The Houston Astros‘ 2025 season didn’t finish as expected, though they still finished 87-75 despite a ton of injuries. One thing that helped them continue to compete was their pitching. Looking ahead to 2026, there’s reasons to be optimistic about the Astros’ pitchers:
First off, just take a look at how they performed in 2025. The Astros pitching staff as a whole finished with a 3.86 ERA, which was good for 11th best in all of baseball. They also finished second in strikeouts behind only the Dodgers (1505 K to 1504 K). The Astros staff has the second lowest expected ERA and the second lowest expected FIP. This means their underlying numbers were actually better than the product on the field.
Hunter Brown – Brown had a truly breakout 2025 season. He finished with a 2.43 ERA and 206 strikeouts over 185.1 innings finishing third in the AL Cy Young voting. He established himself as a front line start. The only pitcher in the American League with a lower ERA than Brown over the last two years is Skubal, who has won back to back Cy Young awards. At this point, there doesn’t appear to be any reason why Brown won’t continue to dominate and be the Ace of the rotation.
Tatsuya Imai – The Astros made their first big splash from Japan, signing Imai to a contract this winter. The 27-year-old has been great in Japan with his best season coming in 2025 when he posted a 1.92 ERA with 178 K in 163.2 innings. While not a direct translation to MLB, that level of success is noteworthy. His pitch profile is like Luis Castillo, his style is like Max Scherzer and his off-speed repertoire has been compared to Paul Skenes. Imai has all the makings to make an immediate impact in the Astros rotation in 2026.
Mike Burrows – This off-season the Astros acquired a big league pitcher from Pittsburgh. The last time they did that it worked out pretty well. While Burrows doesn’t have the pedigree of Cole, he had a really good 2025 season posting a 3.94 ERA with 97 K in 96 innings over 23 games, 19 starts. Getting him into the Astros system and with the coaches could be huge. Burrows has the raw stuff with his fastball reaching 97 MPH and a ridiculous changeup that held opponents to just a .147 BAA in 2025. He could be a really good contributor in the rotation.
Cristian Javier – Javier was one of the league’s most dominant pitchers in his first few seasons, highlighted by a 2.54 ERA in 2022. Injuries slowed him down, but he made a return in 2025, striking out 34 batters over 37 innings. While it’s difficult to expect him to reach his 2022 peak, staying healthy and posting numbers near his career 3.66 ERA would make him a perfect fit as a #3 or #4 starter in 2026.
Lance McCullers – It’s hard to know what to make of McCullers at this point. It seems he wants to be a starter and the Astros will try him there. He struggled in 2025 posting a 6.51 ERA, though it was his first time pitching in a big league game since 2022. Maybe he improves, maybe he doesn’t. But we have seen the upside with McCullers and at this point, any progress from him would help the team.
Spencer Arrighetti – After finishing his rookie season in 2024 strong, posting a 3.08 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 76 innings over his final 14 games, Spencer Arrighetti looked ready to break out in 2025. Unfortunately, a freak injury early in the year, followed by elbow inflammation later on, derailed his season. He’s healthy now and poised to reclaim his status as a top pitching prospect. At the major league level, Arrighetti has already shown he can rack up strikeouts and be a significant contributor.
Other Rotations Options:
A.J. Blubaugh – Blubaugh, selected in the 7th round of the 2022 draft from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, quickly caught the Astros’ attention. Blubaugh features a mid to high 90s fastball, complemented by a sweeper and a reliable changeup. After some really strong numbers in Triple-A, he made his big league debut in 2025 and was great posting a 1.69 ERA with 35 K in 32 innings. He should be on the major league roster this year.
Ryan Weiss – Another under-the-radar move by the Astros was signing right-hander Ryan Weiss, who spent several years pitching in Japan. The 29-year-old reached Triple-A before heading overseas, where he reinvented himself. In 2025, he posted a 2.87 ERA with 207 strikeouts against just 56 walks over 178.2 innings. At a minimum, the signing adds a reliable innings eater, but Weiss could end up being a true diamond in the rough for Houston.
While the starting pitching was solid in 2025 and the Astros have added some new names, the bullpen was really strong too. The Astros bullpen had the fewest blown saves in 2025 with only 15 of them. The bullpen had the 8th best ERA in baseball and the third most strikeouts.
Josh Hader – The Astros spent big money on Josh Hader to come in and be a lockdown closer. While his 2024 season wasn’t his best, he was absolutely dominant in 2025. The left-hander posted a 2.05 ERA with 16 walks to 76 strikeouts in 52.2 innings. He did miss a little time but when he was on the mound, he was one of the best closers in the game.
Bryan Abreu – Abreu was once a top pitching prospect but the conversion to relief pitcher has been phenomenal. In 2025, Abreu posted a 2.28 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 71 innings, proving to be one of the best non-closer arms in baseball. No reason to think he won’t repeat as a dominant arm in the bullpen.
Bryan King – King was picked up off waivers in December of 2022. He missed all of the 2023 season but was phenomenal in 2024 and then had another big season in 2025 when he had a 2.78 ERA over 68 innings. He also had an insane 11 walks to 69 strikeouts proving to be a reliable arm.
The Astros are also returning some arms that performed really well in 2025 like Steven Okert (3.01 ERA) and Bennett Sousa (2.84 ERA). Enyel De Los Santos had some intriguing numbers too.
Outside of the arms listed for the rotation above, the Astros have some solid prospects that might be ready for a call-up in 2026.
Potential Prospects for Rotation:
Miguel Ullola – Ullola is a young right hander who features a strong fastball that sits mid-90s. While he has some command issues, he has overpowered the hitters in lower levels with the fastball/slider combination. The fastball and slider are his two best pitches, but he does throw a curveball as well. In 2025, he struck out 131 batters in 113.2 innings in Triple-A.
Ethan Pecko – Pecko was selected by the Astros in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. Pecko had a breakout 2024 season where he posted a 3.47 ERA across three levels. In total, Pecko tallied 125 strikeouts over 96 innings, earning the title of Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2024. He features a mid-90s fastball and complements it with a deep arsenal that includes a slider, cutter, curveball, and changeup. He finished the 2025 season in Triple-A where he had with a 3.09 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 35 innings. He should be in Houston in 2026.
Bryce Mayer – Mayer was selected by the Astros in the 16th round of the 2024 draft and has quickly emerged as one of the biggest steals of the class. Mayer features a mid-90s fastball that plays up thanks to above-average vertical movement, paired with a strong curveball and a quality slider. He finished the season with 112 strikeouts over 87.2 innings and was named Astros minor league pitcher of the year.
As highlighted, the Astros one of the best starting pitchers in the game (Brown) along with a few that have tremendous upside (Arrighetti, Imai, Burrows). The bullpen is equally strong, featuring elite arms like Hader and Abreu at the back end, with key contributors such as King, Okert and Sousa returning. On top of that, the team has a few close to MLB-ready talent waiting in the upper minors. With all these factors in play, there’s ample reason to be optimistic about the Astros’ pitching depth heading into the 2026 season.
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