Astros Not Trading Star Pitcher Proving To Be Right Move This Season

The Houston Astros have been excellent through the first half of the season, with the team leading in the American League West.

Coming into the year, the Astros were a hard team to figure out. The franchise made some bold roster decisions that at the time looked like it could have crippled the organization. However, the team continues to look like a contender in the AL despite that.

Losing both Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman has certainly hurt the lineup, but Houston keeps finding ways to win.

With the bullpen doing extremely well, the Astros have been able to lean on that unit heavily. Furthermore, they also have one of the best duos in baseball at the top of the rotation.

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The hope going forward is that the batting order will improve with some of the veterans that are currently either hurt or struggling breaking out of their slumps. However, even if that doesn’t happen, the team might be good enough to still win the AL West.

Which Player Has Helped Lead the Team?

Jesse Rogers of ESPN recently wrote about the Astros being led by their talented left-hander Framber Valdez once again this season.

“The one constant in a season of change for the first-place Astros is lefty Framber Valdez. If his latest outing -- a seven-inning shutout performance versus Philadelphia -- wasn't his signature moment, that's only because he has had a few of them.”

During the chaotic winter for Houston, it appeared after Kyle Tucker was dealt with one year left on his deal, that Valdez could have been an option to move as well.

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At the time, the Astros had a fair amount of rotation depth, and moving the talented southpaw would have likely resulted in quite the haul.

Fortunately, it’s been the right decision to hold on to Valdez, with the southpaw putting together a very strong first half of the campaign. So far, he has totaled an 8-4 record and a 2.88 ERA in 16 starts.

The left-hander has been extremely consistent and a leader at the top of the rotation for years now for the Astros. Even though Hunter Brown has been bursting on the scene, Valdez is challenging him to remain the ace of the staff.

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With some potential hesitancy to spend on players long-term, Valdez’s future with the team remains uncertain past this year, but he has made a massive impact so far.

While the future is unknown, the southpaw is a major reason why the Astros are once again one of the best teams in the AL.  

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