This undervalued prospect could force Astros into unexpected decision

The Houston Astros pitching struggles could soon have them reaching down into the minors for answers. The pitching staff has posted a 6.05 ERA through April 8, ranking 29th in the bigs.

The rotation and bullpen have both struggled greatly, and with Hunter Brown's timeframe unknown, Houston could quickly find itself wasting some stellar offensive performances by resurgent veterans.

The Astros acquired a number of potentially intriguing swingman-types, such as Ryan Weiss, Kai-Wei Teng, Christian Roa, and others, to add to the collection of younger arms like AJ Blubaugh and Spencer Arrighetti. For the most part, however, there's not much of a track record among the group, and many of these arms come with limited potential.

That could lead Houston to dip into its sparse minor league system to find a solution — whether that be in the rotation or the bullpen — and with a sizzling hot start down at Sugar Land, youngster Miguel Ullola could be the one tabbed to come up and give the pitchers a jolt.

Miguel Ullola could join the Astros' struggling pitching staff

Ullola's standing in the Astros' system has taken a hit over the past year plus. He entered 2025 as Houston's No. 6 prospect and top-ranked hurler per MLB Pipeline, but has been surpassed by numerous young arms, falling to 12th in the system and getting passed up by Bryce Mayer, Ethan Pecko, and Ryan Forcucci.

The 23-year-old product of the Dominican Republic beats out his higher-ranked peers in terms of experience, having spent all of 2025 in Triple-A. Ullola caught the eye of many as a player who could take off in 2026, but by the same token, was entering something of a make-or-break year.

Scouting reports rave about his high-octane fastball, which not only brings velocity but rise and deception to the table. At the same time, there have been some real concerns about his command, leading to him being compared to Bryan Abreu as a prospect.

Ullola has mostly worked as a starter throughout his career. Last season, he made 28 appearances (23 starts) and looked dominant at times in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Overall, he posted a 3.88 ERA while striking out hitters at a 26.6% clip, but doled out free passes at an astronomically high 15.9% rate.

So far this year, he's made two starts and logged 9⅔ innings with a 1.86 ERA. His strikeouts, which have always been very good, have reached a spectacular 41.7% mark, while his walks have fallen to an 11.1% rate, which, if it holds, would be the lowest mark of his career.

The free passes are still a touch high, but if he's racking up the Ks, it will still play in the bullpen. If he continues to reduce them as the season progresses down at Sugar Land, he could put himself in the conversation to steal a rotation spot.

It won't happen right away, but if he keeps this up, Ullola could force his way to the majors, putting guys like Blubaugh, Roa, Teng, Weiss, and Arrighetti on notice in the process. If the injury bug continues to come for Astros starters, he could be thrust into the spotlight sooner than expected.