Houston Astros: 2017 was sign of development for Musgrove and Hoyt
The Houston Astros still possess a talented roster filled with inexperienced players. Some of them took steps forward, even if one or two took a few steps back. Musgrove and Hoyt were part of the former, not the latter.
Every championship team has at least one weakness. For the Houston Astros, their offensive machine didn’t provide many issues on the field. But the bullpen did in several instances, especially during the postseason.
The club needs to address its scarcity of southpaw relievers, as it hasn’t had a dominant one in the previous few seasons – Tony Sipp had a good year in 2015. That could – maybe should – be the team’s leading priority as the offseason reaches its tipping point.
But Houston boasts a solid right-handed relief corps with a mixture of veterans and youth that it can lean on. Relievers as a whole ranked 17th in the league last year.
There was a significant gap between the team’s elite pitchers and the ones sitting in the bottom of the league rankings.
Both Ken Giles and Chris Devenski ranked in the top 50 in ERA among relievers, but both sat in the top 25 in strikeouts. Will Harris was also fairly reliable, ranking 60th in the league ERA.
However, after them, there weren’t many Astros pitchers that kept players off the bases. The next-highest ranked reliever in ERA was James Hoyt at 143rd.
Manager A.J. Hinch can’t rely solely on his dominant trio, although Brad Peacock could also be an option in the pen. Peacock did boast a solid ERA but doesn’t count in the relief-only rankings.
Despite the large gap, some players in the pen took strides forward, even though a few took steps back. Tony Sipp, the team’s lone lefty in the pen for the first half of the year, suffered a poor season.
Joe Musgrove and James Hoyt, however, are two examples of guys heading in the right direction, despite posting some shoddy numbers at times.
Joe Musgrove
Musgrove essentially had two separate seasons throughout the 2017 campaign.
As a starter, the right-handed hurler struggled, eventually losing his spot in the rotation. But he was fantastic following his move to the bullpen, before the playoffs.
Musgrove faced much of his difficulties in the first few innings. He allowed 10 runs in the first inning alone as a starter – 78 innings pitched. And he yielded 12 runs during the third inning across those starts.
Overall, the 25-year-old – and former top pitching prospect – sported a 5.42 ERA as a starter and posted a 1.34 WHIP. He may have been on the verge of losing his position on the roster at that point.
Then the Astros pushed Musgrove into a relief role, where he thrived for the second half of the season. He surrendered just five runs in 31 1/3 innings while racking up 31 strikeouts compared to only five walks.
A significant aspect that Musgrove improved upon was his susceptibility to the long ball. Opposing hitters launched 17 homers against him when he was starting in Houston. They managed to clock just two when he came in relief.
Musgrove’s strong second half is encouraging, especially after his rough start to 2017. But he wasn’t as dominant during the postseason for the Houston Astros. Hitters crushed three bombs off of him in less than seven innings of work, which inflated his ERA to 8.10.
Nonetheless, he will surely be back in the bullpen next season as a mid-to-long reliever. He could be an option for the fifth spot in the rotation as well, but he would be more useful in relief
He’s still just 25. Hence, there is plenty of time for him to develop, no matter what his role is.
James Hoyt
Some analysts argue that pitchers peak around the 30-year-old mark. Based on his minor league numbers, Hoyt exemplifies that notion.
While the right-hander spent a majority of his time in Triple-A over the past few years, he will likely stay on the MLB roster in 2018. When he was in Fresno, he essentially dominated opposing hitters.
Hoyt was the Pacific Coast League’s most efficient closer in 2016. He was also just three saves shy of breaking the team’s record in saves. He sported ridiculous numbers – a 1.64 ERA, .87 WHIP and 15.2 K/9 rates.
Once he made his transition to the Houston Astros, the 31-year-old faced some obstacles. He posted a 4.38 ERA in 49 1/3 innings and didn’t miss many bats, allowing 51 last season. A promising number, however, is that he walked just 14 guys.
The older rookie also boasts an electric repertoire. Since 2014, Hoyt has compiled more than 10 strikeouts per inning, no matter what league he pitched in.
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His superb amount of whiffs stem from his off-speed effectiveness.
During his stint in the MLB, more than 80 percent of his strikeouts were from sliders and changeups. Batters slashed just .202/.243/.341 against the slider.
A glaring issue is Hoyt’s heater. He cannot overpower hitters since he throws it in the low-to-mid-90s.
And considering that more than 50 percent of his fastballs were hit in the air, it’s a recipe for home run issues.
Several relievers are still solid, even if they don’t possess a 100-mph pitch like Chapman. The gap between MLB players and those in Triple-A isn’t so massive that Hoyt can’t adjust. But he would be much more intimidating with a reliable fastball.
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Hoyt doesn’t have as much time to improve as Musgrove due to his age, but he can – and likely will – still be a serviceable arm for the Houston Astros. His electric off-speed variety and strikeout rate will keep him afloat.