Houston Astros Relief Pitcher Has Single-Most Devastating Pitch in Major Leagues

The Houston Astros have done a wonderful job in recent years taking on pitchers and helping them take their performance to another level.

It is what one of their offseason additions, Hayden Wesneski, is looking forward to the most. He is hoping they can coax something out his arsenal to help improve his production as they have done with so many other starting pitchers.

Justin Verlander was already an established star before they acquired him from the Detroit Tigers in 2017. But a slight adjustment to his pitch selection and approach and made him virtually unhittable.

Charlie Morton experienced mixed results in the first nine seasons of his career but tweaked things with the Astros. He made the All-Star team twice and at 41 years old is still chugging along as a productive starter.

Last year, ahead of the trade deadline, Houston acquired Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. He had the raw talent and stuff other pitchers would kill for, but wasn’t using his arsenal optimally.

The Astros fixed that and he produced like a frontend starter for his 10 starts with the team. Kikuchi performed so well that he landed a three-year deal from the Los Angeles Angels in free agency worth just under $64 million.

The work the organization does with starting pitchers is remarkable, but they have proven capable of doing the same work with relief pitchers.

A prime example is Tayler Scott, a journeyman who has turned into a legitimate weapon for manager Joe Espada to use out of the bullpen.

After making his MLB debut in 2019, he spent two years overseas pitching in Japan. He returned stateside with the San Diego Padres in 2022 but struggled in 12 innings with a 6.75 ERA.

Things improved slightly in 2023, as he had a 5.60 ERA between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics.

Something began to click with the Athletics, as he had a 3.38 ERA in eight appearances.

Houston saw enough to sign him to a contract in December 2023 and the rest is history.

In 2024, Scott became one of the most unhittable relief pitchers in baseball, making 62 appearances and recording a 1.7 WAR.

Across 68.2 innings he had a 2.23 ERA with 71 strikeouts. He had an elite 178 ERA+ and was able to limit hard contact with regularity.

How did he do it?

Scott relied on a fastball that was the toughest pitch for right-handed hitters to handle in the game. Righties swung at his four-seam fastball 133 times in 2024 and managed only five singles and two doubles, as shared by Codify on X.

That single pitch has helped turn his career around. The veteran is now a key part of the Astros bullpen heading into the 2025 campaign since their coaching staff has done it yet again with another hurler.

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