Brett Myers

The season is only a few weeks old, but already teams have began to separate themselves from the pack, while others have shown once again that they still do not have what it takes to compete for a playoff spot.

Injuries and under performing players will inevitably create a need for some contenders to make a move to bring in a player to shore up their lineup as they make a push towards the playoffs, with the Chase Utley injury in Philadelphia a perfect example of that.

By all accounts Brett Myers pitched a strong seven innings for the Astros during yesterday's disappointing loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Myers threw a quality start, pitching seven innings and allowing two earned runs on three hits, three walks and no strikeouts. However, a closer look at yesterday's box score, radar gun and pitch/FX data show that Myers' stuff may have regressed. 

Before the start of the season, I wanted to see which pitchers statistically had the best fastballs, curveballs, sliders, cutters, changeups and splitters of the 2010 season.

Here are a look at the top curveballs of the 2010 season. A few notes:

The Pitch Value data was created by Fangraphs.com. I will be using the statistic, wCB, which denotes the runs above average for a particular pitch—in this case a curveball.  

It is being reported in the Houston media that the Houston Astros have officially named right-handed pitcher Brett Myers as their Opening Day starter against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Myers came to the Astros via a one-year deal on January 8, 2010. After the 2009 World Series, he filed for free agency after the Phillies informed him that they would not be pursuing a new contract with him.

TAMPA, FL—According to multiple reports originating from the New York Post’s George A. King III, the New York Yankees could be keeping very close tabs on a veteran right-hander as the season progresses.

For the first month of the season, the Astros were the worst team in baseball.  They garnered a bit of respect by finishing 33-27 down the stretch.

This is clearly a team rebuilding.  They traded their two most recognizable names, Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, before the trade deadline.

Before spring training started, some people had guarded optimism about this team heading into 2011. After trading away top stars Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt, they had a record above .500 and were playing pretty good baseball down the stretch. They had four rookies in their starting lineup and rotation and if these young players continued to develop, the Astros would be competitive this season.

The New York Yankees were probably very disappointed this week to hear that Andy Pettitte has decided to retire instead of return for another season with the Bronx Bombers. Now heading into spring training this leaves two big holes in their starting rotation that will most likely be filled by either Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia.

This upcoming season for Astros pitchers will be an interesting one for fantasy owners. With Brett Myers’ 2010 success, a strong second half from Wandy Rodriguez, and J.A. Happ’s potential, Houston has a chance to showcase three top-100 starters this year.

In his first season with Houston, Brett Myers had one of the best years of his career. He successfully took over the role as ace of the rotation, especially with Oswalt’s move to Philly.

The Houston Astros decided about halfway through last season that it was time to enter that period that no fan wants to hear, and that is rebuilding. The Astros decided to trade away the only remaining players from that 2005 team that made the World Series.