Astros Report Card: Grading the 2019 relief pitchers; Part I

Collin McHugh:  B-

Beginning the season as one of the members of the Astros starting rotation, Collin McHugh started the first eight games of his 2019 season. He went 3-4 in those starts and had an ERA of 6.37 in 41 innings of work. As a result, McHugh was moved to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. He fared much better as a reliever, a role in which he had much success in 2018.

McHugh appeared in 27 games out of the pen totaling 33.2 innings. His ERA as a reliever was 2.67, quite the contrast from his results as a starter. He was credited with five holds and one win and was tagged for only one loss. He kept his opponents BA down to .208 as a reliever versus .232 during his starts. McHugh’s SO/9IP was also better when relieving (10.7) over starting (9.2).

There were some injury issues this year with McHugh missing a month early in the season with elbow discomfort and it resurfaced again in late August when he was finally shut down for the season.

After six seasons with the Astros, McHugh is on the market as a free agent. It will be interesting to see what kind of draw he’ll get from other teams this offseason and will the Astros entertain bringing him back for the 2020 season. Also, will teams pursue him as a starter, a role he played most of his career, or as a reliever, given his recent success out of the pen?

Hector Rondon:  C+

Another one of the Astros relief pitchers on the free-agent market, Hector Rondon had kind of a mixed bag of a season. He had one start in the season that was horrid and skewed some of his overall season stats. As a middle reliever, he had a pretty decent season, but when called in from the bullpen in a few clutch situations, he didn’t do so well.

Late in the season, Rondon was tagged to start in one of AJ Hinch‘s “bullpen” games when the team was experiencing a shortage of starting pitchers. To say the least, it didn’t turn out so well. In Rondon’s only career “start”, he surrendered six runs on five hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. That’s an ERA of 81.0 as a starter on the season.

That one disastrous start swelled Rondon’s ERA from 3.34 to 4.79 in one game, nearly 1.5 runs. At the season’s end, his ERA stood at 3.71, but when you take away that start, his ERA as a reliever was a respectable 2.85.

Rondon was a workhorse appearing in 61 games out of the pen for 60 innings, tied with Will Harris for the fourth-most innings in relief and just 0.1 behind Josh James. He ended the season with a 3-1 record and amassed the third most holds with 19.

What seemed to put a sour taste in the mouths of may fans was his poor performances in some clutch situations. Rondon entered the game in save opportunities three times in 2019 and blew all three saves. But his main role out of the bullpen was as a middle reliever and when pitching in those situations, for the most part, Rondon did his job.

Joe Smith:  A

The Astros got bad news in December of 2018 when they learned that Joe Smith ruptured an Achilles tendon in his right leg during offseason workouts. After requiring surgery, Smith was looking at a long grueling rehab and Houston would be without one of their dependable relievers for the next six to eight months.

The 34-year-old battled back and returned to the mound almost 200 days later on July 14th. Smith never skipped a beat and was dependable as ever, actually, better than ever. Although he only got in 28 games and 25 innings for the Astros in the second half of the season, it was Smith’s best season of his 13-year career.

Smith ended the regular season with a 1.80 ERA, the second-lowest of any reliever in the Astros’ bullpen with at least 10 innings of work. He was also second among the same group of pitchers with a 1.80 BB/9IP ratio.

His 1.80 ERA, 0.960 WHIP, and 260 ERA+ were all career-best numbers and among the top in the bullpen. The Astros could really benefit by bringing back the dependable veteran to their pitching staff next season.

Will Harris:  A+

Another one of the relievers that the Astros should make every effort to bring back to Houston. With two of the top free-agent relief pitchers, Will Smith and Chris Martin, both signing with the Atlanta Braves, Will Harris will be highly sought after by many teams this offseason.

Harris unequivocally had the best season of his eight-year career and was one of the Astros’ most reliable pitchers out of the bullpen. His 68 appearances led all relief pitchers on the team and his 60 innings of work tied for third.

His 1.50 ERA was not only the lowest on the team among qualified pitchers per fangraphs.com but was also the best in the American League. Harris was in the top ten in the AL in WHIP (0.930), Holds (26), LOB% (88.2), and xFIP (3.04). The 35-year-old reliever had career-best numbers across the board.

His league adjusted ERA+ of 309 was off the charts and is the 37th highest in the history of baseball among pitchers with at least 60 innings of work in a single season. Only some of the best all-time greats like John Smoltz, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Eric Gagne, and Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera have done better.

Harris simply had a spectacular year, and if the Astros can only re-sign one of our four relievers that are on the free-agent market, Will Harris has got to be priority number one.

Today I looked at five of the Astros relief pitchers and graded out their 2019 seasons. Stay tuned for Part II of the Report Card on the bullpen when five more relievers get their grades. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Report Cards on the Astros starting pitchers, outfielders, and infielders.