The Houston Astros have been grinding themselves into a 19-10 record through nearly 30 games, a mark that has set a precedence in the franchise’s history.
The Houston Astros have been grinding themselves into a 19-10 record through nearly 30 games, a mark that has set a precedence in the franchise’s history.
The moving parts are finally coming together and they’re looking like they did in 2015 with a tad few more weapons.
The signings ofNori Aoki,Carlos Beltran,Yuli Gurriel,Brian McCannandJosh Reddickare all making a difference in terms of the Houston Astros performance from behind the plate.
The team is batting a collective.276,which is good for1stin the American League and2ndin majors behind the Washington Nationals.
We don’t have to rely on the timely hitting anymore because we’re hitting the baseball on a regular basis.
That may not necessarily always translate to a ton of runs on the board but the hits they generate usually result in a win.
That’s a hefty contrast from 2015 and 2016 seasons where we were tracking among the bottom of barrel in terms of the averages.
But let’s talk about the pitching.
Yes, this must be addressed.
Our pitching staff is putting out a collective3.38 ERAwhich is good for3rdin the AL but28thin the majors.
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Now many will say that as long we’re tops in our respective league, that’s what matters but in the terms of sheer competitiveness, it better to aim for the lofty goals of being the best.
In that case, the Houston Astros have a lot of work to do.
Outside of theDallas KeuchelandLance McCullersJr., the team has myriad of question marks through the rest of the rotation.
However, I have one caveat,Joe Musgroveis new to starting in the majors and his time on the mound has not been bad but there were moments that fleeted away from him.
That’s going to happen as he acclimates.
I still see Joe being a valuable part of the organization, even while he gets his feet wet.
But let’s talk about our 4th guy in the rotation.
You know who I’m getting at.
I’m talking aboutMike Fiers.
Since his beautiful, career-defining no-hitter that he pitched in mid-August 2015, Fiers has been up and down on the mound.
He hasn’t necessarily been shattering the earth on fire but doing enough to get the job done and grab the outs when they’re needed the most.
But what’s alarming is the amount of home runs that he has given up so far this season.
With12 HR’sgiven up, he’s already at nearly half of what he gave up last season, which was26.
This has resulted in his ERA to skyrocket to5.68through25.1innings pitched which is trending toward the highest of his career.
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This also caused hisWHIPto increase to a gaudy1.54as a result as well.
His earned runs are still under control at 16 and his 25 strikeouts and 8.88 K/9 are certainly on track to where he usually has been for his career.
What should we do with Fiers?
WithCollin McHughlikely to be back on the fold soon, I think it’ll be time to put him back into the bullpen.
But I can’t make that call just yet — we don’t know what McHugh will look like upon returning and Fiers may have to stay a bit longer.
The bullpen could certainly be something that will enhance his career and he’ll have an opportunity to throw his best stuff in a tighter window of time.
He still has a solid four-seam fastball tracking at about 90 mph but guys are just finding ways to pulverize it into the stands.
That’s gotta change.
I just don’t think it’d be a good idea to send him down — if he has options left — or to release as he does have tangibles to help this team out.
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Besides, he makes$3.45 millionthis season so it would be best to get our money’s worth out on the mound here.
But something has got to give with the immense amount of home runs that he’s giving up.
If he gets that in order, I think he’ll be just fine.
We’ll have to see.
What do you think? Feel free to sound off!
Go Astros.
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