Ryan Weiss, who left Hanwha Eagles and headed to the United States (Houston Astros), continued his strong pitching streak in his first start of the spring training and signaled a likely entry into the big league roster.
Weiss started as the starting pitcher in the March 15 (KST) spring training game against the New York Mets at the 2026 Major League Baseball game held at the Cactus Park of The Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida, and pitched 4⅓ innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout and no runs. His top velocity was 96.2 miles (154.8 km/h), and with a total pitch count of 53 he showed efficient pitch count management.
Weiss retired A.J. Ewing with a center-field fly for the first batter in the top of the first, then induced Mark Vientos into a second-base groundout. He then got Carson Vengoin to hit a third-base groundout, starting the game with a clean 1-2-3 inning.
Houston took the lead with an RBI single by Yordan Alvarez, and in the top of the second Weiss issued a walk to leadoff hitter Cristian Arroyo but quickly increased the out count by inducing a double play from Jose Rojas. He then retired Austin Barnes with a first-base foul fly, ending the inning without major trouble.
The top of the third was clean as well. Weiss retired Vidal Bruján on a first-pitch second-base groundout, and after falling behind 2-0 to Cristian Pache he again produced a second-base groundout. He finished the inning by getting Mitch Voight to hit a third-base groundout.
In the top of the fourth, Weiss allowed a single to Ewing to right-center but regained momentum by striking out Vientos on three pitches with a sweeper and a quick fastball. Then, with two outs and a runner on second following Vengoin's first-base groundout, he got Arroyo to ground out to second base, ending the inning without allowing a run.
Taking the mound again in the top of the fifth, Weiss retired Barnes on a grounder, and after allowing Barnes a single to center he handed the mound over to Roderi Muñoz to finish his appearance for the day. Muñoz then retired Bruján and Pache on fly balls, completing the top of the fifth without Weiss allowing a run. His spring training earned run average dropped to 0.93.
Weiss, who played for Hanwha in the KBO League in 2024–2025, experienced a turning point in his career in Korea. Before coming to Korea he was an obscure pitcher playing in the U.S. independent leagues who had even contemplated retirement, but his skills improved noticeably at Hanwha. After leading Hanwha to the Korea Series runner-up finish last year, he returned to the U.S. by signing with Houston on a guaranteed 1+1 year contract worth $2.6 million, with incentives that could bring the total to as much as $9.8 million.
Although his role is not yet certain, continued strong spring training performances make entry into the 40-man roster seem likely. In his previous two relief appearances Weiss shone, pitching 2⅓ scoreless innings with 1 hit and 2 walks against the New York Mets and 3 innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and 1 run against the St. Louis Cardinals. He also pitched well in a practice game against the Venezuela World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, throwing 2 innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and no runs.
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