Houston Astros left-hander Brandon Walter turned in an impressive start in his team's 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins in 10 innings on Sunday. Walter allowed one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings of work while striking out nine and walking none but he had to settle for a no-decision in the extra-inning game. The southpaw recorded an excellent 17 swinging strikes in the start. Walter now has a 1.53 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings of work spanning three starts and is a priority waiver add in all leagues this week.
The Houston Astros have promoted left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Walter ahead of his start on Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians. In a corresponding move, the Astros designated right-handed pitcher Forrest Whitley for assignment. Walter has made a start in Houston this season and tossed five shutout frames with five punchouts and three hits against the Tampa Bay Rays. Last season, Walter made his MLB debut and logged 23 innings to the tune of a 6.26 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Over his last five outings at Triple-A Sugar Land, the southpaw has found success, holding a 1.88 ERA with a strong 0.88 WHIP. During this stretch, Walter has tallied 28 punchouts and allowed just one free pass. This afternoon, he is worth a look in deeper formats as a streaming option, given his earlier success in the majors and strong production at Triple-A.
The Houston Astros added left-hander Brandon Walter to their taxi squad, and The Athletic's Chandler Rome suggests he could make the start on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that hasn't been good against lefties in 2025. Houston currently has not listed a starter for Tuesday's game. Walter has looked good at Triple-A Sugar Land this year, going 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 0.70 WHIP with 34 strikeouts and seven walks in 35 2/3 innings over nine appearances (five starts). The 28-year-old southpaw had a cup of coffee with the Boston Red Sox in 2024 in his big-league debut and allowed 17 runs (16 earned) while walking seven and striking out 16 in 23 relief innings. This would be Walter's first-ever MLB start if he gets the nod on Tuesday, and while the matchup is a good one, Walker would be a shaky deep-league streaming option in fantasy.
Houston Astros left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter has enjoyed an impressive start to the Triple-A regular season and was named Pacific League Pitcher of the Week. Over his last two outings this past week, Walter has logged 10 shutout innings (two starts) and allowed just four hits and no walks. During this stretch, he has struck out nine batters. Before this impressive week, Walter held a 3.95 ERA with an impressive 0.80 WHIP across his first 13 2/3 innings of the campaign. Walter was unable to pitch at all during the 2024 season due to a shoulder injury, but appears to have already found his footing early in the 2025 season. He made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Red Sox but held a modest 6.26 ERA across his first 23 major league frames. If he continues to perform well at Triple-A, he could push for a return to the big leagues.
Brandon Walter
• SP
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Astros
