Houston Astros Demote Struggling Former Top Rookie To Open Spot For Ace

The Houston Astros will get their ace back from injury this weekend, but they had to move one of their former top rookies down after his early struggles.

Apr 17, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros pitcher J.P. France (68) reacts | Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

It was another tough result for the Houston Astros on Thursday when they were swept by the Chicago Cubs.

They have now dropped to 7-19 on the season, their worst start in roughly 50 years, and are firmly in last place of the AL West.

It's a broken record by now, but it can't be understated just how much their struggles have come from injuries to their pitching staff as they've had to cycle through multiple players from their minor league roster.

This has resulted in them having the third-worst ERA in the league with a 5.07.

Justin Verlander was able to return this past weekend, giving them some more stability, but Cristian Javier then picked up an injury that caused him to hit the 15-day IL. He joined Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia, and Lance McCullers Jr. sidelined with separate issues.

In a year that has been filled with bad news, the Astros finally got a good update when it was announced their ace would return this weekend.

To make room for Valdez on the roster, Houston will option J.P. France down to Triple-A, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.

This is an interesting development considering he was a standout during his rookie year in 2023 when he posted an ERA of 3.83 over his 24 starts and 23 appearances.

That has not been the case for France this season, though, as he has an 0-3 record through five starts with a 7.46 ERA.

Both of the Astros rookies they relied upon in 2023 have had horrendous sophomore years as Hunter Brown also sits with a 9.68 ERA and 0-4 record through his five starts.

Houston should be concerned about this.

Verlander will eventually retire and they'll need pitching beyond him and Valdez. They thought they had the answer in France and Brown, but so far, things have not gone as expected.

Hopefully this time down in the minors allows France to work on some adjustments and return to the MLB with top stuff so he can showcase he belongs at the Major League level.