(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)   Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, is a useful stat to assess how much a pitcher, or a player, has contributed to his team relative to a replacement-level player. The higher the WAR is, the better the pitcher is. Since WAR is a cumulative stat, its highest earners and leaders are usually workhorses who are also very good at what they do. When it comes to talented workhorses, it’s very hard to beat Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander. “WAR leaders among pitchers to debut in 2004 or later. @MLBNetwork just named Justin the best pitcher of the generation,” M ..read more

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)   The Houston Astros pitching staff has had all kinds of problems this year. Of course, they have suffered injuries like most teams, but some of their most reliable guys have failed to pitch adequately, too. As a team, the Astros are 29th in MLB in ERA, with a 5.39 mark. There are 30 teams in the league so yes: they have been atrocious. Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader, the two most reliable relievers, have ERAs over 9.00, and they had three starters with an ERA over 8.00 before Wednesday’s games: J.P. France, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti. They ar ..read more

(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)   The Houston Astros’ pitching to open the 2024 season has been atrocious. They have really felt the absences of Justin Verlander, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., and other top pitchers. Not only has their bullpen been overworked by the mediocre performance from the rotation, but the relievers themselves haven’t been the most reliable. The recipe has resulted in Houston boasting the second-worst ERA in baseball at 5.35 as of Tuesday afternoon, only better than the Colorado Rockies (5.93). Verlander might be on his way back, but more arms ..read more

(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)   After years of flirting with MLB managerial roles and actually interviewing for some, the Houston Astros decided to give longtime coach Joe Espada a chance after Dusty Baker announced his retirement. Espada is highly regarded and respected in the industry, and has a quality roster in place to put together a playoff run. He started his tenure as an MLB manager with four straight losses to the New York Yankees, though. Fate, however, dictated that his first win would be one to remember. “Joe Espada is the first manager in MLB history to collect the 1st w ..read more

(Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)   Baseball is more than just some guys throwing, fielding, and hitting balls. MLB in particular carries the hopes and dreams of hundreds of players: everyone has a different background and story. Ronel Blanco’s story definitely had its best chapter on Monday night, when he threw the 17th no-hitter in Houston Astros history. Only two walks to George Springer prevented perfection, but Blanco was able to no-hit a quality Toronto Blue Jays offense as the Astros dominated and earned their first win of the year. The Astros posted a compilation of Blanco’s bes ..read more

(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)   The Houston Astros are not having the start to the season that they had hoped. Since the beginning of spring training, we have seen the Astros lose a few players to injury. The most prominent injury has been to Astros pitcher Justin Verlander. He is suffering from a shoulder injury and he is expected to begin the season on the injured list. To make matters worse, the Astros suffered another injury to their starting rotation. According to Brian McTaggart, starter Jose Urquidy has been diagnosed with a forearm muscle strain. He is likely to begin the se ..read more

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)   The Houston Astros are once again at the top of most lists of teams that can win the World Series. Each season, it seems the Astros reload their roster and find different ways to improve. This offseason, it was by adding a key piece to the bullpen. Houston signed All-Star closer Josh Hader in a surprising move. The Astros already had a strong bullpen and it got even better. Last season, the Astros came up one game shy of the World Series. Losing Game 7 of the ALCS at home to the Texas Rangers had to leave a bad taste in their mouth. But, the Astros ..read more

(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)   The Houston Astros are hoping to wash away the disappointment of last season. Losing Game 7 of the ALCS at home is not something that many people expected. But, that is what happened in Houston. Losing that series, especially to their rivals in the Texas Rangers, led the Astros to be aggressive this offseason. The big move they made was to improve their bullpen. They signed closer Josh Hader to a big deal and he will now take over the ninth inning. But the Astros also have a starting pitcher who is recovering from a major injury. According to Chandler ..read more

(Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)   The Houston Astros are hoping are get back to the World Series in 2024. That is a place they have become all too familiar with being the top team of the past decade. Last season, they lost in Game 7 of the ALCS to the division-rival Texas Rangers. You can bet that left a bad taste in their mouth. In 2024, the Astros look as loaded as ever from a roster standpoint. They added closer Josh Hader in the offseason and he joins an already stout bullpen. Plus, the Astros still have one of the best lineups in baseball. But, what might be the Achilles heel of ..read more

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)   With the acquisition of Josh Hader for the back of the bullpen, the Houston Astros have an elite relief corps if we include dominant performers such as Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly. Their lineup, after retaining Jose Altuve, is still magnificent and features the likes of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Chas McCormick, Jose Abreu, Yeiner Diaz, and Altuve himself. If there is a unit that could potentially hold them back in 2024, it’s definitely their rotation. It’s not that it’s bad, because it isn’t: it’s just that it appears to be a bit un ..read more