Astros have overlooked bullpen weapon behind Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu

It doesn’t take much to understand what a healthy Josh Hader and a rejuvenated Bryan Abreu mean to this Houston Astros bullpen. Hader has been as close to automatic as possible since coming off the injured list, while Abreu has completely rewritten the story of his season that would have been impossible to predict back in April. Between those two, the late innings have felt as safe as anywhere down the stretch.

But there’s one more name past those two who has been quietly just as good, and nobody outside of Houston has noticed. Steven Okert has become one of the Astros’ most consistent arms out of the bullpen, and he deserves his flowers.

Steven Okert as turned into an under-the-radar weapon for the Astros

The veteran lefty carries a 2.11 ERA through 59 games this season. He has a more than solid strikeout rate and is barely walking anyone. Since the start of June, he’s been even better than that with a 1.07 ERA in 33.2 innings and a ridiculous 38-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That stretch has coincided perfectly with the Astros putting themselves back into the race in the AL West. 

The last time he walked a hitter was actually June 27. He has 24 strikeouts in 20 innings since then, having faced 76 batters. What he’s doing is on par with any of the relief greats around the game, and a recent breakdown of the Astros’ success in the bullpen lumps his “steady hand” in with Hader’s perfect save record and Abreu’s turnaround.

His story might be as remarkable as his results. He’s spent time in three other organizations before landing in Houston. He’s had moments sort of like this, but never anything to this extreme. HE had a 2.75 ERA in 2021 with the Marlins and then 2.98 the next year. But that rose to 4.45 in 2023 with the Marlins and 5.09 in 2024 with the Twins. Houston took a flier on him in 2025, and he rewarded that bet almost immediately and then got even better this year. 

He’s leaning on his slider quite a bit, throwing it more than two-thirds of the time, and the whiff rate has fallen a bit from last year, but is still at nearly 35 percent. Add in a four-seamer that has middling velocity but has played quite well, with opponents hitting just .245 with a .347 SLG against it. He’s built a legitimately nasty two-pitch mix that his opponents can’t figure out. It’s the kind of profile that you’d think would have him rostered in every fantasy league, but he’s been under-the-radar, which hasn’t been lost on outlets tracking how quietly he’s put together this breakout year.

When Hader started the year on the IL, Abreu was put into the closer’s role and struggled. Okert was elevated as well, but he never really had that kind of issue adjusting. He just kept getting outs, basically every single time he pitched. While the bullpen was struggling to find an identity, he was all set. Once Abreu found his footing with a tweak to his pitch mix and turned his season around, the attention understandably shifted to him. But Okert never stopped being a guy Joe Espada trusted to bridge the gap, no matter what was going on around him. 

Dependability like that can get overlooked, and it’s part of why the Astros should go ahead and get him locked up now before he hits free agency this fall. He isn’t a flashy name. He doesn’t get a ton of saves or do it in a way that gets a lot of attention, but he shows up, throws strikes, and gets outs. And he does it seemingly every night in any role the team needs. 

Against all odds, Houston’s bullpen has become the backbone of their playoff push. While Hader and Abreu get and deserve all sorts of credit, the Astros wouldn’t be in this spot without Okert. He’s earned far more than a passing mention in this bullpen conversation. 

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