Houston Astros success hinges on Jake Odorizzi’s success

After delivering his tenth pitch of the at-bat to Renato Nunez, Jake Odorizzi lowered his head then turned and watched the ball sail into the Crawford Boxes. By the time the next hitter, Akil Baddoo was rounding first base after blooping a single into centerfield, Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker was out of the dugout to retrieve his pitcher.

Odorizzi failed to get out of the fourth inning in his debut start with the Astros, after signing a $20.25M/2 YR contract in the offseason.

For the Houston Astros to be successful this year, they will rely heavily on their starting rotation, including newcomer Jake Odorizzi.

Odorizzi stayed on the free agent market well into spring training before finally inking his deal with the Astros. After just two spring starts he was sent to the alternate training site to make two more appearances before being called upon to start for the Astros Tuesday night.

An efficient 13-pitch, three-up, three-down, first inning couldn’t have gone any better for the right handed former first round draft pick. Unfortunately, he labored through the next three innings, failing to close out the fourth after allowing four runs on two long balls. His 31 pitch, fourth frame sealed his fate and pushed his pitch count to 80.

A young pitching staff headlined by veteran Zack Greinke will need better performances from Odorizzi, if they hope to keep pace with the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West.

Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier are two of the top young arms in the league, though they are not battle tested nor have they proven they can pitch deep into games. In two starts apiece this year they are averaging five and four innings a turn, respectively. Lance McCullers is a 60-game shortened season past Tommy John surgery and although he is not on a conservative pitch count, the Astros are going to take care of the arm they just invested $85M in.

The team knows what they are going to get from Greinke, which leaves Odorizzi as the wild card. He has the potential, as shown by his 15-win, All-Star campaign in 2019. He also has struggled, as seen by the 30 home runs he surrounded in 2017 (he allowed three total on Tuesday night).

We are early in the season, and this is just the first start for a guy still trying to get stretched out after a brief training camp. However, if the Houston Astros want to be taken seriously this year, Jake Odorizzi needs to find his groove very quickly.