Houston Astros Star Wins AL Reliever of the Month Award

After a great month of August for the Houston Astros, one of their stars was named AL Reliever of the Month.

Aug 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) shakes hands with relief pitcher Josh Hader (71) after defeating the Kansas City Royals at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros were able to have one of their best months of the season in August, as they finished with a 18-10 record. The strong stretch for the Astros helped them build a comfortable lead in the American League West, and they are now eyeing October baseball. 

One of the main reasons why Houston has had such a good season is because of their pitching staff. Despite some struggles from the pitchers early on, the Astros have one of the best starting rotations in baseball now, with plenty of depth. 

In addition to the starting rotation being very good for Houston, they also have one of the better bullpens in baseball. The anchor of that group is left-hander, Josh Hader. 

Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru of MLB.com recently spoke about Hader winning the AL Reliever of the Month Award. 

"After a July he’d sooner forget, August was a totally different story for Hader, who gave up just one earned run in 13 1/3 innings (0.68 ERA) with a 0.60 WHIP, holding opponents to a .071 batting average. This is Hader’s seventh Reliever of the Month award, but his first in the AL -- he’d been off the board since April 2023."

It has been a strange season for Hader in his first year with the Astros. After pitching in the National League for his entire career, Hader’s first full month in the American League wasn’t very good, as he totaled a 7.45 ERA in April. 

Hader bounced back from the dreadful April and looked a lot more like himself in May, as he had a 1.35 ERA. However, after a solid June, Hader had another blow up month in July, as his ERA was 5.23. 

Furthermore, Hader once again was able to bounce back from the slump with an excellent August, as he had a near perfect month with an ERA of just 0.68. 

What we saw from Hader in August is what the Astros are hoping to see from him in September and especially October. Having an elite closer in the playoffs makes things much easier for a manager and the team. Hader has the ability to be that type of player, but he needs to find some consistency. 

After winning this award many times in the National League, Houston is certainly happy to see Hader perform like he did and like they know he can.