One of the greatest strengths of the Astros’ organizational talent pool is their upper level pitching, as their strong major league rotation is backed by a strong of big-league ready arms at the Double and Triple-A levels. After wunderkind Forrest Whitley, the hurler in that group with the highest ceiling is likely Cuban southpaw Cionel Perez (or former Aggie Corbin Martin), who made his major league debut in 2018.
Perez was signed prior to the 2017 season to a $2 million contract after an initial $5+ million contract was voided due to medical concerns. Perez didn’t have the most impressive debut, failing to miss bats while splitting time between starting and relief across three levels.