People think the Houston Astros have just one ace, and that his name is Justin Verlander.
That is not necessarily true.
Lance McCullers was their de facto ace during a large portion of the 2021 season, before getting hurt in the postseason.
And Framber Valdez is also an ace: just a little bit different than Verlander.
Any pitcher capable of putting up a 2.82 ERA, a 3.06 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) and 4.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in 31 starts and 201.1 innings, with a rock-solid 23.5% strikeout rate, should be considered an ace.
Those were Valdez’s numbers in 2022: he pitched more than Verlander, and while his ERA wasn’t as low as his, he was extremely consistent; a quality starts machine.
Valdez is an atypical pitcher, in a good way.
He has a unique ability to induce ground balls thanks to his elite sinker.
Valdez Is A True Unicorn And An Underrated Star
No starter generated more ground balls than him, and only a handful of relievers bested him.
“Framber Valdez leads MLB in highest ground-ball rate since 2021 at a 68.6% clip. The next highest rate in that span is 59.6%,” MLB Network tweeted.
Framber Valdez leads MLB in highest ground-ball rate since 2021 at a 68.6% clip.
The next highest rate in that span is 59.6%. 😳😳😳#LevelUp | @astros pic.twitter.com/mUtGZkqDQk
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 13, 2022
This is excellent for the Astros.
Ground balls are significantly easier to field than line drives, and fly balls could be more dangerous because they often fall for a double or, even worse, a home run.
Long story short, grounders are a desirable outcome for pitchers, especially if you have talented fielders in your infield like Alex Bregman, Jeremy Pena, Jose Altuve, and Yuli Gurriel.
As long as Valdez keeps generating ground balls nearly at a 70% rate, the Astros will be in good shape with him on the mound.
He is a unicorn.
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