Houston Astros: Chris Devenski should move to the rotation

The Houston Astros are going through a multitude of injuries right now with their rotation suffering the brunt of it. While they have the cushion of the major league’s best record, they will have to do some clever maneuvering to save the bullpen and maintain it.

The Houston Astros have been calling on their minor league arms to help stop the damage at the major league level. But it may be time to give Chris Devenski the ball in the first inning while they weather the storm.

Francis Martes is now in the bullpen. And while he is a rookie, he is stretched out as a starter and can be used in the Devenski role, as can Michael Feliz and David Paulino (should he and Devenski switch roles). Now none of those pitchers will likely perform to the level Devenski does as super reliever, but the Astros starting rotation needs a boost.

Brad Peacock and Mike Fiers have been doing a great job while the rest of the rotation heads to the trainer’s office, and Joe Musgrove made his return two days ago in a loss to the Texas Rangers helping the cause.

But why use David Paulino over Devenski in the rotation? I know how valuable Devenski is in the bullpen, but he was a starter throughout his minor league career and what better time than now to utilize that skill.

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He’s only made five major league starts in his career, accumulating a 4.01 ERA and a 1-2 record. But let’s look closer at his starts from 2016. Here are the stat lines:

At Oakland: 5 IP, two earned runs, five hits, three walks, four strikeouts.
Vs. Seattle: 6 IP, one earned run, six hits, one walk, six strikeouts.
Vs. Cleveland: 6.2 IP, two earned runs, five hits, two walks, five strikeouts
At Boston: 2 IP, six earned runs, five hits, two walks, one strikeout
At Minnesota: 5 IP, zero earned runs, two hits, zero walks, five strikeouts

While he never went deep into ball games, only once did he pitch less than 5 innings and only once did he give up more than two earned runs. And that was against the vaunted Boston Red Sox lineup.

For those who don’t remember that game, Devenski was subject to some pretty bad defense, including a Jason Castro error that cost the Astros a run in the first inning, and a Josh Rutledge “Double” to lead off the second inning.

The reason double is in quotes is because it was a ball that neither George Springer nor Carlos Gomez called for and it dropped in between them. Devenski only gave up one run as he recorded two more outs and would not have seen anymore trouble had that routine ball been caught. Instead the Red Sox made a two out rally that kicked Devenski out of the game and the rotation.

That’s not to say starters shouldn’t be able to pitch out of jams. But this is just to illustrate that Devenski can make effective starts in the major leagues. And right now he can help. To make an obscure reference to a television show that’s been off the air for over 15 years (Sportsnight), he’s not a Philo Farnsworth (i.e.- a regular starter.) He’s a Cliff Gardner. Someone who can help in a pinch. He can make glass tubes.

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A more comfortable analogy is that he could be a band-aid while the rest of the rotation heals, but I’m a big Aaron Sorkin fan. All terrible analogies aside, Devenski should be used as a “break glass in case of emergency” starter right now. Our numbers one through four starters (Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., Colin McHugh, and Charlie Morton) are out. This is an all hands on deck situation. And right now, the rotation needs all the help it can get. Devenski is that help.

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