With the AL West title secured, the Houston Astros can now start planning for the month of October.
They’ve now reached the postseason for the seventh time in the last eight years and have won the AL West for the fifth time in the last six years.
So now, the Astros can start planning their postseason rotation, and they’ve got a whole host of options.
They obviously have their top four in Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers Jr. Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez.
But they also have some solid options behind those four, including Jose Urquidy and Luis Garcia, the latter of which won the clinching Game 6 of the ALCS last year against the Boston Red Sox.
Astros get to choose from this list for their postseason starting pitching: (Season ERA by ascending order)
-Verlander: 1.82 ERA
-McCullers Jr: 2.38 ERA
-Javier: 2.65 ERA
-Valdez: 2.69 ERA
-Urquidy: 3.88
-Garcia: 3.90— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) September 25, 2022
Astros’ Pitching Options
There are a lot of options here for the Astros.
Given the ERAs of the first four starters listed, it’s very likely that the Astros will choose those four to be in their postseason rotation.
These are all solid options and guys who have postseason experience under their belts.
The other two options, however, are no slouches.
Both of them could potentially be lined up for bullpen roles, possibly long or middle relief.
They also have their fair share of postseason experience and have pitched in big games before.
The top four are likely the best options for their rotation this October, but should something unexpected take place, the Astros have two solid options available in the bullpen that can be plugged into the rotation at any moment.
And if all goes according to plan, the Astros will have a solid top four starters for the postseason and two experienced guys available in the bullpen if anything unforeseen happens.
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