The Space Cowboys were the best team in minor league baseball in 2024 and put together a historic season. Let’s take a look.
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2024 Record: 93-56, Pacific Coast League East Division
Sugar Land started the season early playing 3 games in March and going 1-2. They had a great month of April going 18-7 in 25 games. May was solid too as the Space Cowboys went 16-11 in 27 games. They continued to roll and dominated in June going 18-8 in 26 games. July was another month over .500 with Sugar Land going 13-9 in 22 games. August was their first bumpy month but still was above .500 going 15-12 in 27 games. They finished the season off going 12-7 during the month of September. They went into the playoffs and swept Reno 2-0 winning the PCL Championship. They then capped off the season winning the Triple-A Championship against Omaha!
Check out my article here on their post-season run!
Here are the team leaders (min 200 AB or 80 IP):
TEAM LEADERS
Hits – Pedro Leon (140)
2B – Jesus Bastidas (31)
3B – Quincy Hamilton (5)
HR – Shay Whitcomb/Jesus Bastidas (25)
RBI – Shay Whitcomb (91)
BA – Pedro Leon (.299)
SB – Pedro Leon (29)
OPS – Shay Whitcomb (.909)
wRC+ – Cooper Hummel (125)
IP – Ryan Gusto (148.1)
W – A.J. Blubaugh (12)
SV – Wander Suero (37)
SO – Ryan Gusto (141)
ERA – Ryan Gusto (3.70)
NOTABLES
Shay Whitcomb, INF
Whitcomb put together a phenomenal 2023 leading minor league baseball in home runs but had the most home runs in baseball but followed that up with an even better year in 2024. In 108 games in Triple-A, Whitcomb hit .293 with 25 home runs, 91 runs batted in and 26 stolen bases. He posted a 123 wRC+ and took home the Triple-A Championship MVP as well. This was also his third straight 20/20 season.
Ryan Gusto, RHP
Gusto, an 11th round pick from 2019, put together the best season of his career to this point. He set the Sugar Land record with 141 strikeouts while posting a 3.70 ERA. He was even better from June to the end of the season posting a 2.08 ERA with 98 K in 108 innings for Triple-A Sugar Land.
Pedro Leon, OF
Leon has been in the Astros system for a while now, and has produced, but in 2024 he had another good year helping Sugar Land to a Triple-A Championship. In 118 games in Triple-A, Leon hit .299 with 24 home runs, 90 runs batted in and 29 stolen bases. He also had a few at-bats at the major league level too. This was his second consecutive season with 20+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases.
A.J. Blubaugh, RHP
Blubaugh made one start in Double-A this year before earning a promotion to Triple-A and he never looked back. He was a steady starter for the Triple-A champs posting a 3.71 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 128.2 innings this season. He should get a chance to pitch in Houston in 2025.
Jesus Bastidas, INF
Bastidas was signed to a minor league deal last off-season and turned out to be a nice move. The infielder hit .242 with 25 home runs, 89 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases over 132 games. He also led the team in doubles. He played all over the infield and was one of the main offensive contributors this season.
Colton Gordon, LHP
Gordon followed up a strong 2023 season with an improvement in 2024. The left-hander pitched the full season in Triple-A racking up 124 strikeouts in 123.1 innings with a 3.94 ERA. Impressive numbers for the Pacific Coast League. The 25-year-old was the third of the three headed monster with Gusto and Blubaugh.
The Bullpen
The Sugar Land bullpen was dominant in 2024. Wander Suero led the way with 37 saves and a 2.66 ERA in 67.2 innings. Logan VanWey posted a 3.22 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 72.2 innings. Luis Contreras was also great posting a 1.74 ERA over 46.2 innings. Forrest Whitley struck out 45 in 33.1 innings with a 1.89 ERA in relief.
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