Prospecting - Chase Jaworsky and Ethan Pecko + Dana Brown Agrees
Astros 5th and 6th Round Picks in 2023
One of the topics I hope to cover more this season is the Astros minor leaguers because they are the future of the organization.
How that coverage manifests, I’m not sure. With 162 games and daily updates, that leaves little time or space in my brain, but I think it’s important and readers enjoy them.
Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to take a look at some of the 2023 draftees and while none of these players are close to being in Houston, it’s good to know how it’s hanging, so to speak.
In our third installment, we take a look at 2023 fifth-round pick Chase Jaworsky and sixth-rounder Ethan Pecko.
Chase Jaworsky - Round 5, 164th Overall
Jaworsky is a 6’1, 170-pound middle infielder from Littleton, Colorado who turned 19 last July 31.
Originally Jaworsky signed to play with Utah Valley University, but ended up signing with the Astros instead.
While there’s very little on Jaworsky on the internet, our friends at Astros Future did write this about him and here is some video.
For what it’s worth, Perfect Game rated Jaworsky 439th overall and the 88th-best shortstop.
Jaworsky spent three weeks with the FCL Astros last summer, playing in 9 games and batting .281 with 2 RBI in 38 plate appearances.
He is with the Astros this spring and has seen action in two games striking out in all three plate appearances.
Ethan Pecko - Round 6, 194th Overall
Pecko is a 6’2, 195-pound right-handed pitcher from Towson University in Maryland.
Pecko had Tommy John surgery during his freshman year of college (La Salle) and redshirted, which ultimately made him eligible for the draft after his redshirt sophomore season in 2023.
Pecko was 2-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 starts for Towson in 2023, striking out 48 and walking 21 in 42 innings.
Pecko’s fastball can reach the mid-90s and he features a slider in the low 80s.
After his time at Towson, Pecko started 5 games in the Northwoods Summer League, dominating with a 2-1 record, 1.04 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.
Once signed, Pecko spent a few days with the FCL Astros, making two appearances before spending the balance of the season with Asheville.
There, the 21-year-old made 4 appearances covering 12 innings and while his 7.50 ERA doesn’t seem impressive, consider what it was after his initial start.
In Other News
Astros General Manager Dana Brown may be the second biggest fan of quality starts I know.
From a recent piece by Chandler Rome in The Athletic:
“If they give us quality starts, we’ll hit, we can catch the ball and we can close games out. We need quality starts. There’s no mistaking about that,” Brown said. “It’s important for them to give us quality starts. I don’t want to put the pressure on them saying, ‘Oh, they have to have a 2 (ERA) or a 1.5 (ERA). I don’t think that’s what we need. We have to focus on getting quality starts and they’re both capable of doing it.”
“Quality starts are the key. I won’t panic until they consistently have bad starts.”
Brown mentioned quality starts by name 5 times in a little over a paragraph.
I’ve been focusing on this often-derided metric for the better part of a year and am nearing completion of my research.
Here’s the facts:
A little over a third (~34%) of starts are quality starts.
Teams with quality starts won 69% of the time in 2023.
If your team got a quality start and the other team didn’t you win 78% of the time (still working on this part) in 2023.
The data is clear.
More to come.
Thanks for reading!