Top 3 Highest Paid Houston Astros Starting Pitchers of All Time

Examining the most costly starting pitchers in Astros' franchise history, but total contract value.

Houston Astros hat and glove in the dugout | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Throughout their history, the Houston Astros have demonstrated a willingness to spend. In fact, they were the first franchise to sign a player to a million dollar annual salary when they agreed to terms with Nolan Ryan on a four-year, $4.5 million contract in 1979.

Although it is position players upon whom the Astros have lavished their biggest contracts, including a $125 million extension for Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez's $115 million deal, pitchers in the organization have followed Ryan into some pretty big pay days as well.

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Before we get to Houston's highest-paid starting pitchers of all-time, let's recognize a few hurlers who enjoyed pretty lucrative tenures with the club that didn't quite make the list.

Roger Clemens enjoyed some successful late career seasons with his hometown Astros and got paid accordingly, earning salaries of $5 million, $18 million, $22 million and $28 million on a series of one-year deals. Cristian Javier inked a five-year, $64 million mega-deal, but has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons.

Even in light of some recent cost-consciousness on the part of the organization that may prevent them from retaining the services of free agent Framber Valdez, Houston still found enough cash this winter to land Japanese star Tatsuya Imai on a three-year, $54 million contract.

Without any further ado, here are the three highest-paid Astros pitchers of all-time:

Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander, then of the Houston Astros | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Justin Verlander was already well into his thirties by the time the future Hall of Famer was traded to Houston at the 2017 trade deadline, but he still had plenty left in the tank. Not only did 2017 yield one of his two World Series wins with the club (he was named 2017 ALCS MVP), but he would go on to earn two of his three Cy Young Awards amidst his two stints and seven total seasons with the Astros.

And for that, Verlander was paid quite handsomely, signing a pair of two-year extensions worth a total of $116 million and then playing out the final year of a contract with a $43 million average annual value following his re-acquisition from the New York Mets.

All told, you could make a fair argument that Verlander's tenure in Houston (73-28, 2.71 ERA, two World Series victories, three All-Star appearances, two Cy Young Awards and an ALCS MVP) would warrant a trip to Cooperstown in and of itself.

Lance McCullers Jr.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. | William Liang-Imagn Images

Injuries have prevented homegrown right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. from realizing his full potential, but he has been special when healthy.

A first-round draft pick of the Astros in 2012, McCullers Jr. joins Altuve as the only two active Houston players to have been on both the 2017 and 2022 World Series-winning teams. The 32-year-old owns a career 3.70 ERA and boasts both an All-Star appearance (2017) and top-7 Cy Young finish (2021) to his credit.

Ahead of his 13-win 2021 season, McCullers Jr. signed a five-year, $85 million extension with Houston, locking up up from 2022 through 2026. It's hard to argue that the extension has been anything but a disaster (he has just six wins and 24 appearances over the course of the contract thus far), but there's hope that the long-time Astro can remain healthy and productive heading into the final year of the deal.

Roy Oswalt

2021 Houston Astros Hall of Fame inductee Roy Oswalt | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

For a lengthy stretch in the early 2000's, it seemed that all Houston ace Roy Oswalt did is win. Starting with a 2001 rookie campaign in which he burst onto the scene with a 14-3 record and a 2.73 ERA (he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting), he would spend the next eight seasons with the club averaging more than 17 wins per year.

Along the way, Oswalt was named to three All-Star Games, won the NL era title in 2006 (2.98), earned five top-5 Cy Young finishes and was named MVP of the 2005 NLCS. By the time he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010, he ranked second in franchise history in all-time pitching wins (143), just one behind Joe Niekro.

As you might expect, Oswalt's success earned him a lucrative pay day. In the midst of his stellar 2006 campaign, he signed a five-year, $73 million deal to ensure most of his career would be spent with the Astros.

It's fitting that Verlander, McCullers Jr. and Oswalt stand as the three highest-paid pitchers in franchise history, as the three hurlers tell much of the story of the past 25 years of Houston baseball. Oswalt was the long-time ace, while Verlander and McCullers played a central role in the organization's two World Series triumphs.

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