30 + 30 = October
Normally 2 Astros having too much in common spells disaster (JB2). But it might work out differently with these 2:
| Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|
| 30 years old | 30 years old |
| Spent final season in minors as SP | Spent final 4 seasons in minors as SP |
| Debuted in MLB as RP | Debuted in MLB as RP |
| 4.5 ERA last season as RP/SP | 4.4 ERA this season as RP |
| Current WAR (1.9) is 2.5x next 2 SPs combined | Current WAR (0.2) is 1/3 of top 2 RPs on team |
| Threw a no-hitter as SP this season | ??? |
Player 1, of course, is Ronel Blanco. Player 2 is Josh Hader.
Imagine we never traded Hader away in the Gomez/Fiers deal and he's currently in our farm system. He'd still be a SP down there, as he was for every other year (except his first). Given his MLB track record (lowest expected batting average and highest K/9 innings since 1901, min 1000 innings, as of January), I'd wager he'd be the top prospect in the minors too. Now with our current SP void , it's time for the Big Show.
Would we call him up as an RP? Hell no. We'd let him loose like Pittsburgh has done with Paul Skenes.
The current situation is not that much different and we've had recent success with transitioning 30 year old RPs into SPs. Josh throws harder than Ronel so it'd be worth monitoring from a wear & tear perspective, but Skenes throws hard too as do plenty of other SPs.
In his current role, if we lost Hader for the rest of the year, our season would NOT be over.
If this imagined role of Hader the SP hit its ceiling, we'll still be posting check-in pics in October.
And if Blanco hadn't thrown that no-hitter, this would all sound a lot crazier. But, HE DID, and he's held his own ever since. The only certainty is that we can add this to the list of things the Astros should, but will never, try.
submitted by /u/treufacts
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