Rogelio Peña Armenteros...Pronounced “roh-HELL-ee-o arm-enTAIR-ohs”...Cuban right-handed starter was claimed off of waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks in Dec. 2020...Has struck out nearly 10.0 batters per 9.0 innings during his Minor League career.
2020
Spent the season on Houston’s Injured List (right elbow soreness).
2019
The 25-year-old native Cuban made his Major League debut in 2019, appearing in five games for the Astros, including two starts, while posting a 1-1 record and a save...fanned 18 in 18.0 innings and posted a 4.00 ERA (8ER/18IP)...made those five appearances across three Major League stints: June 14-24, July 16-21 and Aug. 17...began his season with the Major League club in Spring Training and went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (1ER/5IP) in two starts...optioned to minor league camp on March 12 and began the regular season in the rotation at Triple A Round Rock...recalled from Triple A June 14 and made his MLB debut that night, picking up the 3.0-inning save in the Astros 15-2 win vs. TOR...became the first Astro to record a save in his Major League debut (since saves became official in 1969)...made two Major League appearances before his option on June 24...named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week after tossing 6.0 scoreless frames on July 12 vs. Iowa...recalled to Houston on July 16 and pitched 4.0 innings that night at LAA on three-days rest...stayed with the Astros after the outing and started on full rest for his first MLB start on July 21 vs. TEX (1ER/5IP)...optioned to Triple A after the game...recalled on Aug. 17 for a spot start at OAK (5ER/4IP)...optioned to Triple A after the game...finished his minor league season with 19 appearances, 18 starts, a 6-7 record and a 4.80 ERA...struck out 85 in 84.1 innings...made two postseason starts for Round Rock, going 0-1 with a 7.56 ERA (7ER/8.1IP)... pitched for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, making five starts and posting a 2.37 ERA (5ER/19IP).
2018
Spent the season at Triple A Fresno, going 8-1 with a 3.74 ERA (49ER/118IP) and 134 strikeouts in 22 games (21 starts)...had a strong finish, going 1-0 with a 3.25 ERA (13ER/36IP) and 45 strikeouts in seven games (6 starts) following the Triple A All-Star Break...started and finished a suspended game on June 3 at Albuquerque...his final line was 11 strikeouts on 147 pitches in an 8.0-inning complete game.
2017
Had arguably the best season of any Astros minor league pitcher in 2017 as he combined to go 10-4 with a 2.04 ERA (28ER/123.2IP) in 24 games (20 starts) between Triple A Fresno (10gs) and Double A Corpus Christi (14g/10gs), where he was a Texas League All-Star....combined to post 146 strikeouts in 123.2 innings pitched, while allowing a .205 opponent batting average...led all Astros minor league prospects in strikeouts and ranked second in wins...began the year at Double A making 14 appearances before a promotion to Triple A in July...in his first month at Triple A, earned the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July...made five starts for the Grizzlies that month and won all five of them...during the month, he led the Pacific Coast League in wins (5) while ranking tied for third in strikeouts (33) and eighth in ERA (2.86, 9ER/28.1IP).
2016
Combined to go 8-6 with a 3.53 ERA (50ER/127.2IP) in 26 games (22 starts) between three levels: Corpus Christi (3gs), Class A Lancaster (19g/16gs) and Class A Quad Cities (4g/3gs)...led all Astros minor leaguers in strikeouts with 140 in 127.1 innings pitched...moved up the Astros system in sequence, going from Quad Cities (Opening Day-April 23) to Lancaster (April 28-Aug. 16) to Corpus Christi (Aug. 21-end of season)...while with Lancaster, was named the JetHawks Pitcher of the Month in June after going 2-0 with a 1.48 ERA (4ER/24.1IP) and 30 strikeouts in five June outings...during the month, ranked second in the California League in ERA...also was named the California League Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 4-10...following the season, made eight appearances for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League.
2015
Made his stateside debut, posting a 3-2 record and a 3.69 ERA (25ER/61IP) in 15 games (12 starts) between Quad Cities (3gs) and Class A Tri-City (12g/9gs)...fanned 61 hitters in 61 innings pitched...spent most of his season with Tri-City before a promotion to Quad Cities for his final three starts of the year.
