The Houston Astros are not regarded as having one of the best farm system in the game. To be fair to that low ranking from MLB Pipeline, the Astros have been winning at the Major League level for nearly a decade.
But, at some point, the future must come. Last season it was pitchers Hunter Brown and J.P. France, along with catcher Yainer Diaz, who gave the Astros a significant boost as young players out of their system.
ESPN identified the player that could be next up — pitcher Spencer Arrighetti.
Arrighetti is one of the highest-ranked players in the Astros’ system right now and the pitcher most likely to get a call-up if needed. He was invited to Major League spring training and in two outings so far he has a 7.20 ERA. He gave up five runs (four earned) in five innings.
He was in spring training with the Astros last season and he only threw three innings in one game. So that’s progress. Plus, as of March 16, the Astros hadn’t reassigned him to their minor-league camp. So they’re giving the right-hander plenty of time in Major League camp to get more experience.
The Astros took Arrighetti in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Louisiana and he’s made steady progress in their system ever since.
He reached Triple-A Sugar Land last season after starting with Double-A Corpus Christi. Combined he went 9-7 with a 4.40 ERA in 124.2 innings, with 141 strikeouts and 59 walks. While his record at Sugar Land was 2-5, his ERA remained consistent at both Corpus Christi and Sugar Land. While the Astros want him to trim that ERA, it’s a good sign that it remained consistent at both stops.
ESPN wrote that Arrighetti is on the cusp of a call-up due to a “mid- to upper-90s fastball and a silly sweeper,” but will likely start the season at Sugar Land.
Given the injuries in the Astros’ rotation — most notably the recent injury to Jose Urquidy — Arrighetti’s call-up could come sooner rather than later.
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