Houston Astros' Rookie Becoming Indispensable During Playoff Push

It's been a battle for the Houston Astros in the American League West division this season. After chasing the Texas Rangers for the majority of the year, there's a new team at the top of the standings after the Seattle Mariners have gotten red hot.

If the Astros don't win the AL West, it would be the first time since 2020 in the COVID shortened season that would occur. Despite that, they're still in the playoff picture entering Monday, sitting two-and-a-half games clear of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card standings.

It's been the usual suspects of Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker powering Houston into the playoffs, but former MLB front office executive Jim Bowden highlights a different player he thinks is the most indispensable on the roster.

He believes rookie starting pitcher J.P. France will be one of the keys to a deep postseason run after multiple injuries to their rotation forced the Astros to lean on rookie pitchers.

Bowden writes for The Athletic, "They’ve been able to stay in the pennant race thanks to a pair of rookie starters, Hunter Brown and J.P. France. Most of us expected Brown to be this good after watching him in the postseason last fall; however, none of us knew France would be this good this soon."

The right hander was shelled in his most recent start against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 24 giving up 10 earned runs on 11 hits, but prior to that, he logged a 9-4 record with 2.75 ERA in 18 appearances. His WAR was 2.7 during this stretch as well.

General manager Dana Brown has been impressed by the rookie as well, telling Bowden, "Big-time competitor with quality stuff. Sneaky fastball that he commands and a good changeup. Solid ‘get me over’ curveball and good slider that can finish off hitters."

With Justin Verlander back in the fold to pair with Framber Valdez at the top of the rotation, getting quality starts at the back end will be a big reason why Houston competes for a repeat.