually come up when discussing the future of Houston’s pitching staff, but Tyler Ivey is quietly rising in the ranks.

The 23-year-old native of Rowlett, Texas, was drafted in the third round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft. Ivey spent his freshman year of college at Texas A&M University before transferring to Grayson County Community College in his sophomore year. That season he was ranked second in the nation among junior college pitchers with a 14.1 SO/9IP ratio.

Ivey had a rocky start to his professional career posting a 5.63 ERA between the Rookie League and A- level teams in 2017. Then the following season, he settled in nicely at the A and A+ level of the Astros Minor League organization with an ERA of 2.97.

This past season had its ups and downs but definitely ended on a high note. Ivey was bothered by elbow issues in the middle of the year and spent some time on the Injured List, fortunately, it wasn’t anything of a serious nature. But he didn’t let that set him back and he flourished when he returned to the mound healthy with the Corpus Christi AA team, which was a relief to him.

"“It’s always a little bit more pressure on you just making sure you can have the success and prove to everyone that you do have the same stuff that you did,” Ivey said. “When I did come back and have success, it was really exciting, because you just fall back to exactly where you were like nothing ever happened.” via Troy Schulte of MiLB.com."

Ivey’s numbers for the 2019 season were very impressive recording a 1.34 ERA going 4-0 in 11 starts and two relief appearances. He ended the year with a 0.923 WHIP striking out 68 batters in his 52 innings of work. That performance launched him from his 2018 ranking of 26th in the Astros top 30 prospects up to 6th on this years list.

The Astros pitching prospects may play a very important role in the success of the Houston Astros this season and it’s going to be fun to see which ones thrive under the pressure. But Tyler Ivey will be one to closely monitor to see how he rises to the occasion.