Astros: Breaking Down 40-Man Roster Rule 5 Draft Protection

While the Houston Astros are busy building out the balance of the 2022 team, they also had to spend time thinking about the future by protecting the prospects most likely to be taken in the Rule 5 Draft.

As a quick reminder, if players aren’t on the 40-man roster they can be selected by other teams, within certain parameters. Players selected in the Rule 5 Draft must stay on the selecting team’s 26-man roster for an entire year or be offered back to the original team for a small fee.

Here’s a look at the prospects added to the Astros’ 40-man roster and a couple the team outrighted, losing one and retaining another.

Jonathan Bermudez, LHP, added to 40-man roster

Jonathan Bermudez was the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year after splitting time between Corpus Christi (AA) and Sugar Land (AAA). Bermudez, a 23rd-round pick in 2018, is 26-years-old and despite his advanced age for a prospect that never pitched above Double-A before last season, he gave up only 93 hits in 111 innings while striking out 146, which equates to 11.8 strikeouts and only 7.5 hits per nine innings.

The risk Bermudez would have been selected by another team if not protected was a gamble the Astros weren’t willing to take and being a left-handed power pitcher didn’t hurt.