40 Man Roster Review: Ken Giles

Everyone loves speed. Whether it be Jose Altuve stealing second base or a closing pitcher lighting up the radar gun, speed is good. With the Astros' acquisition of Ken Giles, they now have speed on the basepaths and out of the bullpen.

image source

Giles threw 1,185 pitches during the 2015 season. 471 of those, 39.74%, were greater than 96 miles per hour. The Astros as a team combined to throw just 268 such pitches, with 81 of those belonging to Vincent Velasquez.

Velasquez, of course, was one of the pieces sent back to Philadelphia.

Okay, enough googly eyes about velocity.

Giles is still a very unknown commodity in the major leagues. Through parts of two seasons, he owns a career 1.56 earned run average. That mark has been developed through 115 2/3 innings on a team that lost a combined 188 games in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

And during the 2015 season, Giles was tasked with save situations 20 times. In 15 of those, he locked down the save. However, he blew it 5 times, so his save percentage was a lackluster 75% for the season.

Now there are many, many folks who expect Ken Giles to be the closer. After all, it does not make much sense to trade three starting pitchers (Velasquez, Mark Appel, and Brett Oberholtzer) plus a pair of minor league pitchers for an ordinary bullpen arm.

Adding Ken Giles to the Astros bullpen, however, is more about adding core competence. Astros fans need not be reminded of the collapse in the 8th inning in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. Would having Giles available for the 9th inning changed the outcome of that inning? No. What if Giles were a Kelvin Herrera option in the 7th inning? Or, being bold, what if he were a Wade Davis?

These hypothetical questions may never be answered. One thing is certain: A.J. Hinch's job just got easier, because Giles > Qualls.