Houston Astros: Three players who need to be protected on the 40 man roster
By T.A. Mock
Rogelio Armenteros, RHP, #12 prospect
Coming into the 2018 season, Rogelio Armenteros was, in some sense of the term, the Houston Astros top pitcher in their minor league system. Was he the most talented? Probably not. Did he have the most potential? I don’t think so. However, he had just wrapped up a season that painted him as the best pitcher currently residing in the Astros farm system.
Armenteros was absolutely dominant the first half of the season pitching for the Corpus Christi Hooks. Enough so that he earned himself a promotion to AAA to pitch for the Fresno Grizzlies. Across those two teams, he had a 2.04 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He also averaged 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Armenteros received a Spring Training invitation to work out with the big league club last year and was pitching pretty well. He looked like he might manage to snag a job but there ultimately weren’t enough spots on the Houston Astros 25 man roster.
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Armenteros then spent the entire 2018 season pitching for the Grizzlies. He didn’t quite have as much success as he did the year prior but he still pitched well enough to get selected in the Rule 5 Draft if he were eligible.
Armenteros has bolstered that resume with an extremely strong performance in the Dominican Winter League. He’s made 5 starts and has accrued a 1.17 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP to go with almost double the amount of strikeouts as hits.
Armenteros can legitimately compete for a rotation spot for the Astros this season as there are three potential openings. Even if he doesn’t win the job he’ll be on the shortlist for the “next man up.” Protecting him is important even if his ceiling is as a third starter but his floor is more than high enough to keep.