Bermudez, Berryhill Earn Top Astros Minor League Honors

Hooks staff ace thrived at Whataburger Field; Backstop had consistent season across three levels

By Dan Reiner

October 8, 2021

CORPUS CHRISTI – Left-hander Jonathan Bermudez was named Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year and catcher Luke Berryhill earned the organization’s Player of the Year, the club announced today. Both players spent time with the Hooks in 2021. Bermudez, the ace of the Hooks’ staff for the majority of

CORPUS CHRISTI – Left-hander Jonathan Bermudez was named Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year and catcher Luke Berryhill earned the organization’s Player of the Year, the club announced today. Both players spent time with the Hooks in 2021.

Bermudez, the ace of the Hooks’ staff for the majority of the season, combined to go 5-6 with a 3.24 ERA (40 ER in 111.0 IP), 146 strikeouts and a .222 opponents’ average in 25 games (20 starts) between Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land. He ranked among Astros organization leaders in starts (1st, 20), innings (2nd, 111.0) and strikeouts (2nd, 146).

With the Hooks, Bermudez was 3-5 with a 3.32 ERA (29 ER in 78.2 IP), 106 strikeouts, a 1.18 WHIP and a .238 opponents’ average in 18 games (15 starts).

The southpaw started his year strong, going 2-2 with a 2.66 ERA (7 ER in 23.2 IP), a .216 average against and a 39/3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 5 games (4 starts) in May. That included a career-high 10-strikeout performance without a walk in his second start on May 12 at Frisco.

The 25-year-old from Coamo, Puerto Rico enjoyed the Whataburger Field mound, owning a 2.63 ERA (14 ER in 48.0) with 69 strikeouts, a 1.00 WHIP and .212 opponents average in 10 home appearances (8 starts).

With runners in scoring position, Bermudez held opposing hitters to a .210 average (13-for-62) at Double-A, notching 24 strikeouts in those scenarios.

A 23rd round pick of the Astros in 2018 out of Southeastern University, Bermudez made back-to-back scoreless outings versus Frisco on Aug. 1 and at San Antonio on Aug. 7. He earned his first Triple-A promotion on Aug. 18. He wrapped the year going 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA (11 ER in 32.1 IP), 27 strikeouts, a 1.05 WHIP and .188 opponents’ average in 7 games (5 starts) with Sugar Land.

Overall, went at least 5.0 innings in 12 of 25 season outings, including a pair of 6.0-frame performances on 7/16 vs. San Antonio and 9/17 vs. Albuquerque (both wins).

Berryhill earned a late-season promotion to Double-A after a standout campaign at the A-ball level.

The 23-year-old backstop combined to hit .295 (72-for-244) with 20 doubles, 15 homers, 54 RBIs and 47 runs scored with a .974 OPS across three levels.

Beginning at Low-A Fayetteville, Berryhill reached base at a .429 clip with 10 homers and 32 RBIs in 35 games. He kept pace with High-A Asheville, hitting .277 with five long balls and 19 RBIs over 29 games.

Berryhill finished out the season with Corpus Christi in September, hitting .313 (10-for-32) with a double and three RBIs. He went 5-for-8 over his first two games after joining the team on the road at Northwest Arkansas.

A native of Atlanta, Berryhill was originally a 13th-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2019 draft out of South Carolina. He was acquired by the Astros in January in exchange for left-hander Cionel Pérez.