Relief role again likely for righthander Feliz
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Michael Feliz’s development as a starter in the minors was put on hold last season when he emerged as a valuable multi-inning weapon out of the Astros’ bullpen.
Barring drastic improvement of his secondary pitches, the 23-year-old Dominican righthander appears headed for a similar role this season. Astros manager A.J. Hinch acknowledged Sunday that Feliz has “a leg up” in the competition for one of the last bullpen spots because of his propensity to miss bats and his ability to pitch more than one inning in an outing.
Feliz, a starter his entire minor league career, logged 65 innings in 47 appearances with the Astros last season. His 13.15 strikeouts per nine innings ranked sixth among American League relief pitchers, just one spot behind Astros closer Ken Giles (13.98).
“His best outings were pretty electrifying,” Hinch said.
Hinch also mentioned righthanders Jandel Gustave and James Hoyt and lefthanders Ashur Tolliver and C.J. Riefenhauser, a non-roster invitee to big league camp, as relievers competing for roster spots. If Chris Devenski ends up in a relief role, five spots are accounted for in a likely eight-man bullpen. One must also account for the possibility a current starter begins the season as a long reliever.
Feliz’s two secondary pitches remain works in progress. His slider is considerably ahead of his changeup, the pitch he said he worked on most while back home in the Dominican Republic in the offseason.
After one of his bullpen sessions this week, Feliz said, Astros pitching coach Brent Strom and minor league pitching coordinator Doug White told him his changeup looked better than it did last season.
Feliz peaked in a dominant May and effective June last year before appearing to wear down later in his rookie season. He wasn’t called on to pitch for the final nine days of the season. He said he thinks he learned a lot regarding how to prepare his body for the long season.
“He’s maturing. He’s naturally getting stronger and a little bit more comfortable,” Hinch said. “We’ve got to work on his secondary pitches a little bit. Everybody knows he has a good fastball.
“He’s right in the mix.”
Gattis’ shoulder feeling better
After receiving one of the roughly 40 pitches he caught from righthander Lance McCullers on Saturday, Evan Gattis instinctively wound his arm to throw the ball back to the mound before thinking better of it.
“That’s a good sign, right?,” he said later.
Gattis, 30, said he feels improvement in his shoulder as he works his way back from soreness he experienced early in the week. He played catch up to 75 feet Sunday morning with an Astros trainer, the first time he had thrown a ball since receiving an anti-inflammatory shot Wednesday.
In the bullpen sessions Gattis has caught, the Astros have had a coach or a bullpen catcher stand next to him to throw balls back to the pitcher.
“It felt better than it did yesterday, which is a good sign,” Gattis said after throwing Sunday. “Just kind of keep taking these small victories and not try to get away with whatever we can. Take it slow. I’m optimistic.”
Odds and ends
Righthander Brady Rodgers will start one of the team’s first few Grapefruit League games, manager A.J. Hinch said. The Astros open play Saturday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland. …The Astros’ workout Sunday was shorter than usual. Players reported earlier in the morning than is typical for the annual spring training photo day. … When the Astros’ clubhouse opened to reporters Sunday morning, second baseman Jose Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa and catcher Juan Centeno were seated in chairs around Carlos Beltran’s locker, listening intently as the decorated veteran spoke.