Strom emotional in return to Houston

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Brent Strom, who helped build an Astros pitching staff that won three American League pennants, including the 2017 World Series, before leaving the club following last season, fought back tears Tuesday afternoon while talking about his memorable run in Houston. Strom left the Astros following last year’s Game 6 World Series loss to the Braves and joined the D-backs, who came to Minute Maid Park on Tuesday.

“Well, it's been unique,” said Strom, who was presented with an American League championship ring prior to Tuesday’s game. “A little bit difficult because the last time I was here, [Jorge] Soler hit a ball about 450 feet and we lost Game 6, but it's fun to see the guys.”

Strom, who carved out a reputation for turning careers around and taking established pitchers to the next level during his eight years in Houston, has watched the Astros continue to have success on the mound since his departure. The Astros entered Wednesday ranked first in the AL with a 2.92 team ERA, a big reason why they clinched the AL West a week earlier.

Strom was able to blend analytics with his teachings and turn the Astros into a pitching factory. They plucked Will Harris and Collin McHugh off waivers and turned them into solid big leaguers. He helped take the careers of Charlie Morton and Gerrit Cole to new levels in Houston and coached Cy Young winners in Dallas Keuchel in 2015 and Justin Verlander in 2019.

In last year’s World Series, the Astros relied heavily on young starters Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia and José Urquidy, all of whom were signed internationally and came through the system. Valdez, Garcia, Urquidy and Cristian Javier have blossomed into key members of Houston’s rotation.

“If you think about what this organization’s strength was really based on, it’s the signing of young, Latin pitchers, and they really carried this team,” he said. “I've been following it all year. And I think they're second in baseball ERA to the Dodgers. And I mean, obviously, with the offense they have, the defense is stellar. It's just an all-around great team. And I'm pulling for them.”

One of the reasons Strom said he felt comfortable leaving the Astros last year was his faith in young pitching coaches Josh Miller and Bill Murphy, who worked under him and assumed the pitching coach duties this year.

“One of them’s going to eventually have to leave and cut his own teeth himself, but both of them are exceptionally good teachers and they do really well with the analytical bent that the Astros have,” Strom said.

Strom has always been bullish on Astros reliever Bryan Abreu, who’s had a breakout season. Abreu has a 2.02 ERA in 52 appearances with Houston in 2022, striking out 12.9 batters per nine innings.

“He has stepped up and become what I thought he was going to be,” he said.

Strom said Verlander, who will start against Wednesday’s game against Arizona at Minute Maid Park, should win his third Cy Young. Verlander is 17-4 with a 1.82 ERA in 26 starts after missing all last season following Tommy John surgery.

“Nothing surprised me about him,” Strom said. “He basically was kind of like a car that the alignment was off a little bit and he got realigned. He's as good as he's ever been. I mean, he's, he's probably going to win the Cy Young award and deservedly so.”

Strom remains encouraged by the progress made by the D-backs, who entered Wednesday with 71 wins. He believes Arizona’s infusion of young players could have similar results to an up-and-coming Astros team that won 70 games in 2014 and then became a perennial playoff power in '15 behind Carlos Correa, George Springer and Keuchel.

“It reminds me a little bit of the young guys that came up through the Astros,” he said.