Ripple effect from Hayden Wesneski's injury shines spotlight on these Astros' arms

Hayden Wesneski's impending elbow surgery threw a monkey wrench into the Houston Astros' plans. While not necessarily a frontline starter, Wesneski was expected to eat some innings for Houston this season. The attention now turns to two of Houston's most inexperienced arms — Ryan Gusto and Colton Gordon.

Both Gusto and Gordon are trying to prove that they belong in the big leagues. Gusto has appeared in 11 games with five starts for Houston while posting .465 ERA with 32 punch outs over 31 innings pitched. Gordon has only started one game and allowed three runs on seven hits over 4 ⅓ innings pitched against the Kansas City Royals last week.

Lance McCullers Jr.'s triumphant return from the injured list hasn't provided the spark Houston's coaching staff was hoping for, and Spencer Arrighetti is still on the IL. Christian Javier and J.P. France are nowhere close to returning, meaning that the spotlight will be shining brightly on Houston's two rookies.

Hayden Wesneski's injury shines spotlight on Astros' rookies Ryan Gusto and Colton Gordon

Gordon will get the opportunity to prove that he belongs with a start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. After utterly dominating the competition at Triple-A Sugar Land to start the season, Gordon learned rather quickly that major league hitters are an entirely different animal.

The left-hander owned an impressive 2.55 ERA in eight minor league starts with a 25.3 strikeout rate. But his first start in the bigs revealed some cracks that Astros fans are hopeful he cleans up before Monday night in Tampa.

Gusto's advanced metrics haven't suffered dramatically either way in terms of splits. As a starter, he posted a 9.28 K/9, 1.59 WHIP, and 3.98 FIP. Coming out of the Astros bullpen, Gusto owns a 9.31 K/9, 1.34 WHIP, and 4.23 FIP. His ERA as a reliever (0.93), however, is much more impressive than when he draws a start (6.33).

Losing Wesneski is a major blow to the Astros' depth, and may eventually require Houston to turn to AJ Blubaugh once again. His lack of success during his MLB debut, however, seems to have caused a ripple effect upon his return to the minors. Blubaugh is 1-1 with a 9.88 ERA in three starts at Triple-A Sugar Land following his big league debut last month.

Houston is going to need some of their young arms to step up over the remainder of the season, and hope that their frontline starters remain healthy.

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