Tuesday is the next key day on the Major League calendar. By 5 p.m. central time, the Houston Astros must have their 40-man roster finalized.
As part of this process, the Astros must determine if they are going to protect any of their prospects from the Rule 5 draft, set for next month at the MLB winter meetings.
Players signed before age 18 have five years before they are eligible for the Rule 5 draft. For any player signed after age 19 its four years. The only way to protect any of those players is to put them on the 40-man roster by Tuesday.
For many teams, they face decisions on Top 30 prospects, ones that have been in the system long enough for teams like the Astros to know where they’re headed. Well, Houston has three tremendous young pitching prospects that will be in the Rule 5 draft unless the Astros make a move. All of them are Top 30 prospects per MLB Pipeline — Miguel Ullola (No. 5), Alimber Santa (No. 13) and Jose Fleury (No. 17).
Astros Rule 5 Draft Decisions
These will be important decisions for Houston. Entering the deadline its 40-man roster is full. To make room for Ullola, Santa and Fleury, the Astros will have to designated up to three players for assignment or non-tender up to three players that are eligible for arbitration. That deadline is later in the week.
Ullola may be the closest to being ready for a Major League call-up. The 23-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2021, and he has steadily worked his way up the ranks. The 2025 season was his first full season with Triple-A Sugar Land, and he proved he was nearly ready for a promotion.
He went 7-6 with a 3.88 ERA in 28 games, with 23 starts. He struck out 131 and walked 78 in 113.2 innings. He even saved one game in two chances. Batters hit only .186 against him, the second straight season he held hitters below .200. For the pitching-hungry Astros, a player like Ullola is a prize.
Santa is another 23-year-old pitcher who has been in the system for five seasons and was signed out of the Dominican Republic. Unlike Ullola, Santa has been converted into a full-time reliever, but he had a standout season at Sugar Land, where he went 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA. He six holds and two saves in four chances. He struck out 82 and walked 39 in 70 innings as batters hit .185 against him. The Astros need help in the bullpen, and he could make an impact as a rookie.
Fleury is also 23, also from the Dominican Republic but has only been in the system for four years. He wasn’t quite as effective as Ullola and Santa at Sugar Land, but he has plenty of potential. He went 5-2 with a 4.55 ERA in 23 games, with 19 starts. He struck out 78, walked 35 and allowed batters to hit .237 against him in 85 innings.
