Houston Astros Pitching Prospect Impresses After Surviving Deadline

The Houston Astros could have an elite pitching prospect on their hands after a nice season in the minor leagues.

Hooks pitcher Miguel Ullola throws a pitch on Opening Night at Whataburger Field on Friday, April 5, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Houston Astros were urged to move a young pitching prospect at the trade deadline, but kept him around and it continues to look like a smart idea.

As Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter looked around the MLB farm systems for breakout prospects, a familiar name popped up for the Astros. Miguel Ullola earned the honors after entering the year underrated but continuing to have solid performances.

"[Houstons loves] a live arm with elite velocity, and Ullola fits the mold with a 70-grade fastball that sits in the upper 90s and has electric late life up in the zone," said Reuter. "He probably fits best at the back of the bullpen unless his command improves and his secondary stuff takes a step forward, but with a 4.35 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 101.1 innings at Double-A he has the stuff to be a major late-inning weapon."

The 22-year-old was consistently brought up in trade proposals leading up to the MLB trade deadline. He would be an easy player to dangle in front of a team given that he's such an exciting fastball thrower.

He's currently the No. 18 overall player in the Astros farm system. He's the eighth-ranked right-handed pitcher, though, given the amount of players at the position coming down the pipeline for Houston.

With so many pitching prospects, it wouldn't be surprising to see one or two moved in the offseason to add to the roster as they try to contend.

As attractive as he would be to potential buyers, that only makes him harder to move on from for the Astros.

His most recent start was the best of his career as he went five innings of hitless baseball with five strikeouts on just 63 pitches.

Miguel Ullola picked up five strikeouts on Thursday, bringing his season total to 127 in 101.1 IP.

Over his last 5 starts, opposing batters are hitting just .148 against Ullola. During that span, he has a 3.20 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 25.1 IP. pic.twitter.com/7CyUwlqEUS

— Astros Player Development (@AstrosPlayerDev) August 9, 2024

Houston signed him out of the Dominican Republic back in 2021 and he's had an up-and-down career so far.

Some growing pains are expected, but what has remained consistent is his high strikeout numbers. Throughout all levels of the minors, he's averaged 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

He's been hard to hit and doesn't give up many home runs, but the problem has been throwing strikes consistently.

The righty has averaged 6.2 walks for his minor league career. That number is down to 5.2 this year. The fact that he is walking so many players and still has a WHIP of 1.135 is very impressive.

If he can cut down on the walks, the Astros look to have a very impressive young prospect on their hands.