Oops! All Astros: Edwin Gonzalez & Yeriel Santos

Edwin Gonzalez

A six-foot-two, 153 lb. right-handed pitcher out of San Francisco de Macoris, DR, Edwin Gonzalez was born on July 19, 2004. On January 15, 2022, still at the age of 17, he signed his first professional deal to play ball for the Houston Astros in their affiliate system. On June 4, he reported to the DSL Astros Blue squad.

Gonzalez made his debut on June 10, striking out four over two innings in a 6-0 loss to the DSL LAD Mega. Gonzalez gave up an unearned run on one hit and zero walks in the contest.

Gonzalez ran into a bit of trouble through his next two games, during which he allowed four earned runs on seven hits and a walk over 3 ²⁄₃ innings, with four strikeouts. He recovered with his showing on July 1, when he pitched three hitless frames and struck out a pair in a 4-3 loss to the DSL Astros Orange.

In Gonzalez’ final appearance on July 8, he allowed three runs on five hits in three innings, along with two strikeouts in a 6-5 win over the DSL KCS Stewart.

Gonzalez just barely turned 18, and is still a ways off from any consideration at the major league level, let alone the high minors. He’s likely due another season in the minors, at one of Houston’s four rookie affiliates, with an outside shot at appearing with Low-A Fayetteville late next season. A most-likely timeline would see him looking at a roster spot in Houston around 2029.

Yeriel Santos

Yeriel Santos is a six-foot-even, 165 lb. right-handed pitcher from San Francisco de Macoris, DR. Born on November 20, 2003, he’s still yet to turn 19-years-old.

Santos started his professional career just six months ago, after signing with the Astros through free agency on March 3. On June 4, he received his first assignment, joining the DSL Astros Blue squad. Although he ended up posting an 0-3 record for them, the basest of basic stats leaves a lot out of the interpretation.

Santos pitched 39 ²⁄₃ innings for the Blue, and gave up only 10 earned runs on 25 hits and 24 walks for a decent 1.235 WHIP. He also collected 41 whiffs, good for 9.3 K/9 and an opposing slash line of .179/.307/.279.

Santos struck out five in three innings for his debut on June 7, but took the loss due to several unearned runs in an eventual 6-1 setback at the hands of the DSL Twins. His second outing was better. On June 13, he pitched 4 ²⁄₃ shutout innings, allowing two walks and striking out three in a 2-1 loss to the DSL Rockies.

On June 20, in a 6-2 loss to the DSL BOS Blue, Santos whiffed six in four innings, giving up one run on three hits while earning no decision. On August 12, in probably his best showing of the season, he started and pitched four shutout innings, giving up just one hit while striking out four in a 3-0 loss to the DSL Astros Orange. On August 25, he was reassigned to the Orange, but didn’t appear in any games.

Santos wasn’t perfect, and wasn’t exempt from his bumps in the road, as evidenced by his 11 wild pitches, just over one per every four innings. Despite that, he likely showed enough to the powers-that-be to merit at the very least a lateral promotion to one of the FCL-based Astros rookie squads. Figuring normal progression, the earliest timetable to catch Santos in Houston proper would likely be around the 2028 season.