Personal:

• Selected by Houston in the 20^th round of the June 1997 draft.

• Attended Monroe (NY) College..signed by Astros scout Michaael Maggart. Went to Churchville Chili High in New York..he and his wife Jaime have a daughter, Shea (November 13, 2001) and make their offseason home in Churchville, NY.

Scouting Report:

Going into camp- The promising young fireballer stuck in the Astros' rotation all year and was quietly very effective. He fits in as the No. 5 starter in 2004.
Assets- He's not terribly big but can smoke the ball in at around 95 mph. Knows how to get himself out of jams. 
Career potential- Can be a plus-.500 starter.

Honors and Awards:
2001 Baseball America Second All-Star Team (Pitcher)
2001 Most Valuable Pitcher (Texas League - AA)
2001 Double-A All-Star Team (Baseball America) (Pitcher)
2001 Texas League All-Star Team (AA) (Pitcher)
2000 Class A+ All-Star Team (Baseball America) (Pitcher)
2000 Most Valuable Pitcher (Florida League - A)
2000 Florida State League All-Star Team (A) (Pitcher)

Transactions:

06-Sep-04: Recalled from New Orleans (AAA).
27-Feb-04: Re-signed by the Houston Astros to a one-year contract.
21-May-98: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 20th round of the major league draft in 1997.
 

In 2003...

Finished 10-14 with a 3.68 ERA (72ER/176.0IP) in 32 starts

• 15th best ERA in the National League (3.68) among SP.....18th best ERA among all SP with at least 30 starts.....2nd best ERA among all SP under two years Major League service time and at least 30 starts (Prior-1st).

• Led the Astros with a 3.68 ERA (72ER/176IP) in 2003...marked his first full season with the big league club...finished with a 10-14 record in 33 games (32 starts).

• ranked second in the National League with a 1.47 ERA in day games...his 14 losses tied for the fourth-most in the NL.

• made 32 starts for Houston - second-most on the club...team finished 16-16 in those starts...posted five, seven-inning outings that tied his career high.

• won his last start of the year on Sept. 25 vs. Milwaukee...allowed one run over 5.1 innings in the Astros 6-1 victory.

• snapped a five-game and seven-start losing streak with a win on Sept. 14 vs. St. Louis...allowed one run over six innings.

• fanned a season-high and career-high tying eight batters on Aug. 17 at Cincinnati...suffered his 11th loss of the season, allowing one earned run over six innings.

• received no-decision on Aug. 7 vs. the Mets...was his first no-decision in six starts.

• notched his first career win vs. Pittsburgh on July 13 at Minute Maid Park...tossed six shutout innings...marked the first start in his career in which he did not allow a run...also went 1x2 at the plate with a double and a run.

• snapped a four-game losing streak (June 14-27) in a 6-3 win vs. Cincinnati on July 8...allowed two runs and four hits in 4.2 innings.

• pitched one inning of relief on June 27 and was tagged with his fourth consecutive loss, allowing one run and one hit in the sixth in the 10-7 loss to Texas.

• made three consecutive Interleague starts from June 3-14...suffered the loss on June 14 at Boston.

• recorded the win after allowing one run over seven innings on June 8 vs. Tampa Bay...retired 18 batters in order from the second through seventh innings...equaled his longest outing of the season with seven innings...snapped a six-start winless streak...his only previous Interleague decision came in a win against Cleveland on July 15, 2001 in Houston.

• earned no decision on June 4 in the 11-6 win vs. Baltimore...allowed seven hits and four runs in four innings of work...left with a mild right intercostal strain but did not miss a start.

• snapped a three-game winning streak with a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on May 18...allowed two runs in the first inning...posted a 3.21 ERA (10ER/28IP) during the streak from April 22-May 3...the Astros won all five of his starts during the streak.

• received no decision on May 8 vs. the Pirates...threw 113 pitches in the game, the second-highest pitch total of his career (118 on May 8, 2002 at Philadelphia).

• snapped a six-game losing streak (June 3, 2002 - April 17, 2003) with the win on April 22 over the Mets at Shea Stadium...had not won since May 29, 2002 vs. St. Louis in relief, a span of 13 games, including 10 starts...had not won a start since May 13, 2002 vs. Philadelphia.

• started on April 5 vs. St. Louis for his first big league appearance since July 21, 2002 at Wrigley Field.

• earned a spot in the starting rotation out of Spring Training.

2002...

Finished 2-5 with a 5.59 ERA (42ER/67.21IP) in 14 starts…..was 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA (2ER/5.21IP) in four relief appearances.

• Recalled from Triple A New Orleans on April 19 and made his 2002 debut the next day for injured Wade Miller…was 0-4 with 7.02 ERA (26ER/33.1IP) in June and July over 10 games (seven starts)..made his final appearance on July 21 at Chicago (NL), a 6-3 loss in relief..dropped his last start on July 14 vs. Cincinnati..optioned back to New Orleans on July 25.
• Put together a three-game winning streak that ended on June 3 at Arizona (Schilling) in a 10-4 loss, his first defeat since April 26.
• After going 0-2 with a 16.29 ERA (9ER/5IP) over his first two starts, made a dramatic turnaround in May by posting a 3-0 record and 2.31 ERA (9ER/35IP) over six games, including one relief appearance and five quality starts..limited opponents to a .169 batting average during the month.
• Earned his first-ever victory on May 29 vs. St. Louis at home in a 10-5 win.
• Earned his first win of the season with an 8-2 victory on May 2 vs. Montreal..retired the final 10 batters faced.
• Was the loser in a 9-0 defeat on April 26 at Atlanta, which ended the Astro’s streak of 122 games without being shut out..it was his first start vs. the Braves.

2001...

• Rookie right-hander was 3-1 with a 5.50 ERA in 13 games (nine starts).
• Final start was against the Giants at home on Oct 3…pitched three scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the fourth..lifted for pinch-hitter in bottom of the fourth.
• Had no decicsion in three innings of relief on Sept 28 in a 6-2 loss at Wrigley Field.
• Went 3-1 with a 6.35 ERA (32ER/45.1IP) as a starter..posted a 1.74 ERA (2ER/10.1IP) in four relief stints.
• Had no decision in a 7-6 win over the Cubs in his last start on Sept 23 at home..allowed four home runs, three to Sammy Sosa..had not started since getting no decision in an 8-2 loss to the Mets on Aug 1 at Minute Maid Park…was optioned to Triple A New Orleans after the game.
• Recalled from Triple A for the second time on Sept1…made two starts and three relief appearances after his return (5.40ERA/18.1IP) to the big league level..3-1 with a 5.79 ERA (24ER/37.1IP) in eight games (seven starts) in his first stint with the Astros (June 24-Aug 1).
• The Astros won each of his first five Major League starts until a 10-2 loss on July 25 at St. Louis..three of the seven runs he allowed were unearned.
• Won 5-3 on July 15 vs. the Indians..retired 13 of 15 at one point..pitched four scoreless innings from the second through the fifth..left with a 4-2 lead in the sixth.
• Had no decision in his first interleague start in Kansas City on July 7..allowed three runs in the first inning in a 10-8 Houston win..allowed a two-run homer (Dye) in the fifth.
• Notched his first big league win on July 2 at Milwaukee..scattered three hits and pitched six shutout innings before departing with one out in the seventh after allowing a three-run homer (Casanova)..retired nina in a row and 12 of 13 enroute to the 6-4 win..left with a 6-3 lead..nothced his first Major League hit in the fourth inning.
• Pitched one inning of felief on June 29 vs. the Reds at Minute Maid Park, a 7-5 Houston win..was recalled to make the start for injured Roy Oswalt (bruised right forearm)..after allowing a two-run home run in the first inning (Casey), pitched five scoreless frames before allowing three runs in the sixth, including another two-run homer (Boone)..left a 5-5 tie with two outs in the sixth.
• Fanned 11 vs. Calgary on Aug 7 in his first start after being optioned to New Orleans on Aug 1…was 3-1 with a 5.58 ERA (19ER/30.2IP) over five starts after returning to New Orleans..was 4-1 with a  4.54 ERA (19ER/37.2IP) with 42 strikeouts and 19 walks in six Triple A starts overall.
• Began the year at Double A Round Rock, where he was 10-2 with a 2.18 ERA (22ER/90.2IP) with 113 strikeouts.
• Earned Texas League Pitcher of the Year honors.

2000...

• The first winner of the Florida State League’s Most Valuable Pitcher Award..combined for a 4-5 record, 2.79 ERA (56ER/180.2IP) and 192 strikeouts in 29 starts for Class A Kissimmee and Double A Round Rock..ace of the Cobras’ staff led the FSL in strikeouts (170), was third in ERA (2.68) and finished tied for second in the league with 12 wins..his 170 strikeouts tied for 10^th among all pitchers at the Class A level..his 180.2 innings pitched were 15^th among all minor leaguer hurlers..pitched six-or-more innings in all but one of his 24 starts during the campaign..won five of his first six decisions from April 8- May 4..was 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA (8ER/30IP) in April, 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA (8ER/39.1IP) in May..was 7-2 with a 2.98 ERA (28ER/84.2IP) over 13 road starts in 2000..won four straight games June 27-July 14..fanned 10-or-more batters four times, including 14 on July 31 at Brevard County..promoted to Round Rock in August..made five starts for the Express, going 2-0 with a 3.46 ERA (10ER/26IP)..in the Texas League playoffs, he was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 16.2 innings of work..beat Wichita twice in August, working six innings each start and allowing a combined eight hits.

1999...

• Was a Midewestern League All-Star for Class A Michigan..fifth in the league in strikeouts..posted a career-high 14 saves.

1998...

• Tied for first on the club at Class A Auburn with seven wins..finished third in the New York-Penn League with a club-leading 98 strikeouts.