Best of Houston® 2019: Best Astro

Houston Press January 21, 2019 4:00AM

Photo by Jack Gorman

Justin Verlander wound up second in the American League Cy Young race, but he's number one for the Astros.

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Best Astro: Justin Verlander

In all of the injury and offensive struggles for a remarkably good 103-win Astros team, there was always a single constant in ace Justin Verlander. He led the American League in strikeouts and quality starts, and was second in innings pitched. He was also tops in the AL in strikeouts-to-walks at 7.84 and averaged more than 12 strikeouts per nine innings. He had a 2.52 ERA and, more importantly, was the guy the Astros relied on to perform at a high level all season long. As a result, he wound up finishing second in the AL Cy Young balloting. Yet, he only won 16 games thanks to stunningly bad run support all season long. He remains one of the best and most dominant pitchers in all of baseball and even playing only once every five days was the clear MVP for the Astros and we literally love him.

Minute Maid Park
501 Crawford, Houston
mlb.com/astros/ballpark
mlb.com/astros
mlb.com/player/justin-verlander-434378

Readers' Choice: José Altuve
mlb.com/player/jose-altuve-514888