Astros Righthander Jose Rosario Dies

Jose Rosario, a 20-year-old righthander signed by the Astros in 2013 out of the Dominican Republic, died Sunday night in a motorcycle accident in the Dominican, the organization announced Monday.

Rosario pitched the last two seasons in the Astros minor league system, splitting his 2015 season between the DSL and the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, going 4-6, 4.40, with 51 strikeouts in 57 innings.

The 6-foot-6, 180-pound Rosario was a tall, projectable righthander who threw hard, with a good breaking ball, one evaluator said.

“It is with a heavy heart that we inform the Astros community of the passing of minor league pitcher Jose Rosario, who died last night in his native Dominican Republic. Our thoughts go out to Jose’s family, friends and many teammates,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement.

In a statement, Astros international director of scouting Oz Ocampo said, Rosario “will be remembered as a long, lanky-framed pitcher with tremendous ability, an outgoing personality and an ever-positive disposition. He was a true student of the game and was constantly looking to learn and improve his abilities. He was also a supportive teammate, as he made it a point to encourage his fellow Astros and deliver that message with a smile on his face.”