Here are Astros limited, but powerful options to course-correct pitching
END OF THE LINE
23 August 2023
The Astros are back on track with two critical wins over the Boston Red Sox, and while Justin Verlander was in classic form on Tuesday night (6 scoreless innings, 9Ks), Cristian Javier struggled through 5 innings once again on Monday.
JV's win over Boston was the first scoreless start from a starting pitcher since Framber Valdez through a no-hitter against the Guardians on August 1.
Fortunately for Houston, the Astros came away with a victory in Javier's start, but his issues are clearly not behind him. So what can the team do at this stage in the season? We're well past the trade deadline, so the answer will have to come internally.
It would be one thing if it were just a player or two showing some fatigue during the dog days of summer, but it's been pervasive across the entire rotation outside of JP France, and now hopefully Verlander.
JV said after the game that he made some mechanical adjustments that seem to have made a big difference for him, giving him more command and velocity with his fastball, and better action on his breaking-pitches. Verlander's always thinking about pitching, and this tweak to his mechanics was effective.
Which has us wondering, where are the pitching coaches in all of this? How much of the blame do they deserve for the current slump in the starting rotation? Much has been made of the injuries the Astros have sustained as reasons for the current state of the rotation, but without these injuries, JP France never gets to show what he can do in the big leagues. And one could argue he's pitched better than Jose Urquidy, or Luis Garcia have ever pitched.
Plus, the Astros aren't the only ones dealing with injuries to their pitching staff. The Tampa Bay Rays have lost 4 of their 5 starters to injury this year.
A controversial alternative
Finally, if things continue in this manner and the Astros still make the postseason, how will JP France be deployed? Dusty Baker loves his veterans, but he has to consider starting JP if he pitches like this moving forward. We're not saying he should start over JV or Framber, but it's hard to argue against him being the third or fourth starter come playoff time.
But will Dusty actually do it? Only time will tell.
Be sure to check out the video above as we lay out everything mentioned above and much more!
Watch or listen to the Stone Cold 'Stros podcast every Monday afternoon!
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How Houston Rockets hold the cards for a franchise-changing summer
May 8, 2025, 5:45 pm
It’s been a slog on the treadmill of mediocrity for the Astros thus far in 2025. Their 18-18 record heading into a weekend series at Daikin Park vs. the Reds is appropriate. Plenty of good teams will have similar stretches this season. The Astros have to prove that this year’s edition is a good team. Plenty of time for that remains. Reminder that the breakout 2017 Astros had a 74-game stretch over which they went 37-37. 162 games allow for a lot of ebb and flow. Of course, the 2025 Astros’ roster is not close to that of the 2017 squad. The point isn’t that this time could be a 101-game winner but that the 88 victories good enough for a playoff spot last year are still quite plausible this year.
The Rockets achieved mediocrity last season after three seasons as a laughingstock. This season they made the leap to good. While curling up and succumbing to Golden State in the decisive game seven of their first-round playoff series was a disappointment, the Rockets are in excellent position moving forward. Where they go from here should be quite interesting,
OF COURSE the Rockets are going to explore trading Jalen Green. He is obviously their most physically gifted player, but his consistent inconsistency is exasperating. Green’s series against the Warriors was basically an embarrassment with the exception of his 38-point game two outburst. The other six games, a meager nine-point-two points per game. That Green is still just 23 years old means it is not near obligatory they move on from him as Green starts a three-year 105 million dollar contract extension. However, the state of his game and comparison to a few specific players cast enough doubt about Green’s ceiling that declaring him “untouchable” would be ridiculous. During the Golden State series, an NBA play-by-play guy who I think is very good overall once referred to Green as the “Rockets’ superstar.” Anyone, including Green himself, who calls him a superstar either misspoke, was caught up in a moment, or is clueless.
Jalen Green just finished his fourth NBA season. Fairness requires noting that his first two seasons were compromised by being on atrocious Rockets’ squads. That said, Green was on 41-41 and 52-30 teams the past two seasons. In neither of him did he shoot a league average percentage either overall or from behind the three-point line. He did approach the three-point league average of 36 percentage made with his 35.4. That Green is an 80 percent career free throw shooter gives hope the three-point shooting can further develop. Better shot selection sure would help.
Green was the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, one year removed from high school. The player taken ahead of him was Cade Cunningham who also played just one year out of high school before going NBA. Cunningham joined a joke Detroit Pistons team. Cunningham is a much better player than Green at this point.
Other shooting guards who played one year after high school then jumped to the NBA, who were markedly ahead of Green after four NBA seasons include Anthony Edwards (first pick in his draft class), and Shae Gilgeous-Alexander (11th), and Devin Booker (13th). In comparison to each Green is a disappointment, though certainly not a bust.
What is head coach Ime Udoka’s bottom-line belief in Green fulfilling his potential? My guess is that cup is not overflowing. The Rockets’ half-court offense simply is not of championship caliber. Can it evolve there with Green, or is he better used as a piece in a trade offer with other players plus draft picks for a Booker or Kevin Duran? The Phoenix Suns are a near assets-less mess of a franchise in dire need of a reset. Durant will be 37 years old when next season starts, but is still a tremendous offensive player who would be a gargantuan half-court offense upgrade for the Rockets. The Rockets have so much draft capital that offering two or three first round picks plus Green, Cam Whitmore, and another player or two to make the salary cap math work would A: not empty out the Rockets’ flexibility going forward and B: have to get the Suns’ attention. If I’m Udoka and General Manager Rafael Stone, I’m making the call.
Courtesy of the Suns, the Rockets hold what is currently the ninth pick in the NBA Draft. The draft lottery is Monday night. The Rockets’ have a three-point-eight percent chance of winning it and the right to make Duke freshman superstar (and Final Four loser to UH) Cooper Flagg the number one pick. There is a 13.5 percent chance the Rockets move up to pick two, three, or four. Otherwise, it’s ninth, or lower if another team or teams vault up the lottery board.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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