I was assuming he was talking about Keuchel. Let him be the lefty in the pen, let McHugh start. Such a simple plan.
It seems like it was just a couple of days ago that he was heading into the 6th inning with a sub 3-ERA.
Look at the days of rest: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=peacobr01&t=p&year=2018 https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=mchugco01&t=p&year=2018 If his arm can handle it, I'm all for McHugh doing more things.
WHAT? Have you watched anything this year? Keuchel is most certainly the weakest link of a chain that needs no mending. If the Astros need anything it’s another outfielder who can hit to put into the rotation of Springer, Reddick and Marwin. Fisher and Marisnick are not cutting it. From there adding an elite bullpen arm would be nice but not totally necessary
I think Keutchel is quite capable of being Cy Young good again... He has got such good pin point accuracy that his borderline pitches are almost all going down as balls, and he isn’t getting as many called strikes as in the past. I think it’s frustrated him, but he has proven time after time he’s an allstar who can make the necessary adjustments. I suspect he’ll have a sub 3 ERA for the season. He’s a master at getting hitters to hit weak grounders, and as a Gold Glove pitcher, it’s like there is a 5th infielder.... Strikeout pitchers need at least 3 pitches to get their guy out. Keutchel only needs one! It’s about the bread and butter with Keutchel.... Oh and just because Keutchel style isn’t baseball sexy, doesn’t mean he isn’t Cy Young quality. I just don’t think he’s pitching as well as he could be, but I wouldn’t say he is the 5th best pitcher in the rotation. He is quite capable of carrying even this rotation when he gets it going.
He can certainly still have moments... but the days of him being consistently excellent over 200+IP are unlikely to occur again. Even the slightest hiccup... whether its shoulder/neck pain, or a slight decrease in velocity due to arm soreness, creates a huge problem for him. His pin-point control suffers... and if he has to come over the plate after falling behind in the count, he's very hittable. And not to de-rail the thread too much... but 85-95%% Keuchel now is still better than McHugh was at any point in his career. I see a lot of "backup QB" syndrome in those calling for McHugh to pitch more... I don't think he has another notch or gear to become a better pitcher than he's been before. He's been fine.... more than serviceable... but he's not a lights-out type starter or reliever despite what he's done thus far.
Keuchel's a lot better pitcher than McHugh. I'm no way suggesting that McHugh should replace Keuchel. I'm not suggesting he's lights out. There is a lot of room between vintage McHugh and lights-out. I think there is a decent chance he's better than he's been (at least in regards to being better suited for relief). To me he has gone from a guy that probably couldn't pitch well in relief to a guy that deserves more chances in high leverage. If it fails, it fails. Not like other guys aren't falling in that role.
Again, that's a lot of backup QB loved-by-the-fan-base logic. Right now, he's a relief pitcher because the Astros don't have a spot for him to start. If they do get one via injury, he'll be starting again. They haven't tested him in back-to-back outings, or back-end outings because who's to say his arm or his preparation is conducive to that.
