Houston Astros Rotation Gets High Praise from MLB Analyst

The Houston Astros have received a bold take from one MLB analyst about their rotation.

Aug 12, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez (59) walks off the field after pitching against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the course of the 2024 MLB season, the Houston Astros have dealt with more than their fair share of adversity.

Key players have missed time due to injury, with some being out for the year because of it.

Despite all of those issues, the Astros have remained a potential playoff team.

With just 42 games remaining in the regular season, Houston holds a 65-55 record. That has them in first place of the American League West division, leading the Seattle Mariners by 2.5 games heading into Thursday's MLB action.

Bleacher Report analyst Kerry Miller recently ranked all of the rotations around the league. When it came to the Astros, they were ranked at No. 3.

"The Astros lost both Cristian Javier and José Urquidy to Tommy John surgery in early June. They also announced last week that Lance McCullers Jr. won't be pitching in 2024 after also missing all of 2023. And both Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia are presently working their way back from the IL. That quintet started 117 games for the Astros during the 2022 regular season and was responsible for nearly half of the innings pitched during that postseason run to a World Series title, and yet we're still talking about a top-three rotation without them."

It's hard to believe that the rotation has been this good despite all of the setbacks it has suffered.

Thankfully, as the snippet above stated, Verlander and Garcia should be making a return to the field at some point in the near future. Adding those two players will give Houston an even better chance of winning their division and making a deep playoff run.

Acquiring Yusei Kikuchi ahead of the trade deadline has also paid off. In his first three starts with the team, he has gone 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 4.0 K/BB ratio, and 16.2 innings pitched. While the Astros paid a hefty price to land him, he has added a very strong presence to the rotation.

Now, the team simply needs to keep playing like they have been as their reinforcements return from injury.

They are on an eight-game winning streak and are one of the hottest teams in baseball. Their success is a true testament to just how good this team can be when fully healthy.

Hopefully, down the stretch of the season, they get some key players back and can keep them on the field without facing even more adversity.