At this point, I don’t feel the need to extensively rehash Cristian Javier’s struggles. It has been covered ad nauseam on this site and other places. Javier's numbers have obviously dived, whether due to fatigue, poor mechanics, or some combination thereof. His four-seam fastball has regressed considerably. The swinging strike rate on his slider has declined by over 10% compared to 2022. I think some combination of factors is at play with the right-hander. We also can’t rule out an injury, although there have been no indications that is the case from Javier or the Astros.
Javier’s uneven performance this season — 4.