Pecko and Whitcomb earn Astros Minor League honors

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros player development department has named RHP Ethan Pecko as the Astros 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year and IF Shay Whitcomb the Astros 2024 Minor League Player of the Year. Both players will be recognized in a pregame ceremony at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, September 25 against the Seattle Mariners.

Pecko, 22, went 4-6 with a 3.47 ERA (37ER/96IP) in 26 appearances, including 15 starts between Low A Fayetteville, High A Asheville and Double A Corpus Christi. The right-handed pitcher also recorded 125 strikeouts, a 1.21 WHIP and a .219 opponent batting average. In May, Pecko was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Month. During that month, Pecko notched a 0.86 ERA (2ER/21IP) with four walks, 25 strikeouts and a .116 opponent batting average. The 22-year-old ranked second in strikeout-per-nine innings (11.72), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.38), fifth in strikeouts and fifth in opponent batting average in the Astros minor league system this season, according to FanGraphs.

Pecko is rated as the Astros number 18 overall prospect by MLB.com. He was selected by the Astros in sixth round of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft from Towson University and signed by Astros scout Bobby St. Pierre.

Whitcomb, 25, batted .293 (121x413) with 73 runs, 19 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs, 91 RBI, 26 stolen bases and a .908 OPS in 108 games with Triple A Sugar Land this season. The infielder was selected to the Major League roster on August 16. At the time of his promotion, Whitcomb led the Pacific Coast League in RBI and ranked second in all of Minor League baseball. He also ranked second in the PCL in home runs and fourth in all of Minor League baseball at the time of his promotion. The 25-year-old went 2x3 with a double, walk and run scored in his Major League debut on August 17 vs. Chicago (AL), becoming the 16th player in Astros history to record

an extra-base hit in their first career plate appearance (last, C Garrett Stubbs on May 28, 2019 vs. Chicago (NL).

Whitcomb was selected by the Astros in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB First-Year Player Draft from University of California-San Diego and signed by Astros scout Ryan Leake.