Pressure on Astros Rookie As Opening Day Starting Rotation Prediction Surfaces

Houston's rookie pitcher will have a lot of pressure on him as the 2026 season begins.

Houston Astros hats | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The biggest question facing the Houston Astros this offseason was how they were going to fill out their starting rotation behind Hunter Brown with Framber Valdez leaving in free agency. Valdez has yet to find a new home and there are theories as to why that might be.

As far as the Astros go, general manager Dana Brown was faced with filling out the rotation, and he did it in a couple of different ways. He made a trade for Mike Burrows from the Pittsburgh Pirates and made the surprise signing of Japanese star Tatsuya Imai. Spring training is right around the corner and it feels like Houston's rotation is set, even with some intriguing arms still available.

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Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted each team's starting rotations for Opening Day and his x-factor for the Astros starting staff is not surprising.

Astros Predicted Starting Rotation Has Newcomer Facing Big Pressure

Tatsuya Imai | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Filling Valdez's shoes is not going to be easy for anyone, but Reuter has predicted that it will fall on Imai's shoulders as the x-factor for Houston going into spring training and the 2026 regular season. That's an awful lot of pressure for a rookie.

"It's far from a hot take, but Tatsuya Imai is the biggest X-factor on the Astros staff, and one of the biggest in all of baseball. The Japanese League star will be asked to fill the big shoes left behind by Framber Valdez, and after logging a 1.92 ERA with 178 strikeouts in 163.2 innings last year, he is capable of frontline production,'' wrote Reuter.

What is interesting about Reuter's prediction is that he predicted a six-man rotation for the Astros, something that wouldn't be surprising at times this year. Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Imai, Lance McCullers Jr., Mike Burrows and Ryan Weiss were Reuter's projected rotation on Opening Day.

When Burrows was acquired, it was widely thought that he would be a bottom-of-the-rotation addition, but maybe a bigger x-factor than Imai going into spring training is McCullers Jr. Moved to the bullpen late last season, McCullers Jr will be given an opportunity this spring to earn a spot in the starting rotation to solidify it. If he can return anywhere close to what he was before injuries hampered him, that would be big for Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada.

If Houston is going to replace Valdez in the rotation, then it is going to have to be done by more than one pitcher, as there could be multiple x-factors this year for Espada and they all might be needed if they are going to return to the postseason in 2026.

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