Bad asses, bargains and busts (pitchers)
The Astros are getting serious bang for their bucks out of the pitching staff
Don’t take what I’m about to write too seriously.
It’s not meant to be a rigorous examination of team construction and salary implications, but rather a semi-lighthearted look at what the Astros are getting for what they paying.
First some caveats.
If there was no salary for a player in spotrac.com I applied the MLB minimum.
I used the Payroll Salary.
It’s not a perfect system, especially for players with a WAR below 1 or negative.
The WAR is from 2022, but the salaries are for 2023.
Despite the attempt at alliteration in the title, I’m going to break these down a little differently.
The Bargains
The fact that there are 6 pitchers on the “Bargain” list speaks volumes, though Javier’s payroll salary and expectations will skyrocket in coming seasons.
Garcia is the biggest value of this group, giving the Astros 150+ innings in each of the last two seasons and costing them what Mauricio Dubon makes in one season.
Need More
Stanek had a phenomenal season in 2022, though the peripherals weren’t as kind, but it’s tough to get much better in the role he played.
With Verlander in New York and McCullers, Jr. out, we should expect more than 1.1 WAR from Urquidy in 2023.
The Backend
It’s always fun when you have one perception, do research and learn something in the process and this is that for me.
My lesson from this exercise? The salaries are reflective of their leverage usage, but WAR sure doesn’t seem to value closers.
The Injured
We’ve touched on McCullers, Jr. injury situation previously, so we won’t belabor it here, but the Astros need more than 0.8 WAR out of him this season.
The Astros are on the hook for ~$73,000,000 through 2026, so there’s no wonder they’re in no rush with McCullers, Jr.