Look, we all knew coming into the 2023 season there would be a gaping hole in the starting rotation after letting future hall of famer Justin Verlander go to the Mets. And us Astros fans knew that Framber Valdez was going to take over the “ace” position of this rotation. Tuesday night’s game against the Angels just showed us that Framber Valdez may have just replaced Justin Verlander as the ace of the Astros.
With the Quality Start Tour that Framber had last season, we all knew he had the potential to be the best starting pitcher of this team going forward. We expected that to be the case in 2023, and he’s continued on his Quality Start Tour like nothing’s changed. Except, there has been a major change to this team, well actually, a few of them.
Justin Verlander was a guy that the Astros could depend on every five days to get six to seven innings of three runs or less on the mound. He was a horse, and arguably the best pitcher of his generation. That seems like some gargantuan shoes to fill, but Framber seems to be doing just fine in some big shoes.
Now, with Luis Garcia, José Urquidy, and Lance McCullers Jr. still on the shelf, Valdez is going to have to carry an even bigger load. The Astros pitching staff has been a bit worrisome as of late, and the offense hasn’t been the biggest help either for the most part. The team needed a stabilizing force to help settle themselves down, and begin to play the Houston Astros baseball that we all know and love.
Tuesday night was a masterful performance from the Framchise. 8 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 12 SO. Yes, 12 strikeouts from the known ground ball pitcher, Framber Valdez. He’s averaging over six innings a start through eight games this season, and is up to 57 strikeouts. He hasn’t just stepped into the role of an Ace, he’s taken full control of it.
Framber had only thrown 99 pitches through eight innings Tuesday against a lineup that has Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in it, and arguably could have gone out there for the ninth for a complete game. The drip god is the Houston Astros Ace and there’s no question about it.
Framber Valdez may have just replaced Justin Verlander as the Ace of the Houston Astros.
Russ
May 10, 2023 at 11:52 am
“May Have Just???” Despite Justin’s CY, Framber was a better pitcher when you incorporate season including post season.