New Houston Astros Pitcher Hopes His Career Will Reach the Next Level

The Houston Astros new pitcher is hoping he can be the next in a long line of successful starters.

Jun 26, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski (19) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Throughout the 2024 season, one of the strengths of the Houston Astros was their starting rotation.

Framber Valdez held things down as the ace and the team received excellent contributions from Ronel Blanco, who stepped into the rotation as a Justin Verlander injury replacement. Hunter Brown found his groove and Spencer Arrighetti was solid during his rookie campaign.

At the deadline, the team acquired Yusei Kikuchi, whose season did a complete 180-degree turn once he joined the Astros after struggling with the Toronto Blue Jays.

However, this offseason, the depth of their pitching staff was diminished.

Verlander is a free agent and doesn’t look like he will be back. Kikuchi signed early in free agency with the Los Angeles Angels. Jose Urquidy was non-tendered and the team is unsure of the recovery timelines of Lance McCullers Jr. and Cristian Javier.

That is what made Hayden Wesneski’s inclusion in the Kyle Tucker blockbuster trade an underrated aspect of the deal.

The versatile pitcher came to Houston, along with third baseman Isaac Paredes and prospect Cam Smith, from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for their star right fielder.

Wesneski has bounced back and forth between being used as a starter and reliever with the Cubs thus far in his career, but right now, the Astros are planning on using him as a starter, which is something he is very excited about.

Not only because he grew up outside of Houston and was a fan of the team growing up, but also because of the track record the franchise has regarding working with and getting the most out of pitchers.

“As an Astros fan,” Wesneski said, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, “I’ve seen the Verlander comeback and him remaking his career. I saw the Gerrit Cole years. You’ve seen one guy after another come in and they figure it out, and that’s why they’ve won so much. I’m really excited to work on it. Don’t kid yourself. The Cubs were really good and are still good at what they do. Not to take anything away from them, but I am excited to work with the Astros because I have seen their work, as a fan, really close.”

In addition to those Hall of Fame-level pitchers, the team has helped turn things around for several others.

Kikuchi landed a three-year, $63 million deal from the Angels and Charlie Morton earned his first All-Star appearance during his age-34 season with the Astros, which he parlayed into a $30 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Wesneski is years away from free agency himself, but he knows how good of work the coaching staff does with pitchers.

They have a tried and true system, and he is hoping to be the next player to benefit from it.