Astros Acquire Justin Verlander: Fantasy impact

The Astros acquired veteran pitcher Justin Verlander to sure up the rotation for the end of the season and beyond. How does this affect fantasy baseball?

The Houston Astros have had a rough couple of weeks but they still have a big lead in the American League West. In order to maintain their chances at a World Series, the team traded for veteran pitcher Justin Verlander. The move to a better offense could help Verlander down the stretch.

Verlander had a great bounce-back season last year after making just 20 starts in 2015. If you look at his season numbers, it hasn’t been a great year. He has a 3.82 ERA, 1.279 WHIP, 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 with a 10-8 record.

However, the second half has been more favorable to Verlander. In his last nine starts, Verlander has a 2.32 ERA, 0.887 WHIP, 73 strikeouts, 10 walks and a 5-1 record. He has a .235 opponent batting average and 10 home runs allowed in 62.0 innings. Verlander has pitched eight quality starts in those games.

The Astros have dealt with significant injuries to their rotation. Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers were the big two with the latter currently on the DL. The team has had some good stretches out of Charlie Morton, Brad Peacock and Mike Fiers, but they couldn’t pass on the opportunity to acquire Verlander.

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Verlander has a career 2.38 ERA and 1.044 at the O.co Coliseum, the best of the five AL West ballparks. He doesn’t have an ERA lower than 3.65 in the other four parks for his career. With four or five starts left to the season, he could be a risk in critical situations.

Verlander does benefit with the park factors for the five stadiums. They aren’t the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the league. Globe Life Park ranks seventh in home runs, Minute Maid Park ranks 12th, O.co Coliseum 14th, Angels Stadium 17th and Safeco Field 21st.

Verlander will make his first start for the Astros on the road against the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 5. I have no qualms in starting him for this game. He will get more run support with Houston than with Detroit.Verlander’s been able to shut down some top offenses recently.

Verlander’s been able to shut down some top offenses recently. Lucky for Verlander, Seattle offense was poor in August. They scored just 114 runs (23rd) and .252 (19th) last month. He should be able to post another quality start in his next outing.

The Tigers rotation going forward, according to Roster Resource, is Michael Fulmer, Buck Farmer, Jordan Zimmermann, Matthew Boyd, Anibal Sanchez and Daniel Norris. Fulmer, Farmer and Boyd have some interesting value. The other three aren’t worth a roster spot, especially this late in the season.

Next: Angels Acquire Justin Upton

For those owners that have Verlander, I like the move. He has a chance at another four or five wins, something that was more unlikely if he was still with Detroit. The stadiums he will be pitching in favor him more than the hitters. He should be just as good in the final weeks.