Houston Astros Pitching Staff Considered Third-Best in Postseason

The Houston Astros have an elite pitching staff that is ready for the postseason, but they are not considered to be the best in baseball.

Sep 18, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park. / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros pitching staff has bounced back to elite status thanks to a dominant second half, but aren't considered the best in the postseason.

As Stephen J. Nesbitt and Chad Jennings of The Athletic put together their rankings of the best pitching staffs in the postseason, the Astros finished at number three.

Though they were the third-ranked in all of baseball, they were the top in the American league. The top two staffs were the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres.

The strength of the Houston staff was listed as the second half surge leading to plenty of viable options, but the weakness was that they only have one 'can't-miss' starter.

"The big question here is what to do with Justin Verlander. The season numbers suggest he’s not one of the the Astros' top three or four starting pitchers but he remains one of the great pitchers of his generation. Beyond Framber Valdez in Game 1, there’s a solid case for any of Houston’s next three starting pitchers, but Verlander is an X-factor," said the writers.

Verlander has battled through an injury riddled season, but has struggled mightily since being healthy. The 41-year-old has posted an abysmal 8.89 ERA over his last six games.

He's been such a prolific postseason presence in the past, but might be a viable option right now.

Luckily, they have plenty of arms to pick from that have had great starts down the stretch.

The Astros have yet to lose a game with Yusei Kikuchi on the mound since acquiring him at the deadline.

Hunter Brown has been a revelation with a 2.33 ERA over his last 11 starts (though he did have a five-run outing just a couple of weeks ago).

Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti haven't been as shut down as the other, but are still rocking sub-4.00 ERA's in the second half for Houston.

Jennings and Nesbitt also posited that the Astros could be in a position to repeat the 2016 Cleveland Guardians bullpen route of relying on the same three arms in relief, given Houston's top heavy staff.

Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader are the guys that have the most postseason experience and have put together solid second halfs.

Hader in particular has been strong after his very worrying start to the season. It's important to have an elite closer for a World Series run and it looks as though the Astros can confidently say that they have one.

Given the rocky start to the year for the Houston pitching staff, and still missing a couple of key arms to major injuries, the Astros are lucky to say they have such a complete staff at this point of the year.