Now departed for points north, Brandon Bielak was the number 34 most positively impactful Astro for the 2024 season.
It takes a village. Not just to raise a child, but to run a baseball team.
The Houston Astros organization employs thousands of people. Ticket agents, concessionaires, ushers, mascots, grounds crew, presentation, coaches, agents, scouts, executives, and the players.
So yeah, there are thousands, but we only have the statistics for the 55 men who took the field for the Astros in 2024. I used ERA+ and batters faced for the pitchers, then OPS+ and plate appearances for batters. I took the product of each and put both on the same list. To wit, here’s our countdown up through today:
55. Grae Kessinger
54. Cooper Hummel
53. Pedro Leon
52. Aledmys Diaz
51. Jacob Ayama
50. Wander Suero
49. Miguel Diaz
48. Dylan Coleman
47. Forrest Whitley
46. Blair Henley
45. Joel Kuhnel
44. Jose Abréu
43. Alex Speas
42. Luis Contreras
41. Nick Hernandez
40. Parker Mushinski
39. Jake Bloss
38. Shay Whitcomb
37. Cesar Salazar
36. Zach Dezenzo
35. Héctor Neris
Our number 34 contributor to Houston’s on-field success in 2024 was Brandon Bielak. A six-foot-two, 221 lb. right-handed pitcher from Edison, NJ, Bielak, born on April 2, 1996, was an 11th-round choice of Houston out of Notre Dame in 2017. He ranked amongst the PCL league leaders in 2019 with a 1.23 WHIP (sixth), a 7.25 H/9 (third), and HR/9 at 1.05 (seventh). A ranked prospect for a lot of his time in Houston’s farm system, he peaked at number seven on FanGraphs rankings in 2020.
Bielak also made his major league debut in 2020, and appeared in every season since for Houston. Prior to 2024, he was 11-13 in 60 appearances, including 21 starts. He had a 4.54 ERA and struck out 146 in 174 1⁄3 innings, with a 1.503 WHIP and a 5.19 FIP.
Bielak began the 2024 campaign on Houston’s major league roster, and appeared 10 times in relief. After starting 13 games in 2023, Bielak may have been expecting a job as a spot starter at least, but he did not start any times in 2024. He pitched 17 1⁄3 innings and rocked a 5.71 ERA and a 5.92 FIP. He faced 83 batters in total and racked up a 71 ERA+. Bielak struck out nine and walked seven, while opponents slashed .297/.373/.465 with a 1.673 WHIP.
Bielak allowed 13 baserunners and six runs over two appearances to start the season, in just 4 2⁄3 innings. He rebounded on April 8 in a 10-5 win over the Texas Rangers, when he pitched two shutout innings and surrendered only one hit. His .031 WPA was his highest of the campaign while with the Astros. On May 4, he pitched three shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners, surrendering a walk and a double but no runs in a 5-0 loss.
Like most big-leaguers it seems, Bielak survives on a five-pitch mix, led by his 87 MPH changeup (28 percent) and leavened with a 92 MPH sinker (24 percent), a 92 MPH four-seam fastball (23 percent), an 83 MPH slider (15 percent) and an 81 MPH curveball (10 percent). In nearly all advanced metrics, Bielak ranked in the bottom 10 percent of the majors. This includes is xSTAT slashline of .303/.390/.532.
On May 11, Bielak was designated for assignment, then five days later, was purchased by the Oakland Athletics. He pitched 12 1⁄3 innings over six relief appearances for the A’s, going 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA. As of October 15, he is a free agent, and is welcome to sign anywhere he can.