Multiple Astros Starters Rank Among MLB's Best in Key Pitching Statistic

The Houston Astros have had exceptional pitching so far in the first few series of the MLB season, and three of their starters are already proving their talent.

Jeremy Trottier | Apr 7, 2025

Apr 5, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (41) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. / Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have had a tough start to the season, starting off at 3-5 through eight games, with little to no consistency in their offensive production.

Things have looked bleak when it comes to their batting lineup, but on the other side of things, their starting pitching has been pretty outstanding so far.

The team currently ranks fourth in strikeouts across the MLB with 87, and ninth when it comes to combined ERA with 3.42. This is immensely impressive given the changes that occured with the pitching staff this offseason, but it seems there has been no change as they continue to dominate each outing.

One of the more intriguing statistics that has been more utilized recently when it comes to pitcher success is Stuff+, a measure of the key characteristics of each pitch type for each player and analyzing them into a single score based on those aspects.

After these first eight games, the Astros have three of their starting pitchers among the top 20 in Stuff+ according to Fangraphs.

Hunter Brown currently sits third with a 121, Framber Valdez is seventh with a 115 and Spencer Arrighetti is No. 20 with a 108. The only other team in the MLB with two or more players in the top 20 is the New York Yankees, with Max Fried (No. 16) and Carlos Rodón (No. 10).

This is an unprecedented level of success for any team, but Houston has clearly proven itself in the pitching department to start the season.

Arrighetti has had the most difficult start of the bunch, but a large majority of it is bad breaks as he has seen some difficult spots. With a 5.59 ERA it may seem like he has been poor to start off the year, but a 0.931 WHIP and 3.7 H9 prove he has been relatively strong.

Brown and Valdez have both been in a good place when it comes to their standard and advanced statistical value which is a good sign, and hopefully Arrighetti is able to turn things around with a few more starts under his belt and is able to get that inflated ERA down.

If he can, the Astros may have a three-headed monster at their disposal to start off the pitching rotation, and with a solid bullpen performance to keep things close in the first few series, it could be the pitching staff as a whole.

Ultimately it will come down to how coaching is able to maintain this level of success with their roster and help those who are struggling get things under control.

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