It wasn’t long ago that I felt somewhat decent about the Astros’ pitching depth in the rotation. Then Spencer Arrighetti broke his thumb. Undeterred, though, I still felt alright about their overall situation. Well, until Hayden Wesneski’s elbow started barking. At least there is Lance McCullers Jr., who finally made his long-awaited return. Ryan Gusto also has shown some potential.
Then I watched the games on Saturday and Monday.
To be clear, it is much too early to write off McCullers after a two-year absence. Gusto has only 30 innings in his major league career. But if it weren’t for Ronel Blanco’s eight-inning masterpiece on Sunday, this pitching staff would already be in a world of hurt at the moment during this 17 games in 17 days stretch. Instead, they are on the precipice of it, but not in full-fledged disaster response mode.
Cue Colton Gordon, another Houston pitching prospect scheduled to make his Major League debut on Wednesday against the Royals.
Colton Gordon will start tomorrow and make his major-league debut, Joe Espada said. https://t.co/1rnSbSYpii
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 13, 2025
How will Gordon fare in his debut? I have no idea, but it’ll be interesting to watch. He is a left-hander with below-average velocity on his four-seam (tops out around 94 to 95 mph) with a slider, curveball, and changeup. His fastball, though, has the type of mechanics that allows it to play better than expected, especially with an approach angle flatter than average. The Astros love this kind of pitcher. But his slider, arguably his best pitch, is the one to watch.
The Astros will cycle through some arms during this continuous stretch of games. The bullpen, in particular, is expected to experience more roster turnover than usual. The rest of the rotation, outside of Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Blanco, is a bit more uncertain. Gusto likely gets another start. Gordon’s performance in his first start may determine if he gets another one. Barring another complete implosion, McCullers isn’t going anywhere for a while. A.J. Blubaugh might receive another opportunity if the stars align.
But, frankly, there is little room for error with this pitching staff. I still think Valdez and Brown atop a rotation isn’t something to forget entirely, and it would sure be nice for Blanco to recapture more of his early 2024 form. Anything from McCullers is extra gravy. If the Astros want to navigate their way through May relatively intact, though, then they will need more contributions from unlikely sources.