TOWSON, Md. – Former Towson University baseball player Ethan Pecko has been named the Astros 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, announced by the Houston Astros player development department on Monday.
 
Pecko finished the season 4-6 with a 3.47 ERA (37 ER, 96 IP) in 26 appearances, including 15 starts between Low A Fayetteville, High A Asheville and Double A Corpus Christi. The right-hander recorded 125 strikeouts, a 1.21 WHIP and a .219 opponent batting average.
 
In May, Pecko earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Month honors during his first stop of the season with Low A Fayetteville. During that month, Pecko posted a 0.86 ERA (2 ER/ 21 IP) with four walks, 25 strikeouts and a .116 opponent batting average.
 
The 22-year-old ranked second in strikeouts-per-nine innings (11.72), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.38), fifth in strikeouts and fifth in opponent batting average in the Astros minor league system this season, according to FanGraphs.
 
Pecko is rated as the Astros number 18 overall prospect by MLB.com. He was selected by the Astros in sixth round of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft from Towson University and signed by Astros scout Bobby St. Pierre.