Houston Astros manager outlines clear plan for six-man rotation

The Houston Astros’ starting rotation is an ever-changing story this season, with another wrinkle added today.

Manager Joe Espada announced that Cristian Javier will start Thursday in the series finale against the Oakland Athletics, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Hunter Brown will still make a start this weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, meaning Houston is now in a six-man rotation.

There is a silver lining to this, in that the Astros finally have enough healthy pitchers that a six-man rotation is possible. However, since most of them are struggling, emotions are a bit mixed.

The starting rotation will now include: Javier, Brown, Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Spencer Arrighetti and Ronel Blanco. Expansion to six is ​​a necessity given that Houston is about to play 29 games in 30 days.

Javier returned to the rotation on Saturday and was shaken up by the Detroit Tigers. He was removed after just 1.1 innings of work, allowing seven runs on five hits and four walks. It’s highly unlikely that the talented pitcher will perform this poorly again, but it was the unfortunate result of a much-anticipated return.

Arrighetti and Brown are the clear outliers in this rotation, however, as both post ERAs of at least 7.79 and FIPs north of 5.00.

Brown, however, is coming off his best performance in relief of Javier in Saturday’s game. The 25-year-old worked five innings and allowed just one run while striking out seven.

Starter Jose Urquidy is currently on a rehab assignment in AAA as he prepares for his 2024 MLB debut. In his only appearance in the minors, he allowed three runs in 2.2 innings of work.

When he returns to the rotation, the 29-year-old should take Arrighetti’s place and let the rookie go back down to the minors for a little more work.