Commenter Chucky asked for a piece on Adrian Houser of the Milwaukee Brewers. As the Lord told his people to “ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” so shall it be at Razzball baseball. We are of the people, by the people, and for the people. Why is Chucky inquiring about Houser? Well, over the past three starts, he’s struck out 21 batters in 16 innings and has a 2.47 xFIP. Okay, then. Let’s get down to it.
Houser is 6′ 4″ 235 pounds and throws from the right side. The arsenal consists of a 94 mph fastball, slider, curveball, and change. He initially began his career with the Astros back in 2011. In 2015, he was traded to the Brewers.
The minor league numbers have been all over the map. The K/9 range had been from 6.21 to as high as 16.62. The walk rate had been just as volatile. The two consistent numbers have been the home run rate and fly ball rate, as he was stingy in allowing the long ball. The chicks must’ve been thrilled with him.
Prior to this season, Houser did receive some big league experience. He pitched 2 innings in 2015 and 13.2 innings last year, when he sported a 5.27 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9. At least he didn’t give up any homers.
So far in 2019, the K/9 is 9.69, the BB/9 is 3.10, and the HR/9 is 1.42 in 69.2 innings pitched. Much of the year was spent in the bullpen, though, as he only made 9 starts, with one being the role as opener. Another start was made on April 22nd when he pitched 4 innings and allowed 5 earned runs. That leaves us with four starts, when Houser was in the rotation from the end of June to mid-July, before going to the bullpen for three game and returning for his latest three-game heater.
Since pitching from the bullpen is different than as a starter, I’m going to compare the recent three-game stretch to the four-game stretch in early July. The sample size is small, but that’s all we have to go off. Rather than write things out, I’ll post the numbers in a table for a more visually stimulating experience.
| BABIP | GB/FB | HR/FB | SwStr | O-Swing | xFIP | Hard% | K% | BB% | |
| 4-game | .382 | 1.53 | 23.5% | 7.9% | 29.6% | 4.98 | 44.1% | 17.3% | 9.9% |
| Recent | .308 | 2.67 | 33.3% | 13.8% | 30.3% | 2.47 | 28.6% | 31.3% | 4.5% |
The luck has turned in his favor, but Houser has been able to generate more swings and, most importantly, do what he do, which is induce ground balls. The home run rate is still high, though, but at least he’s been able to get softer contact.
Was the improvement due to opponents faced? During the four-game stretch, Houser faced SEA (4th in K%/18th in OPS), CIN (9th in K%/17th in OPS), PIT (29th in K%/10th in OPS), and ATL (17th in K%/6th in OPS). For the most recent games, he faced OAK (21st in K%/20th in OPS), CHC (10th in K%/7th in OPS), and TEX (5th in K%/13th in OPS). Doesn’t look like it was due to strength of opponent.
Then I looked at the pitch type data. Houser threw the fastball 10% less, the slider 7% more, and the change 2% more. The curveball usage remained at 13-14%. I’m intrigued.
Looking at the splits, he pitches better at home, and the home run rate is under 1 at Miller Park. While the strikeout rate is above 25% against both lefties and righties, the walk rate is 8% more against lefties and he allows more home runs. Regardless, he’s serviceable against lefties and on the road. The matchup is just more favorable at home against righties.
Now, Houser has shuttled to and from the bullpen due to the number of injuries on the Brewers pitching staff. Zach Davies could return soon, but both Jhoulys Chacin and Brandon Woodruff don’t seem likely to return until at least September. There’s a rotation spot for Houser.
Houser is not an auto pickup, but I’d have no problem streaming him in the right matchup, preferably at home against a righty-heavy lineup. Yo, Adrian!
VERDICT
