ON THE MOUND

Patrick Creighton: Astros rotation will ensure World Series runs through Houston

Patrick Creighton: Astros rotation will ensure World Series runs through Houston
Gerrit Cole was a huge addition. Houston Astros/Facebook

“The work ethic has been established; the bar has been set so high, no one wants to disappoint his teammates.”

Astros broadcaster Steve Sparks said that to me on Monday afternoon, approximately five hours before first pitch of the Astros’ home opener. It seems so simple, yet it reveals so much.

As the Astros look to become the first team in MLB to repeat as World Champions since the 98-2000 Yankees, that statement by Sparks continues to stand out.

Last season, the Astros acquired Justin Verlander with literally one minute to go before the trade deadline Aug. 31.  Verlander seemed to be rejuvenated with the Astros. While Verlander is already likely a Hall of Famer, and he was having a pretty good year on an awful team, he was virtually untouchable when he arrived in Houston.  For example, consider these statistics for Verlander pre and post trade:

Detroit: 10-8 3.82 ERA 1.279 WHIP 8.0 H/9 3.5 BB/9  9.2 K/9

Houston: 5-0  1.06 ERA 0.647 WHIP 4.5 H/9  1.3 BB/9 11.4 K/9

Verlander found an entirely different gear once acquired by the Astros, energized by the team’s championship aspirations and the synergy in the clubhouse.

All preseason, A.J. Hinch raved about Gerrit Cole, the Pirates ace that the Astros acquired in the offseason to further bolster their starting rotation.  Cole was coming off something of a down year but also played on a bad Pittsburgh team with no real hopes of contention. Since coming to Houston, Hinch has marveled at the 27 year old’s dedication and preparation, both mentally and physically.

Cole then was nearly untouchable all preseason, and his first start of the year vs the Rangers was terrific, as he allowed only 1 run over 7 innings and punched 11 tickets. (Astros pitchers refer to strikeouts as "punching tickets").  Cole has been affected by his acquisition by the Astros the same way Verlander was. He is refocused, and at the top of his game.

This is a team that won 101 games last season despite having its top four starters on the DL for most of the month of June last season and two of its top starters, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers, made two trips to the DL.  The Astros led MLB in runs scored last season (896 runs, or 5.53 runs/gm). The offense looks to be even better this year (already 5.6 runs/gm as well) and many of the bats haven’t even heated up yet.

Now add in the fact that the Astros rotation is arguably the best in baseball right now.  It’s going to be nearly impossible to keep Astros’ bats at bay for multiple games over a short period, but Houston figures to be one of the stingiest teams in baseball when it comes to allowing runs.

Consider this: Charlie Morton is the Astros fifth starter.  His numbers last season are better than all but two other AL teams’ third starter that pitched at least 100 IP in 2017, and one of those third starters (Lance Lynn/Minnesota) pitched in the National League last season.

For teams whose third starters didn’t have enough innings to qualify, I used their second starters’ stats, and the results were still the same.  The only third starter who pitched in the AL last year whose numbers were better than Morton’s was Marcus Stroman of the Jays.  Essentially, the Astros fifth starter would be at worst the third starter on all but one other team in the AL.

Last season, the Astros had Mike Fiers and his 5.22 ERA make 28 starts.  David Paulino made six starts, and pitched to the tune of a 6.52 ERA. Joe Musgrove made 15 starts last season and was rocked for a 6.12 ERA and had to be moved to the pen.  That’s 49 awful starts last season the Astros offense had to overcome. Somehow those three starters went a combined 16-18 in those 49 starts, mainly because the Astros offense stepped up when they pitched.  How do you think those starts go now with Verlander and Cole making them instead?

I know the season is only five games old, but honestly I didn’t need the five games to know this Astros team is actually better than last year’s championship squad.  The five games just helps to reinforce the concepts. No one on the team wants to be the weakest link, and it forces everyone to raise their level of play consistently.  Success forges success.

The World Series will go through Minute Maid Park in 2018.  The Astros will hang another Championship banner, and break MLB’s stretch of 18 straight non-repeat champions.  Mattress Mack is going to need that insurance policy again.

Bank on it.

Patrick Creighton is the host of “Nate & Creight” weekdays 1-3p on SportsMap 94.1FM Houston, and “Sports & Shenanigans” Sundays 12-5p CT on SB Nation Radio nationwide.  Follow him on Twitter: @pcreighton1

 

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Get your popcorn ready! Composite image by Brandon Strange.

Filed the column early this week with Astros’ baseball that counts arriving Thursday! Ideally that arrival occurs with Minute Maid Park’s roof open under sunny skies with temperature in the mid-70s and only moderate humidity (that’s the forecast).

As they ready for their season-opening four game series, the Astros and Yankees enter 2024 with streaks on the line. The Astros take aim at an eighth consecutive American League Championship Series appearance while obviously aiming ultimately higher than that. The Yankees are a good bet to fail to make the World Series for the 15th consecutive season, which would be a new Yankees’ record! At its origin in 1903 the franchise was known as the New York Highlanders. The name became the Yankees in 1913, with the first franchise World Series appearance coming in 1921. So that was 18 years of play without winning a pennant. Maybe that gives the Yanks something to shoot for in 2027.

On the more immediate horizon, the Astros and Yankees both start the season with question marks throughout their starting rotations. It’s just that the Astros do so coming off their seventh straight ALCS appearance while the Yankees are coming off having missed the postseason entirely for the first time in seven years. Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole can spend time Thursday chit-chatting about their days as Astro teammates because they won’t be pitching against one another. Cole’s absence hurts the Yankees more than Verlander’s should the Astros. Cole was the unanimously voted AL Cy Young Award winner last season, and at eight years younger than Verlander the workload he was expected to carry is greater. Cole is gone for at least the first two months of the season, the Astros would be pleased if Verlander misses less than one month.

Whoever does the pitching, the guy on the mound for the Astros has the benefit of a clearly better lineup supporting him. The Yankees could have the best two-man combo in the game with Aaron Judge batting second ahead of offseason acquisition Juan Soto. Two men do not a Murderers’ Row make. Gleyber Torres is the only other guy in the Yankees’ projected regular batting order who was better than mediocre last season, several guys were lousy. The Astros have six guys in their lineup (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Chas McCormick, and Yainer Diaz) who were better in the batter’s box than was Torres last season. The Yanks have hopes for a healthy and huge bounce back season from the brittle and 34-years-old Giancarlo Stanton. Good luck with that.

Man with a plan

We have to see how things play out over the season of course, but it is exciting to see new manager Joe Espada’s progressive outlook on a number of things. Acknowledging that Astros’ baserunning has too often been deficient, Espada made improving it a spring training priority. The same with Astros’ pitchers doing a better job of holding opposing base runners at first with base stealing having occurred with the highest success rate in MLB history last season. Tweaking the lineup to bat Alvarez second behind Altuve is a strong choice. Having your two best offensive forces come to the plate most frequently is inherently smart.

Opting to bat Tucker third ahead of Bregman rather than the other way around also seems wise business. Let’s offer one specific circumstance. An opposing pitcher manages to retire both Altuve and Alvarez. Tucker walking or singling is much more capable of stealing second base and then scoring on a Bregman single than the inverse. Or scoring from first on a ball hit to the corner or a shallow gap. I suggest in a similar vein that is why the much older and much slower Jose Abreu should bat lower in the lineup than Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz. Though Espada giving Abreu veteran deference to get off to a better season than Abreu’s largely lousy 2023 is ok. To a point.

Eye on the prize

The ceiling for the 2024 Astros is clear. Winning a third World Series in eight years is viably in play. The floor is high. Barring an utter collapse of the starting rotation and/or a calamitous toll of injuries within the offensive core there is no way this is only a .500-ish ballclub. That does not mean the Astros are a surefire postseason team. The Rangers may again have a better offense. The Mariners definitely begin the season with a better starting rotation. In the end, other than when it impacts team decision-making, prognostication doesn’t matter. But these two words definitely matter: PLAY BALL!

To welcome the new season we’ll do a live YouTube Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast about 30 minutes after the final out is recorded in Thursday’s opener.

Our second season of Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast is underway. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics weekly. On our regular schedule the first post goes up Monday afternoon. You can get the video version (first part released Monday, second part Tuesday, sometimes a third part Wednesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available at initial release Monday via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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