Alimber Santa, RHP
Alimber Santa is a reliever through and through and has a bit of Enoli Paredes in him. He coils and explodes with a heater that sits in the mid-90s and can reach 100 when he’s firing. A sinker and sweeper give him three quality offerings.
Santa, like most other explosive relievers, struggles with command at times. That didn’t hurt him in Double-A in 2025, where he pitched to a 1.26 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 23 walks in 57 innings. He then had a 6.92 ERA with 19 punchouts and 16 walks in 13 frames in Triple-A.
Santa has a greater chance to crack the bigs at some point in 2026 than most in this section because he’s been a reliever and the Astros have a bit of a question mark in the back end of their ‘pen.
As long as the Triple-A command issues don’t continue, this will definitely be a name to watch for 2027 at the very least.
Ethan Pecko, RHP
Ethan Pecko missed the first half of 2025 after being named the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2024, his first full season of pro ball. That didn’t slow him down much, and the 23-year-old righty sported a 3.09 ERA in 35 innings at Triple-A.
Pecko has almost exclusively started in the minors and doesn’t have a standout pitch to potentially be an elite reliever like Ullola. He would likely be in a swingman role like Blubaugh, but Pecko could survive in spot starts with an average-to-above average fastball, cutter and slider, with a curveball and changeup that can be mixed in.
The Towson product will be battling with the rest of these pitchers for opportunities when they arise, but he has a lot of similarities to JP France, who was just DFA’d after Kai-Wei Teng was acquired from the Giants.
Bryce Mayer, RHP
Bryce Mayer is likely a low-upside starter, but he rose the ranks in 2025 from Low-A to Double-A. He only logged 29 innings at Double-A and had a 5.90 ERA, but his current arsenal could work in Houston with a couple tweaks.