Astros’ Pitchers: MVPs, surprises, and disappointments

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.