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Pitchers and catchers reported to Florida earlier this week, and keeping an eye on starter Framber Valdez will be important. Valdez, who has been known to start the regular season rather slowly, needs to nip that in the bud and change his tune.
Valdez anchors the Astros' starting rotation that also includes Hunter Brown, Ronel Blanco, Spencer Arrighetti, and the newly-acquired Hayden Wesneski. Wesneski came over to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker trade with the Chicago Cubs.
Astros fans will be keeping a close eye on how effective Valdez's curveball can be once the season begins. He leans on it to help him wiggle out of trouble a lot, and when Valdez is able to snap off his curveball, it has a diving effect that leaves hitters lurching for air.
Astros LHP Framber Valdez needs to be able to start out fast in 2025
One thing Valdez can do this spring during Grapefruit League play is fine-tune his pitches. Sure, all pitchers need to get into regular-season shape and be set for Opening Day, but wouldn't it be nice to see Valdez have a strong first month of the season? Mind you, the Astros still have a bunch of pitchers sidelined with injuries. Valdez probably knows how much the Astros are leaning on him to deliver meaningful starts in 2025.
His numbers last season were pretty impressive. Valdez finished with a 15-7 record and a 2.91 ERA. In 176 ⅓ innings pitched, Valdez totaled 169 strikeouts across 28 starts. Being able to count on him to post these same numbers or even better will be on Joe Espada's radar from the get-go.
Can Valdez stay healthy? During the 2024 season, he spent time on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. The Astros can ill afford to have their ace miss too many starts this season with pitchers like Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., and J.P. France sidelined at the outset. Look for Valdez to get the Opening Day start when the Astros host Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and the New York Mets on March 27 at Daikin Park.