Houston Astros Pitchers on the Cusp of Being All-Stars

The Houston Astros' pitching staff is top-five in Major League Baseball in ERA, offering a few candidates for the All-Star Game.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Phase 2 of Major League Baseball's All-Star voting opens Wednesday as the Houston Astros have two position players advancing. Second baseman Jose Altuve and designated hitter Yordan Álvarez led their respective positions in votes and will now be voted on as starters this week. As far as pitchers are concerned, fans don't have a say, only other Major League Players do. 

The Astros rank second in the American league in ERA (2.93), trailing only the American League-leading New York Yankees. With a surplus of starting options, Houston rosters six starters following Jake Odorizzi's return following some left leg discomfort.

But of those qualified starters to contend for an All-Star Game roster spot, Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier all display statistics ample for the Summer Classic.

Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Verlander enters Tuesday with the fourth-best ERA (2.03) in Major League Baseball, second-best in the American League. The righty is striking out 8.32 batters per nine innings while collecting 11 quality starts to date.

The 39-year-old was the first starting pitcher to 10 wins for the 2022 MLB season and is a frontrunner for the American League Cy Young award after missing the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. 

Valdez picked up his league-leading 13th quality start Sunday as the lefty yielded three hits and five walks over six two-hit innings against the Los Angeles Angels. The lefty punched out a career-high 13 batters, fanning 11 in a row en route to Houston's 4-2 win over its American League West foe.

The 28-year-old's 11-straight strikeouts was the most in franchise history between the first and the fifth inning according to Elias Sports Bureau. The previous record was held by Gerrit Cole, Randy Johnson and Don Wilson who all struck out nine-straight in the same span.

Valdez has solidified himself as an ace on Houston's staff aside to Verlander, while averaging the most groundouts of any starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (2.72 GO/AO).

The case for Javier may not look as clear. Starting the season back in the bullpen, the right-hander found his way to the rotation as the sixth man in a long stretch of play in May and early June.

Odorizzi's injury offered more starts for Javier as the team resorted to five. In 11 starts, Javier has a 3.09 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP across 58 1/3 innings of work while not allowing a single run in 11 1/3 innings as a reliever.

Although not qualifying as a starter according to MLB.com, the 25-year-old has allowed only one run over his last 14 innings, combining for 27 strikeouts and one walk across those two starts.

With an improved 2.58 ERA on the season, Javier became the first pitcher in the Modern Era to punch out 27 batters over a two-game span while allowing only one hit. 

Javier has been nothing but dominant as of late, and with four quality starts in 11 tries, the right-hander provides a case to remain in the rotation that bumped him to the bullpen at the start of the 2022 season. 

Houston Astros reliever Ryne Stanek / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Out of the bullpen, Ryne Stanek and Rafael Montero offer the strongest cases to join Baker in Los Angeles. Stanek currently rides a 21-inning streak without allowing a run— the longest-active streak of qualified relief pitchers.

The righty sports his best in-season ERA (0.67) of his career, while striking out 9.67 per nine innings — sixth best on the Astros' staff. At 30-years-old, the former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays exhibits the best case of any Houston reliever of making the American League squad. 

Stanek's setup mate, Montero has a similar journey to Stanek as a high-leverage arm this season. The right-hander was nabbed from the Seattle Mariners with Kendall Graveman last season, but after offering limited time before injury, Montero returned in 2022 as the Astros' second-best reliever by ERA with at least 25 innings pitched. 

Montero sits with a 1.71 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 31 2/3 relief innings — third-most of any Astros' reliever behind Phil Maton and Hector Neris. The 31-year-old is also five-for-five on save opportunities this season. 

Recognition and high-leverage success bolster relievers chances. Bryan Abreu and Seth Martinez don't have much of either to their respective résumés although sporting optimal relief success.

Abreu has pitched 28 2/3 relief innings this season, striking out 41 batters to his 10 walks. The righty's 12.87 strikeout-per-nine-inning is the highest among Astros' pitchers, but his lack of leverage innings holds him behind the pack.

The same goes for Martinez, who has pitched the seventh-most innings of Astros' relievers in 2022. The 27-year-old has yielded two runs this season which came on an Aaron Judge walk-off home run on June 26. 

In short, Martinez's role in low-leverage doesn't paint the strongest ticket for Los Angeles. And it is no fault to himself nor Abreu, when Baker can turn to Ryan Pressly, Neris, Stanek and Montero for tight situations. 

As the season inches closer to the All-Star Game, Verlander, Valdez, Stanek and Montero are undoubtedly All-Star considerations while Javier's continued success would only fortify a bullpen seat at Dodger Stadium.