The Astros since Luhow was hired have always been about building a squad that is in playoff contention year in and year out. In this era, of pitchers rarely going multiple years without Tommy John, I don’t see the Astros going all in to get one World Series. I agree it would take even more of our prospects to get him. Pitching alone will not win us a pennant. Cam Smith is untouchable.
Probably not enough. I’d do that deal if it was the only one on the table were I Pittsburg. It wouldn’t be.
I wish we would just use Javier as a Swiss army knife like we did in 2022. Especially during full seasons to keep him fresh. IMO he’s best as a guy that starts 15-20 games and is used the rest of the time in the bullpen. Keep him below 145ip and then obviously you just start him in the postseason.
Amazing to think Clemens at that age had a 1.87 ERA and finished 3rd in the Cy Young (should have won). JV needs the cream and the clear.
Pretty much any pitching stat traditional or advanced right now shows Verlander is as good or better than Lance. And Verlander hasn’t been good this year. I’m not saying Lance is completely cooked for his career (although he might be), but for the rest of the season all the numbers suggest Verlander will be better.
Neither would be better. Almost any pitcher with a dozen starts would have better stats than Lance. McCullers is 31. Less chance of him being cooked than Verlander. But really, we don’t need either of them.
LMJ was a filthy pitcher once. He always seemed to lack a little maturity or poise. If not for all the injuries, this may have gotten better. His growth as a pitcher was stunted by all the long injury layoffs. Also, his arm might just be shot
Lance still has a plus change and plus curve. If he can grow a little balls on his fastball then he can be OK We are giving lance another DL stint , but I'm hopeful he comes back better. He's had a lot of rust to knock off and still has some good flashes Jv definitely won't come out of the pen (maybe lance won't either) . But if you're asking who I think can be the better bet to pitch 3 or 4 scoreless innings against top tier offenses .... It's lance , just my opinion
Problem is, Lance is also the better bet to give up 5 ER in 2 innings. It's feast or famine. JV is a serviceable 6IP, 3ER type now. He doesn't get blown up but also no longer dominates. I wouldn't want either out of my pen in a competitive playoff game, at this stage of their careers.
Jason Jennings also had an ERA+ of 130 in his final season in Colorado and has a rookie of the year trophy on his bookshelf.
This was the booth question for the game today but I present it to the board Who makes the biggest difference for us if they come back today- Javier, Garcia, or Arrenghetti? I’m going Javier but he’s also only good for 5 per start so would continue to tax the pen
