Is Adrian Houser A Starting Pitcher?
Yes. Adrian Houser is a Starting Pitcher.
Corbin Burnes of the Brewers was the pitcher who spent the least amount of time thinking about the question. It all makes sense.
Whether it’s spring training or not, Cy Young Award winners don’t have time for nonsense. Eric Lauer was the one who took the longest to come up with a response. Understandable, given that the man is a thinker who names his pitches.
But for all of the Brewers’ starting pitchers, the question was the same: If you could steal one throw from a fellow rotation mate and add it to your arsenal, would you?
The Brewers’ pitching staff is a force to be reckoned with. While Burnes is the ace who was named the Opening Day starter on Tuesday, all six pitchers with the exception of Aaron Ashby are coming off outstanding seasons.
The Brewers starters had a combined fWAR of 20.3, second only to the Dodgers in MLB (20.4). Milwaukee’s complete rotation was back, with the exception of Brett Anderson, who was limited to 96 innings due to injuries:
Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser, Lauer, and Ashby. The Brewers are a good club, and their rotation, which is full of nasty pitches, is their best asset.
Burnes’ cutter was the subject of Lauer’s comment. The pitch has a remarkable movement and averages 96.5 mph, holding batters to a.199 xBA.
Who wouldn’t want something like that? But there were a handful of restrictions to the investigation:
The pitcher had to be able to throw the pitch with his hand in pronation (Burnes has a freakish ability to move his thumb down near his pinky as he throws) and it had to compliment the rest of his arsenal.