Astros rotation preview: How Justin Verlander changes everything

The Houston Astros made a huge trade deadline deal to acquire their former ace, Justin Verlander. What will their rotation look like down the stretch?

Pre-trade deadline Astros pitching rotation

Framber Valdez, Christian Javier, Hunter Brown, Brandon Bielak, J.P France

Before the trade deadline, the Astros held a pretty respectable starting rotation. They have multiple guys in it that have postseason experience, all of which have been rather good this year. But the rotation had taken a step back during the month of July. According to Codify Baseball, the Astros had a 4.65 ERA for the month of July.

Hunter Brown held nearly a 6 ERA for the month, allowing 16 runs in 24.1 innings. Cristian Javier struggled more than anybody else though, but he appeared to have figured it out as the month went on. On July 3rd, he allowed 8 earned runs to the rival Texas Rangers, but he allowed just 8 earned runs across his next three starts to finish the month.

The upgrade to the rotation was obvious to make, as their rotation has been good, but not sustainable. They’re already down three starters from the beginning of the year (Lance McCullers, Jose Garcia, Jose Urquidy) which leaves three of their starters taking on roles much bigger than they expected. Urquidy is the only one of these three that could return this year, which would leave the Astros with a rotation that produces but isn’t completely tested yet. Houston added Justin Verlander to fix this very problem.