Astros: Brad Peacock to get at least one more start

Maybe Peacock should stay in the Astros rotation after all.

If you are a regular listener to Talking Stros on SportsTalk 790, you know that we think the Astros can’t wait to get Brad Peacock back in the bullpen. He was a big part of the the early season successes of the Astros bullpen. This is something that Brandon and I had speculated when starters got healthy.

After watching Peacock pitch on Saturday, I may have changed my mind. Maybe Peacock should stay in the rotation after all. Yes, he can typically only pitch 5-6 innings a game, but he is dominant as a starter. It was announced this weekend that Collin McHugh would be skipped in his next start on Thursday.

McHugh left Friday’s game early with a finger nail issue that was affecting his breaking pitches. With the playoffs around the corner, they will give McHugh the time needed to heal. There are still three weeks before the playoffs, so there is time to decide the playoff rotation. It looks like Charlie Morton will be a long-reliever come playoff time, but that’s not confirmed.

McHugh versus Peacock.

That could leave a battle between Peacock and McHugh for the fourth spot behind Dallas Keuchel, Justin Verlander, and Lance McCullers. McHugh may have the edge in experience over Peacock, but it’s hard to ignore Peacock’s stats this year. Peacock is 10-2 with a 3.05 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 115 innings pitched.

McHugh, however, is 2-2 with a 3.61 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings pitched. After missing the first half of the season, McHugh could be best suited for the rotation. Peacock could be that guy to bridge the gap to the backend of the rotation. Then again, Joe Musgrove and Chris Devenski could serve that role.

Peacock was 3-0 as a reliever with a 1.77 ERA while striking out 26 hitters in 20 1/3 innings. The strikeouts improved as a starter, as he went 7-2 with a 3.33 ERA with 124 strikeouts in 94 2/3 innings. This will be a tough decision to make, but Peacock will make one more start at least.

Next: Astros: How valuable is Joe Musgrove in the bullpen?

We discussed this and more on Talking Stros on Sunday. It’s hard to deny the ‘it’ factor surrounding Peacock, but McHugh could be the guy who has been there before. Either way, the Astros should be clinching the AL West in the next week or so. Let’s ignore the incident in Oakland for now.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***