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Astros: Best individual seasons in club history – rotation

By Andrew Gleinser |
ST. LOUIS, MO - CIRCA 1987: Mike Scott #33 of the Houston Astros pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during an Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Scott played for the Astros from 1983-91. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - CIRCA 1987: Mike Scott #33 of the Houston Astros pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during an Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Scott played for the Astros from 1983-91. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
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We continue with our series ranking the best individual seasons in Houston Astros history.

We’ve got a long list of seasons here, much like our list of the Houston Astros‘ best outfield seasons. There were plenty of great starting pitchers to sift through and plenty of impressive seasons to find and rank.

Again, each player can only appear on the list once. The rankings are by Baseball-Reference’s WAR total, and hint hint, there could be a surprise at the end of these rankings. Don’t blame me, blame the stats.

15. Darryl Kile – 1997

Kile’s final season with the Astros was undoubtedly his best. He went 19-7 with a 2.57 ERA in 34 starts, tossing 255.2 innings and striking out 205 batters. He made the All-Star team and finished fifth in the Cy Young voting, compiling 5.4 WAR.

14. Nolan Ryan – 1987

Ryan actually led the majors in ERA in 1981 at 1.69, but made only 21 starts which hampered his WAR total. His best was when he posted a league-best 2.76 ERA in 1987, totaling 5.4 WAR while leading the majors in strikeouts, FIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He only finished fifth in the Cy Young voting, however, thanks to a surprising 8-16 record.

13. J.R. Richard – 1979

Richard’s last full season saw him lead the majors in ERA (2.71), strikeouts (313), FIP, hits per nine  and strikeouts per nine. He went 18-13 in 38 starts, throwing 292.1 innings, and finished third in the Cy Young voting. Richard totaled 5.6 WAR and was on pace to surpass that in 1980 before a stroke ended his season and career.

12. Mike Cuellar – 1966

Cuellar would win a Cy Young in Baltimore, but this was his best season from a WAR standpoint (5.7) thanks to a 2.22 ERA over 227.1 innings. He made 28 starts and 10 relief appearances and only totaled a pedestrian 12-10 record, which is what probably kept him from getting any Cy Young consideration.

11. Don Wilson – 1971

This is when Wilson made his only All-Star team, pitching to a 16-10 record and 2.45 ERA in 34 starts spanning 268 innings. He led the league in hits per nine and had a meager 1.022 WHIP. The Astros retired his number following his untimely death in 1975 at age 29.

HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 16: Dallas Keuchel #60 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox during Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 16, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 16: Dallas Keuchel #60 of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox during Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 16, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

10. Dallas Keuchel – 2015

Keuchel established himself as a major league starter in 2014 and then broke out in 2015 by winning the AL Cy Young award. He went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA, striking out 216 batters in a league-leading 232 innings. He made his first All-Star team and won his second straight Gold Glove, totaling 6.5 WAR.

9. Gerrit Cole – 2019

You might be surprised to see Cole this low, but 6.6 WAR is an excellent season. There have just been eight better ones. Cole went 20-5 with a league-best 2.50 ERA, setting a franchise record with 326 strikeouts and finishing second in the Cy Young voting.

8. Mike Hampton – 1999

Hampton’s 22 wins still stand as the franchise record in a single season, and he led the league in winning percentage after suffering only four losses. He finished second in the Cy Young voting and won a Silver Slugger, tossing 239 innings of 2.90-ERA ball and hitting .311 at the plate, totaling 6.7 WAR.

7. Joe Niekro – 1982

Niekro had a couple of 20-win seasons with top-four Cy Young finishes with the Astros, but this wasn’t one of them. He did put up a career-best 2.47 ERA, though, to go with a 17-12 record in 270 innings over 35 starts. This performance was worth 6.8 WAR.

6. Andy Pettitte – 2005

Pettitte’s first season in Houston was cut short due to injury, but he rebounded with a 2.39 ERA in 33 starts, putting up a 17-9 record. He finished fifth in the Cy Young voting and helped the Astros reach their first World Series, compiling 6.8 WAR along the way.

HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 18: Former Houston Astro Larry Dierker waves to the crowd during a pre-game ceremony for the 1965 Astros before the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2015 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 18: Former Houston Astro Larry Dierker waves to the crowd during a pre-game ceremony for the 1965 Astros before the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2015 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

5. Roy Oswalt – 2002

Like Niekro, this wasn’t one of The Wizard’s 20-win seasons. The young Oswalt went 19-9 with a 3.01 ERA in 2002, fanning a career-best 208 batters in 233 innings. He finished fourth in the Cy Young voting, one of his six top-six finishes, and totaled an even 7.0 WAR.

4. Justin Verlander – 2019

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Now we come to Verlander, who blazed a trail through the AL this past season. He led the majors in wins (21), innings (223), WHIP (0.803) and hits per nine (5.5), winning his second Cy Young award. He also led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio and compiled 7.4 WAR.

3. Roger Clemens – 2005

The Rocket won his seventh Cy Young in 2004, but his next season was actually better. He led the majors with a 1.87 ERA in 32 starts, but a pedestrian 13-8 record kept him from No. 8. He ended up finishing third in the Cy Young voting and compiling 7.8 WAR.

2. Mike Scott – 1986

One might have thought this would be No. 1, but alas. Still, Scott’s season was remarkable as he led the majors in ERA (2.22), innings (275.1), strikeouts (306), WHIP, hits per nine, strikeouts per nine and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He won the Cy Young award and capped off the regular season with a no-hitter to clinch the division title and was named NLCS MVP despite his team losing the series. His performance was worth 8.4 WAR.

1. Larry Dierker – 1969

What Dierker was able to do in 1969 was impressive as he compiled 8.7 WAR. He went 20-13 with a 2.33 ERA in 37 starts and two relief appearances, tossing 305.1 innings and striking out 232 batters. Of those 37 starts, 20 were complete games. Remarkably, he didn’t get any Cy Young consideration as Tom Seaver and his 25 wins nearly monopolized it. Regardless, at least by WAR standards, Dierker put up the best regular season by an Astros starting pitcher.

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