The Astros have signed left-hander Brandon Walter to a minor league deal, in accordance with his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The lefty was launched by the Crimson Sox earlier this month, liberating him as much as signal this deal.
Walter, 27, was a Twenty sixth-round collection of the Sox within the 2019 draft. He made a quick skilled debut on the Rookie ball stage that yr, however the minor leagues had been then canceled in 2020 by the pandemic. Within the years after that, he elevated his prospect inventory with some encouraging outcomes.
In 2021, he tossed 89 1/3 innings throughout the Single-A and Excessive-A ranges, permitting 2.92 earned runs per 9. He struck out 36.3% of batters confronted whereas solely giving out walks at a 5.5% clip and likewise received grounders on greater than half of the balls in play he allowed. Baseball America ranked him #11 in Boston’s system going into 2022, noting that he spent the pandemic shutdown yr overhauling his arsenal.
In 2022, he was bumped as much as Double-A and made 9 begins there earlier than getting moved to Triple-A. A bulging cervical disk ended his season in June, after simply two begins on the high minor league stage. Nonetheless, he completed the yr with a stable 3.59 ERA in 57 2/3 innings in his 11 begins over these two ranges. He struck out 32.2% of batters confronted, gave out walks simply 3% of the time and continued to get a lot of grounders.
In November of 2022, the Sox added him to their roster to maintain him out of the Rule 5 draft, then his outcomes weren’t fairly as spectacular in 2023. He tossed 23 main league innings with a 6.26 ERA in that small pattern, in addition to a 15.1% strikeout price and 6.6% stroll price. He additionally added one other 94 Triple-A frames with a 4.60 ERA, 21.3% strikeout price, 8.5% stroll price and 49.5% floor ball price.
Right here in 2024, he hasn’t but pitched in an official sport. He landed on the minor league injured listing to begin the yr with a strained left rotator cuff, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive on X. The Sox wanted a 40-man roster spot when buying righty Lucas Sims on the deadline and designated Walter for task. Injured gamers can’t be positioned on outright waivers, so the Sox basically had no selection however to launch him.
At this level, it’s not publicly identified what Walter’s well being standing is. Even when his shoulder has healed and he’s able to take the mound once more shortly, he’ll presumably want some ramp-up time in an effort to get again into sport form. Which may make him extra of a long-term play for Houston versus speedy non-roster depth. However Walter has posted some intriguing numbers in recent times when wholesome, so it’s comprehensible why they might be all in favour of bringing him aboard.
If he ultimately will get his roster spot again, he’ll nonetheless have one choice yr remaining after this one, and there could be a simple case for a fourth choice to be granted on account of him lacking most or possibly all of 2024. He additionally has lower than a yr of service time, which means he could be managed for a few years into the longer term.