The Houston Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball for the past 10 years.
Domination is a valid word to describe the Astros in recent history as they have appeared in the last 7 straight American League Championship Series.
As they look to make an 8th straight trip to the ALCS, the Astros made a trade deadline move in July to bolster their starting rotation.
According to Jack (Jolly_Olive) on ‘X,’ Yusei Kikuchi has been impressive since being acquired by the Astros.
Yusei Kikuchi has pitched to a 3.19 ERA with the Astros
Since his acquisition, they are 8-0 in games started by him. They are 17-14 in games started by anyone else
Probably the best trade acquisition by any team this year pic.twitter.com/qrOccBqTlh
— jack (@Jolly_Olive) September 16, 2024
The Astros received Kikuchi in a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays where they sent their number 9 and number 13 prospects along with rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido.
Kikuchi holds a record of 5-0 and a 3.19 earned run average with 59 strikeouts in 48.0 innings pitched since being acquired by the Astros.
Not only are these stats impressive by Kikuchi, but the Astros as a team are 8-0 in games that he has started, and they are 17-14 in games started by anybody else.
With an already solid rotation, Kikuchi adds depth to the Astros as they look to hold off the Seattle Mariners to win the American League West.
In a rotation that includes Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Ronel Blanco, it will be interesting to see how the Astros deploy them in the postseason.
Verlander has been underwhelming since his return to the lineup, which might bump up Kikuchi in the pecking order come playoff time.
Kikuchi will look to continue his hot streak on his next scheduled start September 19th against the Los Angeles Angels.
NEXT: Insider Reveals Astros' Level Of Injury Concern For Jose Altuve