Verlander offers painful reminder
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Seeing Justin Verlander again only reinforced what the Astros still lack in his absence.
He looked lethal through 31⁄3 innings Friday afternoon at Clover Park, carving up Houston's skeleton crew. Verlander struck out five, scattered three hits and survived some loud contact to the warning track.
“He looks really good,” said third baseman Alex Bregman, one of three everyday players who started in Houston's 7-2 loss to the Mets. “All his stuff looked sharp, just like it normally does. All three pitches were really good today. It's always fun facing a legend like him.”
The Astros did not need to lure another after he signed with the Mets in free agency. Atop the rotation, the Astros are more than equipped to absorb Verlander's absence.
Framber Valdez is a bona fide Cy Young contender, and Cristian Javier is a dark horse candidate. Staying out of the elite starting pitching market this winter seemed logical. Ignoring the position altogether may have been a mistake.
Houston's starting pitching depth on its 40man roster is inexperienced and, after three weeks of spring training, inspiring no confidence.
Three of the four options have never thrown a major league pitch. J.P. France hasn't yet appeared in a Grapefruit League game and is behind schedule with an undisclosed injury. Alamo Heights product Forrest Whitley and Brandon Bielak have shown flashes of promise while also encountering pitfalls.
On Friday, few expected Shawn Dubin to match Verlander frame for frame, but the slender 27-year-old righthander did nothing to calm concerns about his club's depth. A Mets lineup with three everyday players scored five earned runs against him on six hits.
Dubin did fall victim to some bad luck on a day in which he yielded just an 85.4 mph average exit velocity. Tommy Pham's run-scoring double during the second exited his bat at 69.8 mph and rolled past first baseman José Abreu, whom Houston shaded to pull off the line.
Still, Dubin has thrown six Grapefruit League innings and surrendered 12 hits. Some opposing scouts wonder if he's better suited as a reliever.
“It's been up and down,” manager Dusty Baker said of Dubin's spring. “He'll make some quality pitches and then he'll make some mistakes. That's part of maturing into a big leaguer.”
Baker may as well use the same explanation for each of Houston's other three depth starters. His bosses must decide if that's enough for a World Series contender.
Earlier this spring, the skipper said adding a veteran starting pitcher “was always a consideration for me” during the offseason. Houston did not have a general manager for most of it, which Baker believed complicated matters.
Asked about that again Friday, Baker replied, “That's not my department.”
“It doesn't matter what I think,” Baker said. “I have power, but no authority.”
New general manager Dana Brown does — and it's worth wondering if exploring an external addition could benefit a position bereft of depth.
The team is stretching out reliever Ronel Blanco at Brown's behest, but finding some form of innings-eating insurance policy may be prudent. Mike Minor, Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy and Michael Pineda are among the established major league starters still seeking work.
Lance Mccullers Jr.'s muscle strain has stretched the Astros' starting pitching depth. Mccullers, who already ruled himself out for opening day, is still not throwing a baseball. A return at any point in April is starting to feel far-fetched.
If and when he does rejoin the rotation, relying on him for durability would be difficult given his past.
Without Mccullers, Houston has four established starters: Valdez, Javier, Luis Garcia and José Urquidy. Top prospect Hunter Brown should open the season in the rotation, but his control problems across two Grapefruit League starts have reignited longstanding questions of whether he will throw enough strikes to stick as a starter.
As for Verlander, he sounded bittersweet about the changes his old club is going through.
“I guess I've been around long enough to know that's just natural and the way things go,” he said. “Guys kind of move on.”
Whether the Astros have done enough to replace them is a legitimate question.