Cristian Javier Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 1" / 210 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 3/26/1997 (27)
- Experience
- 4
- College
- None
Cristian Javier Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Cristian Javier News
Houston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier (neck) will start on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers in the Motor City, with lefty Framber Valdez starting the series opener on Friday and right-hander Justin Verlander going on Sunday. While it's a solid matchup for Javier, fantasy baseball managers need to remember that Javier has been out almost a month with a neck injury. In his lone minor-league rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi, Javier gave up three runs in just 3 1/3 innings (68 pitches), so he's also probably not going to go very deep in his first start back in Detroit on Saturday. Even though he might be a shaky starting option this weekend, Javier deserves to be rostered in all fantasy formats after starting the year 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 18 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings over his first four starts.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier (neck) is scheduled to make his return to the mound this weekend. The 27-year-old appears to be ready to pitch after making a rehab start in Double-A on Saturday. This is good news for the Astros who have a banged up rotation right now. Javier will get a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers. There shouldn't be any restrictions on Javier, so fantasy managers should feel safe plugging him right back into their lineups.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier (neck) tossed 3 1/3 innings in his rehab start with Double-A on Saturday. He allowed three earned runs, three hits, two free passes, and struck out three. He threw a total of 68 pitches. After being scratched from a scheduled start on April 21 and hitting the injured list, Javier seems to be complete with his recovery process and should be expected to rejoin the Astros rotation next week. As a result, rookie Spencer Arrighetti will most likely lose his spot and be sent back to the minors. The 27-year-old has a 1.54 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 23 1/3 innings with 18 strikeouts this season and should be rostered in all fantasy formats.
Batting Order
1 | Jose Altuve |
2 | Kyle Tucker |
3 | Yordan Alvarez |
4 | Alex Bregman |
5 | Jeremy Peña |
6 | Yainer Diaz |
7 | Joey Loperfido |
8 | Mauricio Dubón |
9 | Trey Cabbage |
Cristian Javier Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Jose Altuve |
2 | Kyle Tucker |
3 | Yordan Alvarez |
4 | Alex Bregman |
5 | Jeremy Peña |
6 | Yainer Diaz |
7 | Joey Loperfido |
8 | Mauricio Dubón |
9 | Trey Cabbage |
Javier transformed from a swingman into a bona fide frontline starter in 2022, posting a 2.54 ERA in 148.2 innings for Houston. The peripherals supported his performance as well, with Javier boasting a 2.43 xERA, 3.16 FIP, and monster 11.74 K/9 that season. He was considered a top-20 starter coming into 2023, but regressed in every sense of the word. His ERA jumped two runs to 4.56, his 4.58 FIP suggests he earned the spike, and his strikeout rate cratered to 8.83 K/9. Primarily a two-pitch pitcher, Javier enjoyed unsustainable performances with slider and fastball in 2022. He had a .234 BABIP with his fastball and a .195 BABIP with his slider in 2022, but a .258 BABIP on the fastball and .267 BABIP on the slider last season. It wasn't just regression to the mean that caused this either, as Javier lost an inch of break and a an inch of drop on his slider in 2023. While Javier had a 16.9% swinging strike rate and 28.6% chase rate with his slider in 2022, he had just a 10.2% swinging strike rate and 21.5% chase rate in 2023, pitiful by comparison. One can't expect another 33.2% strikeout rate season with metrics like that, and the underlying metrics did not support the 2022 strikeout rate that season. Javier not only lost something on his slider, but his fastball velocity dipped from 93.8 MPH to 92.7 MPH in 2023. While he can likely perform better than a 4.56 ERA, 2022 seems like the outlier season and one should expect an ERA in the 3.50-4 range with a below average strikeout rate.