Cristian Javier Is So Underrated
One of the most underappreciated players from the most recent championship team in Houston is Cristian Javier. The Astros wisely locked up the right handed starting pitcher for the foreseeable future. The deal cost them much less than it really should have. It was shrewd business by this Astros front office. Frankly, Javier is one of the most underrated players in MLB.
I would take this dude on my baseball team any day of the week. How valuable is consistency to you? It’s valuable to me because, with Javier, I feel like I know EXACTLY what I’m getting every single time he takes the mound.
Javier, 25, is a king at creating soft contact. Javier has a four pitch arsenal but mostly relies on his fastball and slider. The fastball sort of acts as a two seamer and never carries over the middle of the plate. 13% of batted balls against Javier resulted in pop ups in 2022. He also ranked in the 94th or higher in xBA, K%, and xSLG.
We also witness an insane postseason run from Javier. He gave up one run in 12.2 postseason innings during the 2022 postseason. Overall Javier carries a career 2.20 ERA and 0.92 WHIP across 32.2 postseason innings. There’s something to be said for big game pitchers. Like it or not, Javier is proving he is one. He also started the game Houston no-hit Philadelphia in the World Series.
Javier represents where MLB is going. Your starting pitcher needs to capture five shut down innings while handing the lead over to the bullpen. The Stros starter does that just about every time he takes the mound. Javier falls short of that “quality start” six inning mark a bunch but overall sported a 2.54 ERA on the season through 30 appearances. That’s while limiting base runners, picking up strikeouts, and keeping the ball in the ballpark.
Cristian Javier can pitch for my baseball team. He’s a guy any team in the league would love to have. Incredibly smart business by Houston to lock him up and even better scouting to find Javier in the Dominican Republic. Not bad for a guy that signed for 10K!
