The Houston Astros are still trying to lock up the AL West division, but will have to do so without starting pitcher Scott Feldman. Feldman suffered a sprain in his shoulder over a week ago and will be shut down for the remainder of the 2015 MLB season to avoid further injury.
Strong August
Feldman normally isn’t associated with the top portion of Houston’s stacked starting pitching rotation, but the 32-year old righty certainly was enjoying a strong August run. Feldman was just 5-5 on the year, but showed well this past month, as he dropped in the best ERA (1.33) in the entire American League. Considering he’s on the same team as guys like Colin McHugh, Dallas Keuchel and Scott Kazmir, it’s quite impressive.
Less Depth
While Feldman was certainly doing his part as a solid member of the Astros’ pitching staff, he’s now done for the year with the shoulder injury. The loss doesn’t at all cripple a still elite and extremely deep Houston rotation, but it does mean the Astros have a little less depth. That’s not ideal news for a team just 2.5 games ahead of the feisty Texas Rangers in the race for their division, while they’ll surely need all the healthy (and effective) arms they can get if/when they make their run in the MLB playoffs. Feldman’s recent tear is especially difficult to lose, as he was a bonus on top of a fantastic pitching rotation.
Ready For 2015
The loss of Feldman is certainly a bummer, but it’s not one the Astros shouldn’t be able to recover from. Feldman’s injury also isn’t serious enough to jeopardize his immediate future, as he won’t need surgery and should be able to rest up and return in 2016 at 100%. That bodes well for Houston, as their strong pitching rotation will be even better next season.
Elsewhere
Houston is far from the only team to experience a recent injury, as the Miami Marlins are shutting down probably the biggest home run hitter in all of baseball; Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton was leading the race for most home runs in 2015 before going down with a broken hand. Initially scheduled to make a late-August return, Stanton never did and now with Miami out of the playoff picture, the team will let him fully heal and save him for a fresh start in 2015.
