Astros: Could Chris Devenski regain his All-Star form?

Could Houston Astros pitcher Chris Devenski regain his All-Star form now that he’s back on the roster?

We’ve been hearing about Chris Devenski’s impending return for a while, it seems, and now it has finally happened. The Houston Astros activated Devenski from the Injured List in advance of Friday’s game and optioned struggling reliever Joe Biagini to the alternate site.

Devenski has not pitched since allowing three runs in one inning on July 26, which was just his second outing of the season. The Astros placed him on the IL with elbow soreness and he has spent the past few weeks rehabbing at the team’s alternate site in Corpus Christi.

In his season debut on July 24, Devenski struck out three and allowed one hit in a scoreless inning, so perhaps the elbow troubles played a role in his bad outing two days later. We’ll see what the 29-year-old has in store coming off a pair of disappointing seasons in 2018 and 2019.

The obvious question remains, of course, whether he can recapture the success he found in 2016 and 2017 that made him an All-Star and a Rookie of the Year candidate. To answer that question, let’s take a dive into the advanced stats courtesy of Baseball Savant and Baseball-Reference.