Injured Houston Astros Ace Makes Important Strides In Recovery
The Houston Astros have faced pitching woes all season, but things are finally on the way up.
Luis Garcia went down with a right elbow injury last May and he underwent Tommy John surgery. He hasn't played since, but is finally showing signs of improvment on his road to recovery.
Brian McTaggart shared a video of Garcia throwing off the mound before the game on Tuesday. He wasn't facing any batters, but this is still an important next step. He'll need a few rehab starts, so that's where the attention will turn to next.
The 27-year-old's return was already highly anticipated, but the Astros' starting rotation having so many issues early on is making it even more of a necessity. The only consistent arm in the rotation this season has been Ronel Blanco and he's currently serving a suspension.
The Houston starting rotation is currently ranked 26th in ERA which is bad, but they're 29th in both WHIP and FIP. They're dead last in FIP for May, so it's not just the early season struggles.
Garcia isn't someone expected to compete for Cy Youngs, but he has been a consistent performer to start his career. Through four seasons, his numbers are 3.61 ERA, 3.79 FIP and 1.13 WHIP.
Given that he hasn't played a full season since 2022, it won't be easy to predict what level he will be at, but getting back to where he was before the injury is all that this staff needs right now.
Justin Verlander, Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez are all returning back to form from injuries and the inconsistency hasn't been ideal. The Astros have been able to fight back into the playoff picture without their aces performing at a high level.
Houston might have avoided their season being ended due to early health issues. Getting back to .500 is now realistic and their team is getting healthier than ever.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders