Each of the four days at the annual MLB Winter Meetings had plenty of drama of its own. For one, the Houston Astros once again watched a notable player take his talents to another team, as Justin Verlander decided to leave the reigning World Series champions in favor of a move to the New York Mets. Verlander put pen to paper on a two-year, $86 million contract deal that includes a vesting option for a third year.
Houston has been accustomed to seeing big-name players leave the team and sign off on multiyear deals elsewhere. And time and time again, the American League powerhouse has been able to successfully replace the production of such players with homegrown talents.
Now, the Astros will have the task of replacing Verlander — a pitcher who took home the 2022 American League Cy Young Award after leading the AL in ERA (1.75) and ERA+ (220). The right-hander also tallied 185 strikeouts in 175.0 innings pitched, as he regularly shined for Houston in must-win contests.
Houston will have multiple options to address this matter, including exploring the free agent market for a veteran hurler. At the least, these two pitchers must step up for Houston in the 2023 campaign.
Astros pitchers who must step up in the 2023 season
Lance McCullers Jr.
Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. had quite the roller-coaster past 12 months. After being sidelined for both the 2021 ALCS and the 2021 World Series due to a right flexor tendon strain, a setback with his injury later forced him to miss the first half of the 2022 season.
McCullers made his season debut in August, and he wound up posting a formidable 2.27 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched in the campaign. However, he did go on to orchestrate a pair of sluggish outings in the 2022 MLB postseason.
For McCullers to make the AL West powerhouse simply forget about Verlander, he must once again find success with his sinker. Opposing hitters hit .417 and notched a wRC+ of 269 against the pitch this past season. A drop in velocity with his sinker was a notable reason why he had vast control issues when throwing the pitch; his sinker averaged a career-low 93.2 mph.
As a result, McCullers had a difficult time putting away opposing hitters when he elected to rely on his sinker pitch in two-strike counts. He recorded career lows in both strikeout percentage (2.4 percent) and swinging strike percentage (1.7 percent) with the pitch.
McCullers must work to rejuvenate his sinker pitch, especially as Houston is slated to call upon him in pivotal contests over the course of the upcoming campaign.
Hunter Brown
When the Astros turned to a six-man rotation in the second half of the season, they rolled out Brown to take the mound for a pair of starts. They later called on him to come out of the bullpen, and overall, he finished with a 0.89 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched in the campaign.
Brown boasts a high-90s fastball coupled with a reliable curveball that can very well be his wipeout pitch. His curveball accounted for 40.9 percent of his total strikeouts, and he also logged a promising 14.4 percent swinging strike percentage on the pitch.
The potential is there for Brown to soon blossom for Houston, and his windup sure will have fans reminiscing about the team's former ace.
Justin Verlander y Hunter Brown@JustinVerlander y @xhunterbrownx pic.twitter.com/3awLTzXM2u
— FansAstrosMx🇲🇽 (@FansAstrosMx1) September 6, 2022
In the big picture, Houston has plenty of options regarding just how they plan to set their starting rotation. At the least, Astros assistant general manager Bill Firkus is much content with the team's overall depth at the position.
“We feel very good with where our starting pitching is at right now,” Firkus said during the Winter Meetings. “We tried to set up the roster so, whether [Verlander is] back or not, we’re in a good position.”
For Astros manager Dusty Baker, he would not be opposed to the idea of the team signing a hurler in the coming months to bolster the unit.
“I don't know if we're set or not,” Baker said during the Winter Meetings. “Do you ever have enough pitching? Especially starting pitching, you don't know. You hate to have somebody go down and you're in need of some more pitching.
“But everybody who wants to talk to us, they want some of our pitching. We'll just have to see. You never have enough pitching.”
The Astros may already have what they need to defend their World Series title, but in the unpredictable world of baseball, it would not be a surprise to see them go all out to haul in a veteran starter over the ongoing offseason.
Follow Us
Subscribe