Astros’ Pitchers: MVPs, surprises, and disappointments

The pitchers have been the Astros strong point in the past. Is that still the case? Who’s the most reliable and who pitched above or below expectations?

The pitching staff of the Houston Astros have undergone some changes this season and it’s showing in the results. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still ranked among the top teams in the league in many pitching categories. But last season they weren’t among the top, they were at the top. Since last year, the Astros have seen a drop in ERA, ERA+, WHIP and several other statistics.

But when a team has to make the overhauls the Astros had to do this season, it’s expected you might see a drop-off in performance. When you lose pitchers like Charlie Morton, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. from your starting rotation, you’re going to feel it. When two of your relief pitchers move from the bullpen to start games and you lose a few top relievers to free agency and injury, it’s going to affect you.

It’s still early in the season and there will be some fine-tuning and player movements. There’s always the midseason trade deadline, where teams make bold moves to get that elite pitcher to boost their team for that playoff run. We all know the Astros have pulled off a couple of slick summer trades that proved to be very successful and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another one.

So let’s take a look at where Houston is, at this point in the 2019 season. Who has been their MVP, their Ace, the one pitcher that they know they can depend on? What pitcher has failed to live up to expectations and who has surprised us this season?

MVP Starter – Justin Verlander

I know, it’s an easy pick, a no-brainer. Justin Verlander has been nothing short of spectacular ever since the Astros traded for him on that late summer day of 2017. Fast forward to 2019 and Mr. Reliable is still going strong at 36 years old. Old Father Time and Verlander must have some sort of pact.

Verlander is in the top ten in the Majors in eight statistical categories and leads the American League in WHIP at 0.82 and hits per 9 IP at 5.18. He’s 6-1 on the season with a 2.51 ERA, the lowest since his 2011 season when he ended the year at 2.40.

He has accumulated 68 strikeouts so far this year, Gerrit Cole by-the-way leads the league with 86. He just recently moved up to 22nd on the all-time career strikeout list, jumping Frank Tanana. The two players above Verlander on that list is Cy Young and Mike Mussina, and he’ll most likely pass them up before the season is over.

Since Verlander has been with Houston he has an ERA of 2.36 and a record of 27-10, a win percentage of .730. His win percentage this season to date is .857, which is good for third in the Majors.

There haven’t been too many pitchers in the league as dependable as Verlander. He has topped 200 innings per year in 12 of the last 13 years and is on track to eclipse 200 again this season. The seven-time All-Star has also had 200+ strikeouts in the last four season and looks to repeat that mark in 2019.

As I stated earlier, Verlander just seems to get better with age. Just last season at 35 years old he was second in the voting for the AL Cy Young Award. Fortunately for the Astros and the fans, he and the front office agreed to a contract extension that will keep him here through the 2021 season.

Disappointment – Collin McHugh

Was it too much to ask, to move McHugh from starter to reliever and back to starter again? Is the inconsistency in roles possibly affecting his performance? Maybe he’s better suited to be a reliever.

Whatever the issue is with McHugh, he gets my vote for disappointment of the year. It’s early, and he may turn things around. I certainly hope so for him and the Astros. Just recently he was relegated back to the bullpen again. Yet another change. Only time will tell whether it’s just a temporary move or more of a permanent situation.

Corbin Martin definitely stated his case to remain in the starting rotation, when he pitched in McHugh’s slot Sunday. He had a stellar performance in his Major League debut. Ironically, McHugh was the pitcher to come in for relief when Martin’s day was done.

McHugh is 2-3 and has an ERA of 6.33, currently the highest on the Astros’ active roster. He is also last in the pack with a 68 ERA+. These numbers are the worst of McHugh’ six-year stint here in Houston.

Last year as a relief pitcher McHugh had a great season. His ERA in 2018 was an impressive 1.99 and his ERA+ soared to 207. He also had a 0.912 WHIP and a HR/9 of 5.6. All of these statistics and others from last season were all career bests.

They say that it takes a different type of mentality to be a relief pitcher than it does to start games. Maybe the Astros found out last year that McHugh was secretly a top-notch weapon out of the bullpen, instead of a starting pitcher.

Now that he’s back in the reliever role, however long that will be, we’ll get a chance to further see if he is more capable coming in as a relief pitcher. Once Jose Altuve is back off of the IL there will be one man too many on the roster. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

Ryan Pressly/Roberto Osuna – MVP Relief Duo

I know, I voted Verlander as my pitching MVP, but it would be remiss of me not to mention Ryan Pressly and Roberto Osuna. They are arguably the best pair of close-out pitchers in all of baseball.

Once the ball is placed in their hands to secure an Astros lead, you can’t help but feel it’s a done deal, game over, Astros win. They have held and saved the lead for Houston, time and time again without failure.

Pressly has pitched lights-out this season, to put it mildly. All he’s done this year is appear in 16 games for a total of 18 innings and not allow one run. You saw that right, a 0.00 ERA. He has actually gone 34 straight innings dating back to Aug. 15 of last season without allowing an earned run, a franchise record.

He has pitched in 40 games as an Astro and has surrendered two runs in his entire stay here in Houston. That’s an unheard of 0.43 ERA. You can’t ask for anything more from your set-up man to help sew up a victory.

Osuna has done equally as well coming in behind Pressly to close out the games. He has appeared in 17 games and racked up 10 saves, third best in the league. His ERA sits at 0.52 and has an astronomical ERA+ of 836.

Since arriving in Houston in early August of last season, Osuna has saved 22 games in 22 save opportunities. He has yet to have a blown save entered into the record books as an Astros. With those achievements, along with Pressly’s triumphs, there can’t be a more reliable pair of relievers to close out a game.

There is a lot of season remaining and the accolades I’ve bestowed on these players is based solely on the sample of work to this date. I’ll be revisiting the accomplishments of the pitching staff once again at around mid-season. There’s plenty of time for things to change and for different players to shine or disappoint.