How Abreu became a bullpen force for the Astros

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The stuff has always been there -- the power fastball and the devastating slider with the ability to spin it and make hitters appear lost at the plate. Former Astros pitching coach Brent Strom saw that early in Bryan Abreu’s career and touted the right-hander as a future impact big league starter.

What was missing was the confidence to throw his pitches consistently in the strike zone. Even so, with 90 strikeouts in his 54 1/3 innings in the Minor Leagues in 2018, the Astros were so intrigued they called him up to the big leagues the following year and watched him strike out 13 batters in 8 2/3 innings. Abreu had opened eyes, but the pandemic-shortened 2020 season saw him report to camp out of shape and struggle to get batters out. He was going backward.

“That was scary that year because he’s a guy that takes care of himself really well in the offseason,” Triple-A pitching coach Erick Abreu said. “I don’t exactly know what happened that year. He came not in the best shape, but he bounced back from that year really, really well. He made some small adjustments mechanically with his arm, making his arm slot more compact, more connected to his body, which led to a lot better command, or at least throwing pitches through the zone.”

Bryan Abreu, 25, established himself somewhat in 2021, making the Opening Day roster and posting a 5.75 ERA in 31 games before everything clicked last year. He emerged as a major weapon in Houston’s deep bullpen with a 1.94 ERA while striking out 13.13 batters per nine innings in a career-high 55 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he threw 11 1/3 scoreless innings in helping the Astros win the World Series.

“I’ve been working a lot, trying to get better in my improvements to throw the ball for a strike,” said Abreu -- who recorded two outs around a walk in the fourth inning of the Astros' 5-2 Grapefruit League win over the Mets on Wednesday. “Being a big piece for the team, that made me feel really grateful for the team and grateful for [manager] Dusty Baker for the opportunity.”

Erick Abreu worked with the right-hander at different levels of the Minor Leagues since he was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2013. It was Erick Abreu who helped him develop his devastating slider, which had a 51.3-percent whiff rate last year, and helped him shorten his arm action last offseason.

“He definitely always showed talent, always showed the ability to spin the ball really, really well,” Erick Abreu said. “I can tell that his confidence was a big part of him starting to be the guy he is right now for us. He doubted himself a little bit back in the day. That’s something with maturity got a lot better and that’s when he basically put it together for us.”

Baker said the evolution of Abreu into a dominant pitcher was a matter of him committing to get in better shape and throw strikes. Then came the confidence, which Abreu now has in spades.

“Last year, he got it together, his confidence was at an all-time high,” he said. “These things take time. Sometimes it takes one year or six months. It takes another player three or four years.”

Bryan Abreu credits not only his coaches, but also teammates Héctor Neris, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly for giving him advice and helping to push him. Neris, Montero and Abreu were among a group of five Astros who represented the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

No longer the fledgling reliever who lacked confidence, Abreu wasn't flustered by the big stage of the WBC and the playoffs. His strikeout of Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton to end the eighth inning and strand the tying run on base in the Astros’ 3-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of last year’s ALCS was a moment Abreu won’t forget. He struck out all three Phillies he faced in the seventh inning of Houston’s Game 4 World Series combined no-hitter.

Abreu has emerged as a future closer candidate who is poised to build on his breakout 2022 season.

“It showed in the playoffs when we really needed him,” veteran catcher Martín Maldonado said. “He did everything we asked him to do in those big moments.”