Oops! All Astros: Mark Moclair & Willy Collado

The latest chapter of our Oops! series.

Mark Moclair

Mark Moclair is a six-foot-two, 205 lb. reliever from Newport News, VA. Born on March 13, 1997, he was Houston’s 12th round pick in 2018, out of the University of Tampa. Taken 372nd overall, Moclair would be the 13th player chosen at that spot to get to the majors. The group is led by Chuck Finley (57.9 WAR).

Moclair worked his way up through Houston’s system, spending 2021 between the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers, the High-A Asheville Tourists, and the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. Unfortunately, he walked over a batter per inning at each stop.

In 2022, the Astros set him up at the rookie level with the FCL Astros Orange. Despite Moclair’s exorbitant walk rate, he also had unhittable stuff. This year he whiffed 45 in 33 ²⁄₃ innings, walking only 15. In his final appearance on August 4, he struck out eight over 3 ²⁄₃ innings, allowing an unearned run in a 3-2 loss to the FCL Mets.

Moclair held up an opposing slash line of .179/.303/.211 with the rookie squad. Despite his clear improvement, the Astros cut him loose on August 8. Moclair later joined the Lake Erie Crushers in the Frontier League.

Willy Collado

Willy Collado is a six-foot-two, 168 lb. right-handed reliever from Altamira, DR. Born on March 30, 1998, he signed with the Astros on April 27, 2016. Collado appeared for Houston at every level up to Double-A, with the Hooks in 2019 and 2021. Last year, he pitched 7 ²⁄₃ innings for Corpus Christi.

The 2022 campaign would see Collado pitch for the FCL Astros Blue in one game. On July 23, in a 9-2 loss to the FCL Marlins, he faced three batters, retiring one and issuing a pair of walks. He’s currently still on the injured list.