Confession time: I was not totally enthused by the selection of former Astros prospect Yohan Ramírez in the 2019 Rule 5 draft. I wanted the Mariners to take RHP Zack Brown out of Milwaukee, or St. Louis fireballer Connor Jones, or for fun, CLE OF Ka’ai Tom; Ramírez didn’t even make our lengthy list of Rule 5 targets for the Mariners.
This was, to be honest, less about Ramírez himself and more of a personal dislike about what the Astros pride in pitching prospects. In 2019, the Astros’ affiliate, the Corpus Christi Hooks, led the entire Texas League in strikeouts with 1453; Seattle’s Arkansas Travelers came in a distant second, with 1324.