Astros Make Top Prospect Announcement After Latest Injury

The Astros announced they're calling up lefty pitching prospect Colton Gordon to make his MLB debut Wednesday against the Royals. Gordon ranked 20th among Astros prospects at Baseball America and 14th at MLB.com.

Gordon didn't receive much fanfare out of college, being selected by Houston in the eighth round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Central Florida.

Gordon has gotten off to a dominant start in 2025, pitching to a 2.55 ERA in 42 1/3 innings over eight starts. He's fanned 25.3% of hitters and only walked 4.7% of batters. His 43.5% ground-ball rate offers a solid projection to his ability as a major league starter.

He doesn't overpower hitters, with a fastball sitting at 91.1 miles per hour, but he has solid command and a six-pitch arsenal that offers many tools to get outs. 

The Astros' top two pitchers in Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown have been lethal, but the rest of the rotation appears mostly in flux until Arrighetti returns from a freak injury during batting practice in April.

Lance McCullers just returned from a two-year absence from injury, and Ronel Blanco has struggled to replicate his dominant 2024 form, with a 4.04 ERA in 2025. 

Blanco has turned in two convincing starts in May, including eight shutout innings with 11 strikeouts against the Reds on Sunday.

The call-up represents a prime opportunity for the 26-year-old Gordon to show the Astros what he's made of.