HOUSTON – Former HBU pitcher Jacob Coats signed a minor-league contract with the Houston Astros late Tuesday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. The current Major League Baseball lockout does not prevent teams from signing players to minor-league deals.
 
The 6-foot-6 righthander from Schertz, Texas, made 14 starts for the Huskies as a senior last year, going 3-8 with a 5.17 ERA and a team-leading 79 strikeouts with 35 walks in 78.1 innings. Coats hurled two complete games, including one in his final home start, when he struck out a Division I school record 15 in a 7-1 win over Central Arkansas on May 14, 2021.
 
Coats has been working out Tread Athletics in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he worked on his mechanics and added 4-5 miles per hour to his fastball.
 
HBU will have three active alums in the minor leagues when the 2022 season begins, including two in the Astros' organization, as Coats joins righthander Kyle Gruller, who signed with the club in 2020. Gruller made 10 appearances for the High A Asheville Tourists last season, posting a 4.30 ERA and notching a save with 37 strikeouts in 29.1 innings. Former righthander Addison Russ spent much of 2021 with the New York Yankees' Double-A affiliate Somerset Patriots, making 27 appearances and going 3-2 with four saves, a 1.91 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 33.0 innings.