Staff Picks: Who Is Your 2013 Astros MVP?

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

I couldn’t do a list of candidates for the Astros Most Valuable Player without mentioning the most exciting player that took the field for the team this year. Do you remember his debut against the Rays? Do you want to watch the highlights again? Me too. Watch this and I’ll see you in 3 minutes.

After dominating the Rays, Jarred Cosart simply didn’t slow down. He started 10 games after the All-Star Break and finished with a superb 1.95 ERA. I’ve touched on the fact that this is unsustainable and I expect a bit of regression next year here, but that’s next year. What Cosart did this season was nothing short of incredible.

Looking deeper at the numbers you will find that not only was Cosart the Astros best pitcher in the second half, he was their best pitcher over the course of the whole season. In just 60 innings pitched, Cosart accumulated a WAR of 2.5, higher than any other Astros pitcher in 2013. Bud Norris posted a 1.8 WAR with the Astros and 0.3 so far with the Orioles. So, in 10 games, Cosart provided more value to the team than Bud did in ~30.

That’s not saying anything about the comparison of those two players, but rather an easy way to judge value by looking at someone we know a lot about.

Jarred Cosart was amazing for the back half of the season and cannot be forgotten when considering this year’s MVP.