Paulino, Minaya Impress Astros

KISSIMMEE, Fla.—Though their results were dramatically different, hard-throwing Dominican righthanders David Paulino and Juan Minaya impressed the big league coaching staff.

---

Paulino gave up two hits and four runs in two brief relief appearances, while Minaya threw two scoreless innings to earn two saves in his two Grapefruit League appearances.

“Those guys have tremendous arms,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “This is the first time either has been in big league camp. They’ve learned a lot. They now have a plan on what things they need to work on to get to the big leagues.”

Minaya, who signed in September 2008, made 35 combined relief appearances at Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno in 2015, recording a 2.80 ERA and strikeout rate of 9.7 per nine innings. He allowed just two home runs.

Paulino, meanwhile, sprinted through short-season Tri-City and low Class A Quad Cities to reach high Class A Lancaster at the end of July. He missed the entire 2014 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The 6-foot-7 Paulino, whom Houston acquired from the Tigers for reliever Jose Veras(^) in 2013, left camp with plenty of confidence after paying close attention to the veterans. He realized that success depends more than just on delivering pitches to the plate.

“I feel totally like a champ,” said Paulino, 22. “I sincerely feel like a big leaguer now because of what I learned about holding runners and other things, like understanding that there’s no rush. I really enjoyed being here.”

Minaya also appreciated the lessons he learned in big league camp.

“They told me they were very happy with me and to keep working, because you never know,” said Minaya, 25. “I learned the veterans’ work ethic and the concentration and focus they put into their job.”

SPACE SHOTS

• Righthander Joe Musgrove, the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2015, drew praise from manager A.J. Hinch in big league camp. “He’s very competitive,” Hinch said. “He has a chance to help us sooner rather than later if he continues to progress the way that he has.”

• Righthander Brady Rodgers, a 2012 third-round pick who made 21 starts at Fresno last year, will start against the Padres in one of two exhibition games in Mexico City in late March.