Miley fits in a crucial role
Luhnow, Hinch hope lefty keeps ’18 momentum
Dressed in blue jeans and donning a cap to cover his scruffy head of hair, Wade Miley accepted a No. 20 jersey and the expectation to stabilize the back of a rotation. He buttoned the uniform and fielded the first few inquiries of his Astros career.
First among them: what enticed the surging 32-yearold journeyman to Houston?
“Will Harris,” the lefthander quipped while a smile grew across his face.
The two pitchers are Louisiana natives, former roommates and — once again — teammates. Both spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, an organization that spent one of its two first-round selections on Miley during the 2008 draft.
A.J. Hinch toiled inside the Diamondbacks’ front office during the draft and much of Miley’s minor league career. He was promoted from farm director to manager in 2009 and
was fired before Miley made his major league debut in 2011.
“His personality is the same, he’s pretty easy to know and pretty easy to like,” Hinch said Friday, now finally with a chance to manage the reinvented southpaw. “(He’s) an evolving pitcher from sort of a young kid trying to find his way to, now, a veteran who understands the art of pitching a little bit better. The competitor has been the same, the approach, the simpleness to how he approaches, that stuff has been there from the very beginning.”
Miley will immediately enter the rotation, Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow confirmed during an introductory news conference. The southpaw slots behind aces Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole and alongside Collin McHugh.
Miley arrives in Houston after a rejuvenation. Two seasons ago, Miley ranked among the sport’s worst starting pitchers. Between his final 11 starts of 2016 and 32 starts in 2017, Miley walked 108 hitters. His 5.61 ERA was the second highest of any major league starter who threw at least 150 innings during the 2017 season, one where Miley led the major leagues with 93 walks.
Brewers offer a chance
A minor league contract from the Milwaukee Brewers last offseason afforded a final chance to resuscitate his career. He employed a new cut fastball against which opponents mustered a .561 OPS. Two injuries truncated his first-half progress.
When he returned to full health in July, Miley emerged as the most reliable starter for a club that won its division. In 14⅔ playoff innings, he compiled a 1.23 ERA. Miley’s 7.9 hits per nine innings and .636 OPS against were each career lows. Not since 2012, when Miley attained All-Star status and finished runner-up to Bryce Harper in Rookie of the Year voting, had the lefthander found such sustained success.
“Kudos to Milwaukee for working with him to do that,” Luhnow said. “At this point, if he just does what he did with Milwaukee last year, we will be thrilled. He fits right in with our guys, he gets ground balls, doesn’t give up home runs and is able to get guys out. If he does that, with our lineup and our bullpen, he’s going to have a lot of success here.”
Luhnow revealed the Astros had been “behind the scenes pursuing” Miley for years prior. The general manager was not coy about Miley’s role or what the organization envisions for the latest of its starting pitching reclamation projects.
“We’re not looking to change him or fix him or anything like that, we’re just looking to utilize what he brings to the table,” Luhnow said. “He’s got a chance to win 15-plus games in this rotation.”
Creates competition
Miley affords the luxury of stability, one that prior to his signing was not present behind Verlander, Cole and McHugh. Relying on the organization’s fertile farm system, however touted it might be, to fill two spots in the major league rotation of a playoff-contending team carries uncertainty.
Now, the prospects who populate such pitching depth are in competition for one spot. Hinch called it a “good thing” while remembering the emergence of Framber Valdez and Josh James last season. Neither was mentioned in the preseason and ended up as September contributors. Perhaps one of those two seizes the spot. Brady Rodgers, Brad Peacock and Cionel Perez are other 40-man options.
“We’re going to need nine, 10 or 11 of them to get through a full season,” Hinch said, turning toward Miley. “We’re really good at the top and now we have some stability and a guy coming off a sensational season.”
Added Miley: “I got a little taste of it last year and then obviously this is a championship team, championship-caliber ballclub, great group of guys and hopefully we can get back and repeat what we did in 2017.”