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

3) The Astros need to see more from Enoli Paredes to keep him

Enoli Paredes is also 27 but has been to the big leagues. The Astros have only used him as a reliever, handing him 20.2 innings in 2020, another 8.2 in 2021, and finally 3 more in 2022.

Paredes hasn’t managed to stay with the big league team due mostly to his wildness. In those 32.1 big league innings of work, 31 men have drawn walks.

It’s a problem for a lot of young pitchers. The problem for Paredes is that in the baseball world he’s no spring chicken. Control has been a problem for him even in the minors. Despite a nice 2.63 ERA in Triple-A last year, he was averaging 5.1 walks per 9 innings. It doesn’t seem like anyone can flick a switch to help him find the strike zone better.

Paredes could get to Opening Day on the 40-man roster. And with a minor league option remaining, Houston can demote him again and keep him around. Like the other pitchers on this list, we should expect competition from their teammates and the Astros front office to consider improving with trades.

The Astros would need to see a much better version of Paredes to keep him around. As one of the older minor league pitchers heading into the season, they may simply prefer to see what the greener arms on the farm can do when a tough decision must be made.