Scott Kazmir grew up rooting for the Houston Astros and the likes of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell and the Killer B's of the late '90s and early '00s. "I was a huge fan of the Astros growing up, being a Texan, being from Houston, watching all those guys. It's a dream come true to be able to play for the Astros," he said before making his debut for his new club Friday night in Kansas City.
He then went out and gave the Astros a dream performance, shutting out the Kansas City Royals over seven innings, allowing just three hits and one walk as the Astros beat the Royals 4-0. After giving up a leadoff single, he retired the next nine a row. He also retired the final nine he faced. Only one baserunner reached second base against him. In other words, Kazmir did what he had done all season for the Oakland A's: Pitch well, limit the baserunners and keep runs off the scoreboard. He lowered his ERA to 2.24 -- which means the Astros now have the AL's top pitchers in ERA in Dallas Keuchel and Kazmir.
With the trade rumors swirling around Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, Jeff Samardzija and maybe David Price, it's possible the Astros picked up the best starter on the market. Or at least the most underrated. Sure, maybe Kazmir comes with a little risk -- he also had a big first half last year before slumping to a 5.42 ERA in the second half. He's also missed a couple of starts this year with shoulder tightness in late May and then with a minor case of triceps soreness earlier this month. But since leaving that July 8 start after three innings and then resting nine days before his final start with Oakland, he's gone 17 1/3 innings in his past two outings with just one run allowed.
Kazmir's resurrection from washed-up 27-year-old former All-Star remains one of the best stories in recent years. In 2011, he made just one start in the majors. In 2012, he was out of the majors, relegated to pitching for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. Where he had a 5.34 ERA. The Skeeters used 27 pitchers that year. Kazmir had the 22nd-best ERA on the staff. How can you not love this comeback?
@dschoenfield I was there when @scottkazmir19 started for @SL_Skeeters not so long ago. Hope to see him start the WS for the @astros too!
— Robbie Stevens (@RobbieAtHome) July 25, 2015Kazmir regained velocity, had a solid season with the Cleveland Indians in 2013 after making the team as a non-roster invitee to spring training and signed with the A's in 2014. A big reason he's pitching the best baseball of his career has been the improvement on his changeup. Checking the numbers against it:
2010: .256/.320/.489
2013: .240/.282/.356
2014:: .190/.214/.292
2015: .151/.186/.183
It's become one of the best pitches in baseball, helping Kazmir to neutralize right-handed batters and helping to play up his lows-90s fastball even more, as hitters are batting just .181 against that pitch.
The key to the changeup isn't so much location, ala Tom Glavine or Keuchel, where they pound low and away from right-handed batters. Kazmir relies more on deception and movement, as you can see in the heat map. Often, the pitch ends up right in the middle of the strike zone. Hitters have been pounding it into the ground this year. In so many words, he's simply learned to pitch.
Back in his Tampa Bay Rays days, when he pitched in a World Series, "When I got in trouble, I just tried to throw harder," he told ESPN The Magazine's Tim Keown last year. After bottoming out, he worked out at Ron Wolforth's Texas Baseball Ranch. His fastball, which had dipped well below 90, returned under Wolforth's program. But it was that cerebral side to pitching that made him once again into one of the better starters in the majors.
As Keown wrote, "He doesn't own the words to explain the psychological side of it, the control and focus he never knew he could take to the mound. He used to look away throughout his windup and find the target as his front foot landed. Now he's locked in on the mitt and never lets go. A bad pitch would give birth to three or four more; now it was corrected immediately."
Against the Royals on a hot Midwest evening -- game-time temperature of 93 degrees -- Kazmir threw 24 changeups out of his 91 pitches. The Royals went 1-for-10 against it.
Kazmir's next start will come next week at Minute Maid Park. I suspect Astros fans are going to come out in droves to welcome home one of their own.
