Astros on verge of receiving major pitching boost

The Houston Astros’ biggest problem amid their brutal start to the 2024 season is pitching. But, it appears they will be getting some much-needed help shortly.

Right-hander Jose Urquidy, who hasn’t pitched yet this season in the big leagues due to injury, isn’t far off a return, via MLB.com. The Mexican just made another rehab start over the weekend, allowing five runs in four innings for Double-A Corpus Christi. Astros manager said Urquidy will pitch one more in the minors before joining the team.

With that timeline, we can probably expect him back in Houston before the end of the month rolls around. Urquidy has always been a rather consistent arm for this ball club and they could certainly use that at the moment.

Astros’ staff is struggling

Houston is in third place in the American League West with a 21-26 record and have struggled to find any consistency across the board. On the mound, they rank 26th in the MLB in ERA at 4.54. The starters own a 4.96 ERA. The relievers sit at 3.97. It’s clear where the problem is, with everyone outside of Ronel Blanco and Framber Valdez failing to live up to expectations. Cristian Javier has looked respectable, though.

Even Justin Verlander isn’t pitching well enough to his standards. He’s 2-2 in six starts with a 3.97 ERA, allowing six home runs. Verlander expects more out of himself and this ball club in general.

When it comes to Urquidy, he suffered a forearm injury in spring training and has been rehabbing up until these last couple of stints in the minors. The Astros obviously want to be cautious with him so he stays healthy in the long run. Missing time due to injury isn’t anything new for Urquidy, either.

In 2023, he was on the IL for three months due to shoulder pain in his throwing arm. He finished the year with a 3-3 record and a 5.29 ERA. The Astros are also dealing with some other notable pitching absences, with Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr recovering from injuries.

Since debuting with Houston, Urquidy has proven to be reliable. 23′ was his worst season by a mile but it wasn’t long. Before that, he had an ERA below 4.00 in all four seasons, pounding the strike zone and pitching to contact.

Houston turning things around

Things were going much worse for the Astros only a few weeks ago. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 games now, having just swept the Oakland Athletics while taking three out of four from the Milwaukee Brewers.

There’s no question this team has the talent to be a contender again, it’s simply a matter of putting it all together and staying healthy. Chas McCormick is also finishing up a a rehab assignment and should be with the Astros again soon.

This week is another couple of AL West showdowns with the Los Angeles Angels and the A’s. Hopefully, the Astros can keep it rolling and soon enough, they’ll have Urquidy back in the rotation doing his part, too. Houston only sits four games out of first place.