Astros: 1 prospect to call up, 1 veteran to demote
By Scott Rogust
The Houston Astros can fix their pitching situation by calling up this prospect, while demoting this veteran.
The Houston Astros looked like the unstoppable villains in a blockbuster film to start off the 2021 season. They heard the jeers from the opposing crowds and appeared to thrive off of it. But that has changed recently, as they sit in third place in the AL West with a 16-15 record as of Thursday.
With the division shaping up to be a fight to the end of the season, the Astros will have to replenish their pitching staff, preferably with a young arm. But who should get the call this season?
One prospect to promote: RHP Shawn Dubin
Out of all the pitching prospects not named Forrest Whitley (who is out due to Tommy John surgery), the one closest to getting a call up this season is right-handed pitcher Shawn Dubin, per MLB.com.
Back in 2019, Dubin pitched 25 games between Single-A and Single-A Plus. In that slate of games, Dubin posted a 7-5 record, a 3.58 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP and three saves while striking out 151 batters over 110.2 innings of work.
The 11th overall prospect in Houston’s pipeline is slated to start for Triple-A Sugar Land on the team’s Opening Day on Thursday. So with a few starts this minor league season, Dubin could very well get the nod from Houston, potentially as an option out of the bullpen. Yet, Dubin can bring the team flexibility as a back-end of the rotation pitcher in case the Jake Odorizzi experiment continues to go downhill once he returns from his forearm injury.
But who would be set down to the minor leagues? Well, it would be a bullpen pitcher who has done nothing but struggle through the early goings of the campaign.