This Astros prospect is forcing a decision the front office can’t put off much longer

Colton Gordon's last two outings have been stellar. The Houston Astros' left-hander has thrown a combined 12 innings and struck out 11 batters while allowing just two runs and one walk over his last two starts. On the season, Gordon is 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA and 29 strikeouts in six starts for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

Gordon was added to the Astros' 40-man roster this past offseason, and along with Ryan Gusto, provides Houston with a much deeper talent pool of starting pitchers than they've had in years. Throw in fellow prospect AJ Blubaugh, and the Astros will soon have a problem on their hands.

There's only five spots in the starting rotation, and at leat four (for now) are under lock and key. When healthy, the Astros will undoubtedly rely on the quartet of Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, and Spencer Arrighetti. But Gusto has proven to be more than serviceable this season with a 2.78 ERA and 2.71 FIP. These young arms will soon force Houston to make some decisions — some of which may be rather difficult.

Astros pitching prospect Colton Gordon is forcing Houston's hand

The simplest solution is to just keep Gordon, Blubaugh, and perhaps even Gusto once Lance McCullers Jr. returns from the IL, in the minor leagues. It's not often that teams have a trio of MLB-ready arms at the ready in the event of an injury at the big league level. Astros fans have already seen the need for such depth with Arrighetti currently on the shelf with a broken right thumb.

But this glut of rising prospects could eventually propel their way onto the roster, and Astros GM Dana Brown has to figure out which direction to turn. Houston could look to cash in on one of their top trade chips and deal Valdez — whom they're unlikely to re-sign this offseason — at the MLB trade deadline. But unless the Astros front office is convinced that the return is worth the gamble and their young hurlers can perform down the stretch, this is dangerous avenue to go down.

Houston could also opt to shakeup their bullpen. Hayden Wesneski currently owns a spot in the Astros rotation, but does have experience as a reliever. Gusto is in the same boat. The Astros could decide to move on from relievers like Luis Contreras, Tayler Scott, and Bennett Sousa in an effort to get their young pitchers in to the majors leagues.

It's safe to assume, at least at the moment, that Houston is not in a rush to accelerate the promotion of Gordon or Blubaugh. The Astros would undoubtedly love to see McCullers Jr. return to his All-Star form and are hopeful that Luis Garcia comes back at some point this season as well.

Houston has a problem, albeit a good one, on their hands right now. The Astros are likely to bide their time, but if their young prospects continue to put up these types of numbers in the minor leagues, Brown and Co. won't be able to put off some difficult decisions for much longer.

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