Oops! All Astros: Carlos Calderón & Marty Costes

In today’s brief we’re taking a look back at Carlos Calderón and Marty Costes, and how they performed in-system for the Astros in 2022.

Carlos Calderón

Carlos Calderón is a six-foot, 175 lb. right-handed pitcher from San Cristobal, DR. Born on October 4, 2001, Calderón signed on with the Astros through free agency on July 2, 2018. He spent the whole 2019 season at the rookie level in the DSL, and split 2021 between the FCL rookie team and the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers. This past season would see Calderón entrenched with Fayetteville all season.

Calderón started in 14 games and appeared an additional 12 times out of the bullpen, leading Fayetteville with 104 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. He logged a 1.395 WHIP, hardly elite, but also struck out a healthy 9.7 batters per nine innings.

Early in the season, in three appearances between April 20 and May 3, Calderón struck out 18 and gave up two runs on five hits and four walks over 14 innings. On May 20, he whiffed eight over five innings of shutout, three-hit relief in a 13-2 drubbing of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. On June 26, over another five shutout relief innings, he held Augusta to one hit and one walk, striking out six in a 10-3 loss to the Green Jackets.

Calderon ended the season on another streak, with 19 strikeouts over 16 ²⁄₃ shutout innings. He walked seven and gave up five hits over the span, covering his final four appearances.

Calderon has clear talent, and could be a future innings eater at the major league level as a reliever. He finished the season 4-6 with a 4.13 ERA, with 60 walks and a team-best 113 strikeouts. I can’t imagine he’d start the 2013 season anywhere besides the High-A Asheville Tourists.

Marty Costes

Marty Costes is a five-foot-nine, 200 lb. outfielder from Baltimore, MD. Born on December 18, 1995, he was Houston’s 25th round pick in 2017 and their 22nd round pick in 2018. They really wanted this guy. He signed after getting taken out of the University of Maryland with the 672nd overall choice. Only two players have made the majors after getting taken at that spot, highlighted by Mike Henneman.

Costes worked his way up through Houston’s system since his selection. In 2021 he led the Double-A Central with a .332 batting average and with a .436 OBP while with the Corpus Christi Hooks. The 2022 season would see him ensconced with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

After starting the season five-for-24 with the Cowboys, Costes went on the injured list. Aside from some rehab appearances with the rookie team and with the Tourists, he didn’t appear again until July 6. Sixteen times through 69 appearances overall he collected multiple hits, including his effort on August 10, when he hit a single with two doubles, two runs, and one RBI in a 14-6 win against the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Overall, Costes slashed out a .269/.366/.408 line with six home runs and 27 RBI. He stole 11 bases in 16 attempts, and struck out 49 times in 248 plate appearances against 27 walks. Defensively, he racked up a .958 fielding percentage through 378 innings in left field and a .968 through 142 ²⁄₃ in right.

Costes currently grades out as “organizational depth.” With an outfield as deep as the Astros, he may not have very many opportunities to show his stuff at the major league level.