Sugar Land Opening Day Roster Set

The 2024 Opening Day roster for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, has been set as the Space Cowboys open their fourth season as the Astros’ top affiliate on Friday night in Round Rock at 7:15 pm.

View the full roster here.

Sugar Land’s 28-man roster includes 14 returners from 2023, seven players promoted from within the Astros’ system, seven newcomers and five members of the Astros 40-man roster.

Pitchers (15): RHP Spencer Arrighetti, RHP Dylan Coleman, RHP Luis Contreras, RHP Ray Gaither, RHP Ryan Gusto, RHP Blair Henley, LHP Bryan King, RHP Rhett Kouba, RHP Joel Kuhnel, RHP Cole McDonald, RHP Drew Strotman, RHP Wander Suero, RHP Misael Tamarez, RHP Logan VanWey, RHP Mark Washington.

Catchers (3): Luke Berryhill, César Salazar, CJ Stubbs

Infielders (5): Jesús Bastidas, Trey Cabbage, David Hensley, Will Wagner, Shay Whitcomb

Outfielders (5): Zach Daniels, Quincy Hamilton, Corey Julks, Pedro León, Joey Loperfido

Six of the Top 30 prospects in the Astros organization according to MLB Pipeline will begin the year with Triple-A Sugar Land, including top pitching prospect RHP Spencer Arrighetti (#3), who will start the season opener on Friday night at Round Rock. Reigning Astros Minor League Player of the Year Joey Loperfido (#6) is the highest rated offensive prospect on the Space Cowboys, joined in the field by infielder Will Wagner (#15) and outfielder Pedro León (#26). On the mound, RHP Rhett Kouba (#14) and RHP Misael Tamarez(#30) each slot into the Sugar Land starting rotation.

There are just five returning hurlers for the Space Cowboys; Arrighetti, Kouba, Tamarez, RHP Joel Kuhnel and RHP Logan VanWey. RHP Ray Gaither, RHP Ryan Gusto, RHP Blair Henley, LHP Bryan King and RHP Cole McDonald are all set to make their Triple-A debut, with all but King being drafted by the Astros. New faces to the pitching staff include RHP Dylan Coleman, RHP Luis Contreras, RHP Drew Strotman, RHP Wander Suero and RHP Mark Washington, with all of them signing as free agents except for Coleman, who was acquired in a trade with Kansas City in December.

Offensively, catchers Luke Berryhill and César Salazar return behind the plate. CJ Stubbs joins them after appearing in one game with Sugar Land in 2023, primarily playing for Double-A Corpus Christi. Infielders David Hensley, Will Wagner and Shay Whitcomball come back from the 2023 club, with trade acquisition Trey Cabbage from the Angels organization and free agent signing Jesús Bastidas joining the Astros after spending the first seven years of his career in the Yankees farm system.

In the outfield, Quincy Hamilton, Corey Julks, León and Loperfido all come back to the Space Cowboys after León spent the entire 2023 season in Sugar Land, while Hamilton and Loperfido earned promotions to Sugar Land in June and August respectively. Julks was optioned to Sugar Land on Thursday and played in 93 games with Houston in 2023 and 27 games with the Space Cowboys. Astros 2020 fourth-round pick Zach Daniels finishes off the outfield for the Space Cowboys and will make his Triple-A debut when he first appears for Sugar Land. Additionally, outfielder Justin Dirden will begin the year on the development list for the Space Cowboys.

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys open the 2024 season on the road on March 29 against the Round Rock Express. Opening Day at Constellation Field is on Tuesday, April 2 when the Space Cowboys take on the Las Vegas Aviators at 6:05 pm. Full season memberships, partial season memberships, single-game tickets, ticket plans and group outings are available for the 2024 season at SLSpaceCowboys.com/tickets.

ABOUT THE SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS:

The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros and compete in the Pacific Coast League. They began play as the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021 and began playing under the Space Cowboys brand in 2022. The Space Cowboys play at Constellation Field, located at the corner of Hwy-6 and US-90 Alternate in Sugar Land, Texas. Follow the team on Twitter (@SLSpaceCowboys), Instagram (@slspacecowboys), Facebook (SLSpaceCowboys) and their official website (slspacecowboys.com). Fans can purchase full-season and partial-season plans for 2024 by visiting slspacecowboys.com/tickets.