3 Best Pitchers for the Houston Astros During the 2024 Season

Who were the Houston Astros top performers on the mound this past season?

Oct 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez (59) reacts after issuing a walk against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros season ended disappointingly when they were swept by the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card Round on their home field.

After everything they had to overcome during the regular season, it was a tough way to go out. In the process, their streak of seven consecutive ALCS appearances was snapped as they went home earlier than many people predicted they would.

This offseason there could be some major changes to the roster. The Astros have a few holes to address and prominent players such as Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander hitting free agency.

It was quite impressive what this pitching staff was able to accomplish with Verlander and several other key pieces injured throughout the campaign. Who stepped up the most for manager Joe Espada?

Here are three of the best Houston pitchers from the 2024 campaign.

Framber Valdez

His streak of All-Star game nods ended at two, but Valdez has cemented his status as the team’s ace. His 28 starts are the fewest he has made since the 2021 season, but he made the most of it when he was out there.

In 176.1 innings, he registered a 2.91 ERA with 169 strikeouts. His ERA+ of 163 is a very strong number and was the fourth-best among qualified pitchers on the team.

The 2.9 win probability added was a full game better than the next closest pitcher on the team and his 1.9 championship win probability added was also tops on the Astros. His 4.5 WAR was tied for first with the next player on the list.

Ronel Blanco

It is no small task being the player named to replace a legend in the lineup. When Verlander went down with an injury early in the season, it was Blanco who Espada called upon to take the spot in the rotation.

In his first start, he fired a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays. He would start the season with 15 consecutive shutout innings, proving more than capable of filling the shoes of the future Hall of Famer.

This was by far the best season of his career, as he topped all of the production he provided in his career leading up to 2024. His 6.1 H/9 led all of baseball as he did a wonderful job of limiting base runners. 

Bryan Abreu

The backend of the Houston bullpen was locked down by Josh Hader, but one of the relievers ahead of him deserves recognition as well. Abreu was arguably the most dependable and productive arm out of the bullpen in 2024 for the team.

His ERA+ of 128 was topped by only Tayler Scott out of the pen. He tied for the reliever lead with a 1.7 WAR, also with Scott, but had an edge in advanced stats such as win probability added and championship win probability added.

His 1.8 and 0.7 were behind only Hader amongst relief pitchers on the team. Only Valdez, Blanco and Hunter Brown had a better base-out runs saved number than Abreu as well.