Astros Countdown: Players to Watch in August

ATLANTA, GA – JULY 05: Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Houston Astros takes the ball from pitcher Joe Musgrove #59 in the sixth inning during the game against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on July 5, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

Joe Musgrove has been going through some growing pains as a starter for the Astros this season. However, with Keuchel and Collin McHugh back in the starting rotation, Musgrove may have found a new home as a long man in the bullpen.

Musgrove has the stuff to be successful in baseball. He has a mid-nineties fastball and a low-eighties slider that he throws the majority of the time. As a starter, it did not work for him. He had a 6.12 ERA and a .306 batting average against in 15 starts.

However, one tiny change may have changed Musgrove’s season. When he came out of the bullpen on July 22^nd against the Baltimore Orioles, Musgrove pitched exclusively out of the stretch position. As an Astros reliever since then, he has not given up an earned run and has given up only two hits and has struck out four in four innings pitched.

Next: Astros injury update: George Springer placed on 10-day DL

It will be interesting to see what the Astros long-term plan is with Musgrove. The Astros should be thinking about keeping him with Francis Martes and Brad Peacock as innings eaters in the bullpen at least for the remainder of the season. His breaking ball and mid-nineties fastball fit perfectly there.

***Stats provided by MLB.com, Baseball Reference and Fan Graphs***

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