6 reasons to get excited about the Astros in 2022

With the lockout dragging on and putting the beginning of the season in serious jeopardy,  Climbing Tal’s Hill decided to look forward and remind ourselves and fans why we should be excited about the Houston Astros in 2022.

The return of Justin Verlander will bolster the Astros rotation.

Technically, the Astros signed a top free agent starting pitcher this offseason as Verlander signed on for two more years and fifty million dollars.

Few view it that way because Verlander was committed to the Astros prior, but Verlander technically could have signed with any team as of last November 3 and he chose to remain in Houston.

Cautious optimism should be the rule, because Verlander hasn’t pitched in a game since July 24, 2020 and just turned 39-years-old, both of which are concerns.

On the other hand, Verlander is 43-15 with a 2.45 ERA as a Houston Astro with 2 All-Star games, a Cy Young and runner up on the shelf at home from his time in Houston. We also know Verlander is a “gamer” and will be out to prove the haters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston wrong.

It’ll be fascinating to see how Verlander reacts after twenty plus months without competing on the field and my guess is a modified “more of the same” we’ve seen since mid-2017.