Hayden Wesneski looks like himself again for the Astros
Hayden Wesneski looks like himself again after two dominant starts, including five innings of one-run ball against the Yankees. The Houston Astros need that form to stick: he went 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in six August starts, and his sweeper and second-time-through numbers are finally giving a shaky rotation a reliable arm.
According to Sports Illustrated, Wesneski has already topped last season's innings (32 2/3 versus 32) in the same number of starts. In a year when Houston's rotation has been inconsistent, that durability is the point.
Key Takeaways
- Hayden Wesneski went 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in six August starts, and Houston won five of them.
- His last two outings were dominant, including five innings, three hits, and one run in New York.
- The sweeper is now his most-used pitch (30.2%), with a 42.6% whiff rate and a .143 batting average against.
- He owns the lowest second-time-through OPS (.573) of any Astros pitcher this season.
- September is the proving month, with Javier, Imai, Blanco, and Lambert still searching for consistency.
Why does Hayden Wesneski's recent form matter so much?
The Astros have needed a starter who can simply finish five innings. Wesneski has done that in five of six August starts. The one ugly mark is August 15 at Daikin Park, when Seattle tagged him for five hits and four runs in the second inning — the frame that still inflates his ERA.
Judge him only by ERA and you miss the split. His home ERA is 4.20 versus 3.57 on the road, but the OPS allowed actually looks better at home (.604) than away (.707). SI argues that gap should close as September plays out.
Around him, the rotation has been noisy. Peter Lambert is 0-2 with a 5.45 ERA in his last seven outings. Cristian Javier, Tatsuya Imai, and Ronel Blanco have all been inconsistent. Blanco at least threw four scoreless innings on 88 pitches in his Tuesday return.
Wesneski was lined up Wednesday, September 2, at Daikin Park against Chicago's Davis Martin, back from a blister that cost nearly three weeks. Covers had Hayden Wesneski at 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA, one run on four hits across those last two starts, and a 2.64 xERA. For more wild MLB plot twists, see our Bizarre World desk.
How is his sweeper suddenly the most trusted pitch?
The adjustment is not louder stuff. It is better shape and command. SI notes improved vertical break on his four-seam fastball, sinker, changeup, and slider. The sweeper, his main weapon, has actually lost break and 3.6 mph of velocity from last year.
The trade-off is command. Last season the four-seamer led his mix at 36.6% usage; now the sweeper sits at 30.2%. Hitters have one extra-base hit — a double — in 32 plate appearances, with four hits, 13 strikeouts, and a 42.6% whiff rate. The batting average against is .143, with a .167 expected batting average.
The fastball is holding up too, allowing a .651 OPS. He still walks himself into trouble at times (99 wRC+ allowed), but that is down from a 135 career mark. SI says he may back off the sinker and give the curveball more room, leaning on the reliever profile he brought to Houston last year.
Can he get through a lineup a second time?
That is the real test, and it is where Wesneski has quietly been Houston's best starter. His .573 OPS the second time through the order is the lowest of any Astros pitcher this year, albeit in a 54-batter sample.
The rest of the staff has been crushed in the same spot: Javier at a 1.080 OPS, Blanco at .858, and Imai at .860. For a rotation that has struggled to survive a second look, those numbers are why Houston needs this version of Hayden Wesneski to be real — not a two-start mirage.
A Yahoo Sports preview still framed him as a five-inning arm who has never gone seven. That skepticism is fair given the reliever-to-starter path. September is the month that decides whether the Astros finally have a starter who can finish a turn, then do it again.