Spent some of his childhood living in the U.S. Virgin Islands...Josh’s father, Ivan, is a native of St. Croix, while his mother, Tricia, was born on St. Thomas...Was born in Florida and eventually graduated from South Broward HS (Fla.) in 2011...was a three-year letter winner in baseball...hit .370 with 21 RBI during his senior season, while posting a 2.13 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 45.0 innings...Attended Division II Barry University in 2012, appearing in four games and throwing 5.0 innings... transferred to Division II Western Oklahoma State College and had a redshirt season in 2013...In 2014, made 16 appearances (10 starts) at Western Oklahoma State, going 4-1 with a 3.21 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched...Selected by the Astros in the 34th round of the 2014 Draft...signed by Astros scout Jim Stevenson...As a 34th round pick, became the lowest-drafted pitcher in franchise history to make a start for the club in the Major Leagues...surpassed the previous Astros franchise record holder, Darryl Kile, who was a 30th round selection in the 1987 MLB Draft...Was named the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year in a breakout 2018 season after seeing a massive increase in velocity...credited his success to the use of a CPAP machine following a sleep apnea diagnosis...Was selected to the Astros Major League roster on Sept. 1, 2018...has used one of his three option years since his original recall in 2018.
2021
After offseason left hip surgery, did not return to game action until late June...ended up making five relief appearances for the Astros, 20 at Triple-A Sugar Land and two at Class A Fayetteville...Made his first two apps of the season at Fayetteville, which were both 1.0-inning scoreless starts...Promoted to Sugar Land in July to continue his rehab...worked as a rehabbing player thru the month before being activated from the IL and optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 1...Had three Major League stints on the season, appearing in five games...struck out eight in 5.0 innings of work, while posting a 5.40 ERA (3ER/5IP)...Spent the entire POSTSEASON as a member of the Astros Taxi Squad, but did not make an active postseason roster.
2020
Pitched in 13 games (two starts) with Houston during the regular season after dealing with two stints on the Injured List (Aug. 22-Sept. 9: left hip discomfort; Sept. 25-28: undisclosed)...Arrived late to 2020 Summer Camp due to the birth of his second child...Began the year pitching out of the starting rotation before moving to the bullpen after his second start...OPENING DAY: Made his second career Opening Day roster, starting the fourth game of the season...Was scoreless in seven of his last nine relief outings to close out the season, posting a 1-0 record and a 1.93 ERA (2ER/9.1IP) and 10 strikeouts...Gave up one walk over his final five outings to end the year (6IP)...gave up 16 walks over his first 11.1 innings, spanning eight games (two starts)...POSTSEASON: Was on the Astros rosters for all three rounds of the postseason...made three appearances, posting a 9.00 ERA (4ER/4IP) with one walk and three strikeouts...Underwent surgery on his left hip on Oct. 23 to repair a labral tear...his estimated recovery time following the surgery was six-to-eight months.
2019
26-year-old pitched in his first full season in the Majors....set a single-season Astros rookie record for strikeouts by a reliever (99), which was previously set by Brad Lidge in 2003 (97)...became the first pitcher in franchise history to begin career with a seven-game winning streak...the previous record was a five-game winning streak, last reached by Chad Qualls from 2004-05...posted a 14.77 strikeouts per 9.0 innings ratio, the fifth-best mark by a rookie reliever in MLB history, behind Kenley Jansen (16.10 in 2011), Edwin Diaz (15.33 in 2016), Nick Anderson (15.23 in 2019) and Craig Kimbrel (14.84 in 2011)...among AL relievers, ranked second in strikeouts per nine innings (14.77) and fourth in strikeouts (100)...had three games with at least five strikeouts...was one of 10 AL relievers to have at least three five-strikeout games in 2019...posted a 2.73 ERA (9ER/29.2IP) and a .121 opponent batting average on the road...made his first-career Opening Day roster after is first invitation to Major League Spring Training camp...placed on the 10-day Injured List with right arm fatigue on July 22... activated from the 10-day IL on Sept.1...earned his first win of 2019 on May 18 vs. BOS after firing 3.0 hitless relief innings...stranded both of his inherited runners, walking one with two strikeouts on 48 pitches...threw his fastest pitch of the season (100.4) mph on June 2 vs. OAK...suffered his first career loss on Sept. 11 vs. OAK, his 49th career game...tossed 1.0 scoreless inning with a strikeout on Sept. 22 vs. LAA...marked his 97th strikeout of the season as a reliever, tying the single-season rookie record for a reliever...set the new record on Sept. 26. at LAA with two strikoeuts, surpassing the record held by Brad Lidge in 2003...finished the year on a six-game scoreless streak with 10 strikeouts and two walks...made nine appearances in the postseason, going 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA (4ER/6.2IP) and 14 strikeouts...pitched in Games 3-4 of the ALDS, Games 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the ALCS, and Games 2-4 of the World Series...stranded all 10 of his inherited runners in the postseason...tied Jesse Orosco (1996) for the Major League postseason record for most inherited runners without allowing an inherited runner to score...became the first rookie in club history to record multiple wins in a single postseason...earned the win in Game 3 of the World Series at WSH, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to record a win in a World Series Game...tossed 3.1 innings in three minor league games with Triple A Round Rock as part of a rehab assignment...recorded a 10.80 ERA (4ER/10.1IP) with 5 strikeouts.
2018
Was named the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year and exploded onto the Major League scene with a fastball that topped out at 101.1 miles per hour...was dominant in six games (3 starts) in September, striking out 29 batters and walking seven in 23.0 innings pitched...held opponents to a .183 batting average (15x82)...fired six pitches that clocked in at 100+ miles per hour, per Statcast... began the season at Double A Corpus Christi...was promoted to Triple A on May 6...selected to the Major League roster on Sept. 1...made his MLB debut on Sept. 1 in a start vs. LAA...the 34th-round pick surpassed Darryl Kile (30th round, 1987 MLB Draft) as the lowest-drafted pitcher in franchise history to make a start in Major Leagues for Houston...went 5.0 innings in his Major League debut, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits...struck out nine batters to tie the second-most strikeouts by an Astros pitcher in a Major League debut...also Scott Elarton (June 20, 1998 vs. CIN) and Dan Larson (July 18, 1976 at MON)...made his first-career relief appearance on Sept. 8 at BOS, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings in Houston's 5-3 win...struck out four and allowed just one hit...on Sept. 18 vs. SEA, earned his first-career Major League win in what was his fourth-career game (2nd start) in the Major Leagues...threw 5.1 scoreless innings, striking out seven batters with two walks and four hits allowed...was the second consecutive game that an Astros rookie starting pitcher went at least 5.0 scoreless innings, as Framber Valdez fired 5.0 scoreless innings the night before...marked the first time in Astros franchise history that rookie starting pitchers threw 5.0+ scoreless innings in consecutive games...made two appearances during the postseason, with both games coming during the ALCS vs. the Red Sox (Games 2 and 4)...was on the Astros ALDS roster but did not pitch in the series....posted a 7.71 ERA (4ER/4.2IP) with two walks and seven strikeouts in the ALCS...struck out five batters over 3.2 relief innings in Game 4 of the ALCS vs. BOS...marked the second-most strikeouts by a rookie reliever in the postseason in franchise history, behind Jose Cabrera and his six strikeouts in Game 3 of the 1999 NLDS vs. ATL ...combined to go 6-4 with a 3.23 ERA (41ER/114.1IP) and 171 strikeouts in 23 games (21 starts) at Triple A Fresno (17g) and Double A Corpus Christi (6g)...led the minors in strikeouts per 9.0 innings ratio (13.46) and strikeout rate (36.3%)...his 171 strikeouts were tied for the fourth-most in the minor leagues and were the most by an Astros minor league pitcher in over a decade...named the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April after posting a 1.80 ERA (4ER/20IP) with six walks, 34 strikeouts and a .208 opponent batting average at Double A Corpus Christi...the 34 strikeouts were tied for the most in the Texas League during the month, while his ERA ranked second.
