3 Astros on the 40 man roster who won’t survive the season

2) The Astros haven’t seen enough from Shawn Dubin

Now 27 and without any big league experience under his belt, time is running out for pitcher Shawn Dubin to make it to the majors. He has pitched at Triple-A for the last two years, most recently delivering a 4.78 ERA performance for Sugar Land in 2022.

Working in Dubin’s favor are some high strikeout numbers and a pretty fantastic home run rate. He’s averaging 12 strikeouts per 9 and only 0.5 home runs per 9. Somehow, he has still managed to have a lifetime 4.14 ERA on the farm. He fans batters and keeps the ball in the park yet they find ways to score against him.

A lack of patience in Dubin might be what ultimately costs him his roster spot. Transitioning to a reliever full-time might alter the direction of his career. It doesn’t seem Houston is in any rush to push him into any big league innings as a starter. Unless he finds some early success in 2023, he’s going to have other pitchers passing him by on the depth chart.

This could ultimately lead to him landing on the DFA bubble. In order to clear a spot for an addition already within the organization or brought in from the outside, Dubin will have to start strong.