The Astros are adding left-hander Colton Gordon to their 40-man roster, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link). The 6’4″ southpaw would otherwise have been eligible for next month’s Rule 5 draft. Houston has one additional opening on the 40-man roster, so it’s possible they’ll make another move before tonight’s deadline to keep players out of the Rule 5.
Gordon was an eighth-round pick in 2021. The Central Florida product has found success as a starter in the minors. He owns a 3.74 ERA in a little more than 300 professional innings. Gordon managed a 3.94 mark across 123 1/3 frames with Triple-A Sugar Land this year. He struck out a solid 23.8% of opponents while issuing walks at a respectable 7.5% clip.
Prospect evaluators have never graded Gordon especially highly. Baseball America has ranked him in the back half of their top 30 prospects in a thin Astros’ system for the last two years. Gordon doesn’t throw hard and had a middling 9.7% swinging strike rate in Triple-A. That limits his ceiling, but starting pitchers with upper minors success are often plucked away in the Rule 5 draft. The Astros ensure that won’t happen with Gordon, who could make his big league debut as a spot starter or long reliever next season.
