The Astros have long said all off-season their priority was pitching. On Friday, they executed a deal to get a controllable starter in Houston, right-hander Mike Burrows sending out prospect Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito.
Burrows was drafted by the Pirates out of high school in 2018 and made his major league debut in 2024. During the 2025 season with Pittsburgh, he posted a 3.94 ERA while striking out 97 batters over 96 innings.
A deeper look at the numbers reveals some intriguing underlying metrics. While Burrows’ fastball was hit hard in 2025 (.326 opponent batting average), his secondary pitches were highly effective. Opponents managed just a .147 average against his changeup across 365 offerings, and hit only .203 against his slider. Velocity was not a concern, either, as his fastball averaged 95.5 mph and topped out at 98.3 mph. We will see what Houston can do with his repertoire.
Perhaps most importantly, Burrows remains under team control through the 2032 season, giving the Astros six full seasons of cost-controlled production in a Houston uniform.
As for the outgoing prospects, Melton was considered one of Houston’s top prospects. The former second-round pick boasts strong tools but struggled at the major league level in 2025. Brito is a talented pitching prospect in his own right, but he has yet to advance beyond High-A, and the Astros were in need of immediate help.
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