MLB history: Forgotten stars of the current AL West teams

Brad Peacock, Astros

OK, I know, if you’ve been reading this piece, you’re chomping at the bit for the Astros selection because a) the team has only been in the AL seven years, and b) the club has disgraced itself by cheating. Moreover, who’s actually forgotten?

Each of a crowd of talented players in Houston has pulled, individually, a minor “Barry Bonds move” (it should be a term) by screwing up a reputation that would likely have been wildly impressive if clean.

And yeah, these were individual choices.

So, it’s clear the AL-Astros forgotten star needs to be a pitcher, someone who never demonstrably benefited from some jackass banging on a trash can.

The winner, then, is Brad Peacock, a player whose profile is far lower than Dallas Keuchel’s, for example.

In the controversial 2017 championship year, Peacock, a big right-hander, was a sterling 13-2 with an AL-excellent 3.00 ERA on the nose.

Of course, Peacock is not really forgotten; he’s still active, still throwing five pitches, and presumably will pitch this season if there is one.

In 2017, his ERA didn’t rise above 3.00 at any point until August, and after that point was pushed back down in September. The guy lost two games all year. Granted, he had some cheating fire-power behind him, but still, Brad Peacock is one ballplayer in Houston whose name may not be Mudd in MLB history.