Jarred Cosart's first six starts, in terms of ERA, rank sixth best since 1962. But he knows he can't let it get to his head. I think getting all of the no-decisions is a good thing for him. It keeps him humble and makes him work harder to help the team win. Hopefully we'll have a team worth watching next season. And for sure by 2015.
Quote
OAKLAND -- By throwing six scoreless innings in Wednesday's game against the A's and improving his ERA to 1.15 through his first six Major League starts, Astros rookie right-hander Jarred Cosart has put himself in some select company.
From 1962-2013, there have been 660 pitchers to have all of their first six games come in starts. Cosart's ERA is the sixth-lowest from among that group. The only players who have posted lower ERAs in that span are Steve Rogers (0.88), Zach Duke (0.92), Cisco Carlos (0.93), Tom Browning (0.95) and Jered Weaver (1.12).
"I try not to pay any attention to it," Cosart said. "Obviously, I'm on Twitter and all that stuff and I see it, but you can't put too much stock in it. I didn't come up to pitch six good games and get a big head and go back down to Triple-A. I want to be here for the long haul and help complete the turnaround. I think that's what our starters' goal is. We're pushing each other."
The funny thing is Cosart mentions, "we're pushing each other." He's the best starting pitcher on the team already. How is anybody pushing him? That is why I'm excited about drafting left-hander Carlos Rodon number one overall next June. He's a legitimate power pitcher and high strikeout guy. Lefties like him don't come around very often.
I can see in 2015 when we have three amazing young starting pitchers with Mark Appel, Carlos Rodon and Jarred Cosart, that there might be some real competition and pushing each other. That type of righty, lefty, righty combo at the top of the starting rotation really excites me and hopefully it will be the backbone of our team for the next 10 or more years. The key to turning around a bad baseball team at the Major League level is always starting pitching.
With good starting pitching you have a chance to compete every night. Even with a bad offense and bullpen, two other areas we have to improve. But by the time we put together a competitive team, I can see the Astros' management spending big money in free agency on a couple of big-name relievers. They have enough top-rated position players in the minors to improve the offense from within the organization.
This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 16 2013 01:10am