How Astros' Justin Verlander stacks up to this legendary Houston pitcher
TALE OF THE TAPE
26 July 2022
TALE OF THE TAPE
This week on Flippin Bats, Ben Verlander reacts to his brother Justin's incredible performance against the Mariners on Saturday, and does a deep dive into the stats to compare JV's career against Astros legend, Nolan Ryan.
For the sake of this comparison, we'll only look at Nolan Ryan's career through age 39. Basically making things even from an age standpoint. Be sure to check out Ben's thorough breakdown, as JV fairs very well against his idol. In fact, Ben even slightly gives the edge to Justin.
Here are a few stats he mentions:
Wins
Nolan Ryan 253
Justin Verlander 239
ERA
Nolan Ryan 3.15
Justin Verlander 3.27
WHIP
Justin Verlander 1.13
Nolan Ryan 1.28
WAR
Justin Verlander 75.6
Nolan Ryan 61.1
Don't miss the full breakdown above in the video!
Not long after the Astros pulled the trigger on trading Kyle Tucker, we started seeing reports about the club's interest in trading for Cardinals 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado.
The Athletic's Chandler Rome also reported that Arenado has a no-trade clause, and it's unclear if he would waive it to come to Houston. Earlier last week, a list of teams Arenado would reportedly waive his no-trade clause for circulated on the internet, and Houston was not on it.
The Astros are thought to still be in contention to re-sign Alex Bregman, but a trade for Arenado would kill any hope of a reunion with Breggy.
Also, one of the benefits of trading Tucker was using this as an opportunity to add to a depleted farm system. While Arenado is not expected to bring back a haul of coveted prospects, the Astros would be wise to avoid trading away any young talent for an aging player that's clearly regressing.
As Charlie Pallilo points out in the video below, a deep dive into Arenado's stats shows his numbers are frighteningly close to Jose Abreu's 2023 season. And we all know how that movie ended.
If the 'Stros are going to move on from Tucker and Bregman in the same offseason, it would be nice to give the fan base something exciting to look forward to. Such as signing a switch hitting power hitter like Anthony Santander to play left field.
If Houston goes into the season with an outfield consisting of Mauricio Dubon, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick, the infield better produce at a high level or this offense will struggle to score runs once again.
Which brings us to Framber Valdez. As it looks right now, the Astros are trying to reset while also planning to contend in a weak AL West. Would it be more wise to “rip off the band-aid” and deal Framber to speed up the rebuild?
Don't miss the video above as the guys from Stone Cold 'Stros address the latest trade reports, team building, and much more!