The Top Houston Astros Pitchers in Team History

While this site focuses on catchers, we also take detours from time to time to talk about other positions on the diamond.

And there's no position more critical to catchers than pitchers.  

In this article, we take a deep dive into the best pitchers for the Houston Astros across their franchise history. Our research starts back in 1962, Houston's first season in the major leagues.

A Note About Wins Above Replacement (WAR)

WAR is an important baseball metric that’s used to measure the overall value that a player provides to his team. 

While many other statistics emphasize a particular aspect of a player’s performance, WAR is comprehensive in that it attempts to reflect the total (e.g., both defensive and offensive) contribution from an individual player. 

For this reason, we believe WAR is the best, single statistic for comparing players to one another. 

In this article, we rank all Houston Astros pitchers based on a player’s highest single-season WAR and highest career WAR using the Fangraphs WAR model (also referred to as fWAR).

Keep scrolling to learn more about these top pitchers…

Top 3 Astros Pitchers by Career WAR

Please note: The player must have at least 50 games pitched as a member of the Astros to be eligible for the career WAR list.

#1. Roger Clemens, 133.7 career WAR

Roger Clemens spent three of his 24 years in the big leagues with the Houston Astros.

The Rocket had a 364 - 184 record with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts during his career. 

He was a part of two World Series winning teams with the Yankees, he won the 1986 AL MVP award, he won a record seven Cy Young awards, and was an 11 time all star (among many other accolades). 

#2. Nolan Ryan, 106.7 career WAR

Texas native and legendary fireballer Nolan Ryan spent nine seasons with the Astros during a career that spanned four decades in the MLB.

Ryan had a 324 - 292 record, a 3.19 ERA and a major league record 5,714 strikeouts. He also has the record for the most no hitters with 7. 

His strike out and no hit records are two that may never be broken. 

Ryan was an eight time all star, he was a member of the 1969 World Series champion "Miracle Mets", and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999.

#3. Curt Schilling, 79.8 career WAR

Towards the beginning of his career, a 24 year old Curt Schilling pitched 56 games for the 1991 Houston Astros before being dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Schilling shined in the second half of his 20 year pro career, collecting a total of 216 wins, 3,116 strikeouts and finishing with a 3.46 ERA.

A six time all star, Schilling really stood out with his postseason pitching. He won three World Series titles (2001 Diamondbacks, 2004 and 2007 Red Sox) and claimed the 1993 NLCS MVP and the 2001 World Series MVP award (shared with Randy Johnson).

Honorable Mentions

• Justin Verlander, 78.1 career WAR

• Andy Pettitte, 68.2 career WAR

• Zack Greinke, 65.5 career WAR

• Roy Oswalt, 52.6 career WAR

 

Top 3 Seasons by Astros Pitchers, Ranked by WAR

Please note: The player must have at least 20 games pitched in one season with the Astros to be eligible for this single-season WAR list.

#1. 1979 - J.R. Richard (8.9 WAR)

The best season that an Astros pitcher had based on WAR was J.R. Richard's 1979 campaign.

In 1979, Richard dominated on the mound. He won the NL ERA title (2.71), won 18 games and collected an MLB leading 313 strikeouts.

He finished third in Cy Young voting that season behind the Chicago Cubs' Bruce Sutter and fellow Astros pitcher Joe Niekro.

Richard shined in the second half of the season which explains why he didn't make the all star team that year. He was the NL's Pitcher of the Month in September of '79. 

#2. 1986 - Mike Scott (8.6 WAR)

In 1986, Mike Scott had the best season of his career - and the second best season by a pitcher in Astros history.

Scott led the majors that year with a 2.22 ERA and 306 strikeouts on his way to winning the NL Cy Young award.

He also won 18 games and made the all star team that season, helping lead Houston to the NLCS against the eventual World Series champion New York Mets. 

#3. 2019 - Gerrit Cole (7.5 WAR)

Gerrit Cole went 20 - 5 in 2019 with an AL leading 2.50 ERA and an MLB best 326 strikeouts.

He was named to the all star team, finished second for AL Cy Young and tenth for MVP that year.

During the 2019 World Series against the Washington Nationals, Cole won one game and and struck out 15 batters in 14 innings pitched.

List of All Astros Pitchers With a 4.0+ WAR Season

If a pitcher has a season with a WAR that’s 4.0 or better, it usually means they had a productive year. 

A wide variety of Astros pitchers have reached or surpassed this number since 1962, when the team first started playing in the MLB. 

See the list below which showcases every Houston Astros pitcher to have a season with a 4.0 or better WAR.

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Astros Pitchers over the Last 5 Years

Please note: the list of pitchers shown below is ordered based on the number of games pitched per season for the Astros. Pitchers who appeared in the most games per season start at the top. 

2018 Astros

• Héctor Rondón
• Will Harris
• Brad Peacock
• Collin McHugh
• Joe Smith
• Tony Sipp
• Chris Devenski
• Ken Giles
• Dallas Keuchel
• Justin Verlander
• Gerrit Cole
• Charlie Morton
• Ryan Pressly
• Lance McCullers Jr.
• Roberto Osuna
• Cionel Pérez
• Framber Valdez
• Josh James
• Dean Deetz
• Reymin Guduan
• J.D. Davis
• James Hoyt

 

2019 Astros

• Will Harris
• Roberto Osuna
• Héctor Rondón
• Chris Devenski
• Ryan Pressly
• Josh James
• Collin McHugh
• Justin Verlander
• Gerrit Cole
• Wade Miley
• Joe Smith
• Framber Valdez
• Brad Peacock
• Joe Biagini
• Zack Greinke
• José Urquidy
• Cy Sneed
• Bryan Abreu
• Reymin Guduan
• Rogelio Armenteros
• Corbin Martin
• Cionel Pérez
• Aaron Sanchez
• Tyler White
• Brady Rodgers
• Max Stassi

 

2020 Astros

• Ryan Pressly
• Enoli Paredes
• Blake Taylor
• Andre Scrubb
• Cy Sneed
• Brooks Raley
• Josh James
• Brandon Bielak
• Zack Greinke
• Cristian Javier
• Lance McCullers Jr.
• Framber Valdez
• Humberto Castellanos
• Cionel Pérez
• Brandon Bailey
• Luis Garcia
• Nivaldo Rodriguez
• José Urquidy
• Bryan Abreu
• Joe Biagini
• Chris Devenski
• Roberto Osuna
• Chase De Jong
• Brad Peacock
• Carlos Sanabria
• Justin Verlander

 

2021 Astros 

• Ryne Stanek
• Ryan Pressly
• Brooks Raley
• Blake Taylor
• Cristian Javier
• Bryan Abreu
• Luis Garcia
• Zack Greinke
• Brandon Bielak
• Lance McCullers Jr.
• Phil Maton
• Joe Smith
• Jake Odorizzi
• Yimi Garcia
• Kendall Graveman
• Framber Valdez
• José Urquidy
• Andre Scrubb
• Enoli Paredes
• Kent Emanuel
• Ralph Garza
• Peter Solomon
• Josh James
• Pedro Báez
• Rafael Montero
• Nivaldo Rodriguez
• Seth Martinez
• Austin Pruitt
• Robel García
• Ryan Hartman
• Tyler Ivey

 

2022 Astros 

• Rafael Montero
• Héctor Neris
• Phil Maton
• Ryne Stanek
• Bryan Abreu
• Ryan Pressly
• Framber Valdez
• Cristian Javier
• Seth Martinez
• José Urquidy
• Luis Garcia
• Justin Verlander
• Will Smith
• Blake Taylor
• Jake Odorizzi
• Lance McCullers Jr.
• Ronel Blanco
• Hunter Brown
• Parker Mushinski
• Brandon Bielak
• Pedro Báez
• Enoli Paredes

 

That’s a Wrap!

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Thanks for stopping by Catchers Home.

 

Sources for this Article

• Baseball Almanac

• Baseball Reference

• Fangraphs

• The Houston Chronicle