Houston Astros Desperately Need World Series Veteran To Turn Season Around

The Houston Astros World Series veteran has seen his production fall off a cliff since returning from injury and the team will need him start playing better quickly.

Sep 2, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have bounced back from their horrid start to the season as a whole, but are still waiting on things to click for some of their roster.

MLB.com's Brian McTaggart examined the state of the Astros roster to find which players 'have the most to prove down the stretch' and ended up deciding on future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander.

Verlander's season has certainly been one to forget, but that might be hard to do as it could end up impacting his contract situation next year as well.

The 41-year-old has been on the injured list three separate times this season. Not having the ability to settle into things for a long stretch could be a huge factor in his slow start.

Since returning from his most recent stint on the injured list, Verlander has posted just a 6.75 ERA with 19 hits and 11 earned runs given up over just 14.2 innings of work.

He's not giving the team many innings each night and what he is putting out there is not quality stuff.

It could just be a matter of knocking the rust off of yet another injury, but is still continuing a worrying trend that started back in June.

Batters have slashed .324/.374/.500 against him since the start of June and he's both struggled with handing out free bases and striking batters out.

It's easily been his worst season since coming to Houston in 2017.

Thankfully for the Astros, Verlander's struggles have been minimized thanks to the elite play of the pitchers around him.

Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti and Yusei Kikuchi have all been pitching lights out ball since the start of August.

Kikuchi has been the weakest of that group and he has still posted a 2.57 ERA in that time, since being acquired via trade from the Toronto Blue Jays at the deadline.

One thing that group is lacking, however, is an abundance of postseason experience.

That's the main reason Verlander is back in Houston. He's an elite postseason pitcher that has a ton of high-leverage experience. It will be crucial that the team can lean on him once the regular season comes to an end.

Outside of just helping out his team, Verlander himself could benefit from a solid stretch to close out the year as he's headed into free agency when that time comes.

No matter who gives him a contract for next season, they will be less likely to throw a lot of money at a guy heading into his age 42 season that's coming off of a 5.00-plus ERA campaign.