When Astros righty Collin McHugh was first claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies in 2014, I immediately wrote him off. I thought he would just play a few games then get released. It wasn’t a bad prediction at the time. An 18th round draft pick, he had posted an underwhelming ERA of 8.94 in his first two years in the majors.
The 2013 Astros pitchers weren’t great by any means, either. They ranked at or near last place in every statistical category. Doug Brocail, the Astros pitching coach was re-assigned prior to the 2014 season, and former Cardinals minor league pitching instructor Brent Strom, still five seasons away from being awarded Coach of the Year from Baseball America, was hired as the Astros pitching coach.