It’s hard to ignore what’s going on in Houston right now with former Pirates pitchers Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton.
Morton joined the Astros last year, and so far has combined to put up a 3.33 ERA and a 3.45 xFIP in 164.2 innings. He’s getting there with a 10.28 K/9 and a 3.06 BB/9.
Morton’s best stretch with the Pirates came in 2013-14. His ERA in 2013 was 3.26, and that jumped to 3.72 in 2014. The latter number was closer to his xFIP, which was 3.69 and 3.78 in those two years. And his strikeouts?