TCB Astros Pitcher of the Week for April 14-22

Time for another round of Pitcher of the Week talk. I'm your host, David Coleman. Let's take a run through the statistics and make some completely arbitrary picks for the best Astros pitchers over the last seven (or eight) days.

Honorable mention

Dallas Keuchel

Oh, no big deal. Just another six shutout innings for Houston's ace. He struck out a ton with a few more walks than he usually collects. He also picked up the victory, starting this four-game winning streak for these Astros.

Keuchel actually walked more batters than hits allowed in that start against Anaheim. No other Houston pitcher allowed fewer hits in as many innings as Keuchel in the last week. He's good, but he's not quite the winner of this award.

Luke Gregerson

There's a reason the Astros picked Gregerson to be the closer. He's certainly lived up to that billing this year.

Over the last week, Gregerson threw four shutout innings, striking out four while walking one and giving up one hit. He recorded two saves in that time, using his fastball/slider combination very effectively.

He joins a litany of relievers who have remade the Houston bullpen this year with Pat Neshek, Chad Qualls, Will Harris and our other honorable mention.

Tony Sipp

Another reliever makes the list, despite my dislike for the fungible nature of their profession. Sipp hasn't given up a run in the past week, appearing in three games and throwing 3 2/3 innings.

In that time, Sipp didn't allow a run or a walk (or a home run) and only gave up one hit in the 12 batters he faced.

That's pretty good from a guy who's had an up-and-down career. If he stays this solid, the Houston bullpen looks mighty fine.

Winner

Collin McHugh

This is cheating, right? I waited to do this until after McHugh pitched again Tuesday. Still, the Doctor has been brilliant. Even though his strikeouts didn't come against the Mariners on Tuesday, he finished the week with a respectable 27.5 percent strikeout rate.

His 2.84 ERA in that time wasn't better than Dallas Keuchel's 0.00 mark, but he had 6 2/3 more innings than his lefty friend.

As we discussed on the podcast this week, Keuchel will be hurt by not having gaudy strikeout totals by measures like FIP. That's why McHugh has a better fWAR total than Keuchel right now, though Keuchel has been better at preventing runs.

Still, McHugh has shown in his starts this season that last year was no fluke. The last out-of-nowhere season for an Astros pitcher unraveled more quickly. Lucas Harrell had a 3.60 in April of 2013 after "breaking out" in 2012, but his wOBA against was .371 and he gave up a .383 on-base percentage thanks to 16 walks.

In May, the wheels fell off for Harrell, who had 21 walks in 28 innings and posted a 7.53 ERA.

McHugh, meanwhile, continues to show comparable peripherals to last season while flashing that devastating strikeout pitch.

Paired with Keuchel, McHugh has proven to be an excellent addition to Houston's rotation and deserves a place on this list (after Keuchel won last week).