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Who Will Fill Out the Astros’ Bullpen?

By Ryan Gonzalez |
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Aug 19, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Houston Astros catcher

Jason Castro

(15) and relief pitcher

Chad Qualls

(50) shake hands after defeating the New York Yankees in a game at Yankee Stadium. The Astros defeated the Yankees 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Football is over, and the attention is about to turn over to baseball once again. We’ve taken the time at Climbing Tal’s Hill to look at how the rotation could shape up, as well as who the Astros could have on their bench. Now, we look at who might round out the bullpen for Houston. You can pencil in five guys in the Astros bullpen, and assuming there are seven total men in the bullpen, that leaves two spots wide open.

Let’s start off by saying I love that the Astros upgraded the bullpen in the nature that they did, as it’s not a fight in camp for three or more bullpen roles like in years past. The fact the Astros only have two legitimate spots left to fill speaks volume on how much this team has improved.

The Back-End

First, let’s look at the five men who will be counted on the most when the team is in a tight situation. As long as these five men are healthy, they’re on the Opening Day Roster.

Chad Qualls: Last year’s closer in Houston is back, but maybe not as the closer anymore. That doesn’t phase Qualls though, as he played a huge part in recruiting the new-comers onto the team. All he is worried about is winning, and in the words of A.J. Hinch, he is “all in.” Qualls threw the least amount of innings of his career last year since his rookie season in 2004, so he very well could be in for a big season, no matter what role he is in.

Tony Sipp: Sipp came over to Houston one month into the season in 2014, and he was wonderful. He was the go-to guy out of the bullpen for a good majority of the season, and even played a little bit of Left Field because of some double switches to stay in games so he could come back on the mound. He should have some of the workload taken off him in 2015, which could definitely make him more dangerous to the opposing teams.

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Luke Gregerson: Gregerson came over as one of two big moves to help out the bullpen and help turn it over from being the worst in baseball. He’s had some trouble in the closer’s role in the past, but has had good success as a set-up man. With 154 Holds in his career, the Astros know he will at least be able to get them to the next inning with the lead intact more often than not. He will probably be given the chance to close again while in an Astros uniform, and that is something that I look forward to.

Pat Neshek: Neshek was the second move on the same day as the Gregerson signing to help out the Astros bullpen. He’s coming off of a career year in St. Louis, making the All-Star team for the first time in his career. He also got the first six saves of his career, meaning he’s also another potential candidate to close games. The man with the funky delivery knows success from his time in Oakland and St. Louis, and he’ll do everything he can to bring that success to the Astros organization as well.

Josh Fields: Fields has been looked at as a potential closer candidate in the past when the Astros had a rocky bullpen, and he has the velocity to be successful. He made huge strides last year with his control. He walked one less batter (17) in 16.2 more innings pitched than his rookie season, and struck out 30 more batters, 70 overall. His strike out rate was 11.5 per 9 innings, and if he keeps that up, he might end up the closer’s role with the other four guys setting him up for success.

Aug 20, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher

Jose Veras

(55) pitches against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. The Astros defeated the Yankees 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Rest of the Pack

This group of guys will be fighting for the last two spots, and I have them listed out in no particular order.

Will Harris: The way Jeff Luhnow spoke of Will Harris at the bloggers roundtable, you have to believe that Harris has a leg up on the rest of this group. Luhnow stated that he knows he made a good move if he gets phone calls from other GM’s on if a player is available to be traded, and that he received a lot of inquiries about Harris. Although he could have a leg up, he’ll need to show it to Hinch and the rest of the Astros staff that he deserves a spot. He only pitched in 29 innings with a 4.34 ERA last season for Arizona, but even those numbers are deceiving. He had two outings where he gave up a combined 8 ER, and didn’t allow anything above 2 ER during any other outing last season. If Harris can put up similar numbers, he indeed will be a steal for the Astros.

James Hoyt: Hoyt came over in the Evan Gattis trade, and he’s another guy that the Astros are fond of. He did struggle at the AAA level last year, and has yet to step on a Major League mound. With that being said, his chances of making the squad are slim, but if he can pitch like he did at all of the other Minor League levels, he won’t be waiting too long to make his debut if/when somebody in the bullpen goes down or struggles.

Kevin Chapman: Chapman struggled quite a bit last year out of the gate, but found himself again in his time with OKC. Once coming back up for good on August 16th, he allowed 3 ER in 2.1 innings in his first outing. From that point forward, Chapman allowed one run in 13.1 innings of work through the end of the season. He also struck out ten while only walking one during that time. Although he allowed ten hits, he worked himself out of jams and only one runner came across to score. If Chapman can continue to pitch that way, he’ll find himself a spot in the bullpen.

Sam Deduno: Deduno was picked up by the Astros in September off waivers from the Twins, and was able to eat up some innings at the very end and brought some relief from some potential worn down arms. He had a 4.47 ERA overall on the season and pitched 100.2 innings, his second consecutive season throwing 100+. With Deduno having ML experience, I can see him being an option that the Astros take a long look at, as they are past the days of having to rely on Minor League guys filling out the Major League roster.

The 5th Rotation Spot Runner-Up: The battle for the last rotation spot will be a four man race between Dan Straily, Jake Buchanan, Asher Wojciechowski, and Alex White. Whoever just misses the cut very well could find himself in the bullpen as a long relief guy. I don’t think that the Astros necessarily need one this year as long as the rotation can do what it did last year, but that will be up to Hinch and his staff to decide. Regardless, you have to consider these men as possible bullpen candidates as long as a spot it open.

Jose Veras: No, he isn’t officially an Astro. But there is a chance he does join the team as he is in talks with Houston and three other teams. Veras had a great 2013 as an Astro and Tiger before having a disastrous 2014 in Chicago and being claimed to come back to Houston. Once he was in an Astro uniform again, he settled down. He really came into his own in the second half of the season, and if Veras signs with the Astros, you can add him to the previous group of five.

Apr 13, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Will Harris against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

My Predictions

Although this is a battle for two spots, I really only see one spot being up for grabs here. I will say that I see Gregerson starting off the season as the closer, with Qualls and Fields as the main set-up guys in the 7th and 8th. If Gregerson struggles and Fields exceeds like he did last season, I can see Fields closing out games for Houston.

This leaves Sipp to keep coming in whenever he can in a very similar role as last season, but also being to split up the time with the newly acquainted Neshek, which will help both of those arms tremendously. Now, for the last two members of the bullpen on Opening Day:

Will Harris: Harris will be given every opportunity this spring to earn himself a spot on the Opening Day roster, and I do think he will do well with those opportunities. Like the next guy I’m choosing, he didn’t allow a run last season after mid-August. I don’t expect that streak to continue forever, but if he can pitch like he did outside of those two outings last season, the Astros have themselves a solid reliever who isn’t a free agent until 2020.

Kevin Chapman: If Chapman and Harris can pick up where they left off in 2014, this bullpen could be one of the best in the league. Like Harris, I don’t expect that streak to continue that he ended on. But if the post-OKC Chapman arrives, the Astros have another good lefty option out of the bullpen.

You may notice I don’t have Jose Veras listed here. This prediction includes players currently on the Astros roster, which is why he isn’t on it. If Veras does indeed sign with the Astros, then I predict Harris makes the team over Chapman as the last bullpen guy. But Chapman won’t be far behind, and it’s a good thing if the Astros have to have a guy like that in AAA. That would mean there isn’t any room for him on the 25-man roster, and that’s the kind of depth that should make anybody happy.

Assuming Veras doesn’t sign with the Astros, I don’t think Harris and Chapman will find themselves in too many high-pressure situations early on the in the season, but they can certainly pitch themselves into making the bullpen a “next-man-up” kind of team. If either of these two struggle, or if the rotation is really having a hard time eating up innings, then I can see one of the starters in AAA being called up to be a long reliever. Let’s hope though that we don’t see a situation like that arise, and that the bullpen has the opportunity to become one of the best in all of baseball.

Like Eric, I’m testing you Jeff Luhnow. If you are indeed reading our articles, please give me a follow @RyanGonzalez57.

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