Oops! All Astros: Chandler Casey

Throughout the current offseason, Crawfish Boxes is reviewing all 316 players to appear in Houston’s system.

Chandler Casey is a six-foot-two, 195 lb. right-handed reliever from Lubbock, TX. Born on May 30, 1996, he was Houston’s 26th-round pick in 2019 out of Lubbock Christian University with the 796th overall choice. Six players have made it to the majors after getting taken at that spot, most effectively Jordy Mercer (6.9).

Casey signed with the Astros to a deal that included a $1,000 signing bonus. He was initially assigned to the rookie class Florida-based GCL Astros, where he struck out four over 5 ²⁄₃ shutout innings. After taking 2020 off, he joined the High-A Asheville Tourists and pitched to a 4-2 record and a 5.60 ERA. He struck out 35 and walked 11 over 53 frames, finishing with a 1.453 WHIP.

The 2022 campaign would begin with Casey playing for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. In his first appearance of the year, on April 21, he walked two and allowed a hit over 2 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings, in a 9-5 loss to the Arkansas Travelers. His best of the year with on June 21, when he whiffed four over 2 ¹⁄₃ perfect innings in a 4-2 win against the Frisco RoughRiders.

In 21 appearances through the season, Casey held the opposition to a .282/.379/.450 slashline and a 1.677 WHIP. He was 3-1 with a 5.82 ERA and 22 K’s versus 20 BB’s over 35 innings. The Astros released him on August 2. He has yet to resurface elsewhere.