With it being a slow news day in January, let’s get caught up on a move that flew under the radar last month.
During the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft, the Charlotte Knights claimed right-handed pitcher Ernesto Jacquez off waivers from the Asheville Tourists, High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The move took place on December 7, 2022 – the final day of the Winter Meetings in San Diego.
Jacquez, 23, has been with the Astros organization since signing as an international free agent in 2017. After spending portions of his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and Gulf Coast League, the Santo Domingo native appeared in a pair of games at Low-A Tri-City in 2018.
Since then, Jacquez hasn’t been able to make it out of A-ball, splitting his time between Low-A Fayetteville (four games) and High-A Asheville (17 games) in 2022. Between those two teams, the righty combined for a 6.13 ERA (52 ER/76.1 IP), 1.546 WHIP, 8.96 K/9, 5.54 BB/9, and 1.62 K/BB in 21 appearances (13 starts). Though these numbers were a slight improvement over his rough 2021 campaign, his command issues that led to unflattering results were enough for the Astros to leave him unprotected.
There isn’t much else in the way of available information on Jacquez. He is currently assigned to Triple-A Charlotte, and will likely work with the minor league pitching staff to correct his problem areas in 2023. If things work out positively, it appears that he’ll serve primarily as minor-league depth so don’t expect to see him in Chicago next season.
During the remainder of the Rule 5 Draft, the White Sox made one other addition in right-hander Nick Avila during the major league phase. To learn more about the former Giants relief prospect, click here.
For more updates, follow us on social media @SoxOn35th!
Featured Photo: Fayetteville Woodpeckers
