For one of the few times in this season, the Astros’ starting rotation appears relatively settled at the moment. There are currently six deep in available arms, with a trio of returning pitchers from IL in recent weeks beefing up the depth chart. Entering the final stretch of a close division race, those reinforcements, on paper, couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
The returns of Cristian Javier, Spencer Arrighetti, and Luis Garcia are still works in progress, but this most recent turn through
the rotation provides hope for this final month of the season. How much hope? Depends on what you expect moving forward.
IP: 18 1/3
ER: 4
ERA: 1.96
FIP: 4.38
BB: 8
SO: 20
While we can’t expect a 1.96 ERA regularly when those three make a turn through the rotation, how they pitched was also encouraging. Garcia, for example, brought back his cutter, which he really leaned into shortly before his Tommy John surgery in 2023. And it looked pretty impressive, racking up five whiffs on eleven swings.
Arrighetti’s stuff was also particularly sharp on August 30, leading the game with 14 whiffs. And Javier had a vintage performance, with six no-hit innings and a four-seam that was reminiscent of previous years when he was healthy. The past week or so of starts has been a welcome reversal from earlier in the season, when arms were dropping like flies.
In combination with Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, and — I can’t believe that I am typing this — Jason Alexander, the rotation looks like a real strength moving forward. That could change quickly, of course. I mean, have you seen the Astros this year? But, if health allows, this rotation in a short series is undoubtedly intriguing. It also helps that the starters who would start in a short series would greatly assist a bullpen lacking in depth. I am particularly curious to see how Arrighetti would play up in a bullpen role, especially with his breaking ball options. The same thought applies to Garcia, Javier, and Alexander, but to a lesser extent in my mind.
Considering the sheer amount of injuries to the rotation — let’s pour one out for Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, and Brandon Walter — the fact that the rotation is possibly at its deepest now is certainly encouraging. And somewhat unexpected. Dana Brown banked on these three making an eventual return when he didn’t meet the asking prices for pitchers before the trade deadline. A risky decision, at least from a viewpoint, considering the poor track record of the organization’s return-to-play policy. But the gamble is possibly starting to pay off, and the Astros could benefit across the final month of the season and in any postseason aspirations.
