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4 Astros Prospects Who Could Get A September Call-Up
When rosters expand, these are four Astros prospects deserve a call-up.
When the calendar turns to September, MLB rosters expand to 28 players again. The Astros will have some difficult decisions to make on which prospects to promote. Multiple have made a compelling case to join the club, but with Michael Brantley rumored to be close to a rehab stint, he'll take one of the available spots, health permitting.
While all four won't be able to make the roster, these are the four Astros prospects making a compelling case for a September call-up.
Spencer Arrighetti will likely get a shot in September
Spencer Arrighetti has put together a strong 2023 season, and after the trade of Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford, finds himself as the Astros third-highest ranked prospect.
He was very strong as a starter in AA, but has scuffled a bit in the hitter-friendly PCL since his promotion to AAA. For the season, Arrighetti is 8-5 with a 4.75 ERA across both levels, striking out 10.9 batters per nine.
The ERA is a little high, but his stuff plays, and most every prospect's ERA inflates in the home-run friendly PCL.
He's been on the MLB radar all season, and Dana Brown has alluded to Arrighetti making a spot start somewhere along the line. It's easy to foresee Arrighetti joining the rotation in September to help keep Hunter Brown, J.P. France and Cristian Javier fresh headed into the playoffs.
Pedro León may finally hit his way onto the big league roster
Pedro León represented the Astros in the 2021 Futures game, and the toolsy prospect screamed future big-leaguer. He signed for the largest international bonus in the 2020-21 international class.
Since then, he's put up some decent power numbers, swiped his fair share of bags, experimented at multiple positions defensively, and put up absolutely prodigious strikeout numbers. The swing-and-miss in his game has limited some of his appeal, but he appears to finally be finding his groove.
On the year, León is hitting .266 with 20 home runs and an .839 OPS. In the last month, he appears to have really turned a corner. Over the last 28 days, León is hitting .330 with eight home runs and five doubles, good for a 1.043 OPS. He went deep three times in Sunday's contest.
Strikeouts are still a big part of his game (26 in his last 21 games), but with the Astros offense desperate for some help, his power could make him a more valuable utility option than what the Astros are currently carrying in David Hensley.
Joey Loperfido May Continue His Rapid Ascent
Joey Loperfido is continuing to put together a huge season. Through 92 games at the High-A and AA level, the utility man is hitting .293 with a .929 OPS. He's hit 20 home runs and 22 doubles while stealing 23 bases.
Loperfido could inject some life into an Astros offense, and he's versatile defensively.
Loperfido just was promoted to AAA yesterday for his performance. Houston may keep him down until 2024, which is his ETA according to MLB Pipeline, but with virtually no offensive contribution coming from the incumbent utility man in Mauricio Dubón, it's possible Loperfido finds his way on the September roster.
The AL West division rival Angels have taken the approach of fast-tracking prospects to the bigs and seeing how they hang. With a shallow bench and an offense desperate for help, especially capable pinch hitters late in games, Loperfido could find his way on a big-league team sooner than ever anticipated.
Colton Gordon could eat some innings to keep the bullpen and rotation fresh
With Phil Maton going on the IL, the Astros bullpen took another hit. As the regular season finish line approaches, it is vital that Houston finds a way to keep innings off the arm of their key relievers.
Could Colton Gordon be a piece of that puzzle?
We all know Dusty Baker loves his lefties. Could Gordon join Parker Mushinski as a lefty option? He generates a good deal of swing-and-miss. Across two minor league seasons, Gordon has a 3.43 ERA with 12 strikeouts per nine.
The Astros have been piggy backing outings in the minor leagues to help keep their young arms fresh. Could we see the big league club implement a similar approach?
Gordon, and the aforementioned Arrighetti, could spend September spelling Brown and France in relief to help limit their innings and pitch counts.
Though a lefty, Gordon has some similarities in his fastball to Cristian Javier. Gordon sits 89-92 with his heater, but his low release point and flat arm angle give his fastball plenty of ride. Like Javier, hitters struggle to get on top of his heater, especially with the carry at the top of the zone.
Gordon was recently promoted to AAA, and though he's only made two starts, if he continues to miss bats, he could find himself in The Show come September.