You may not remember it, but J.P. France started the 2024 season as a member of Houston’s rotation.
This offseason, we’re looking into each player to appear with the Houston Astros in 2024.
There were 55 players that appeared in at least one regular season game for the Astros, and we’re using metrics to rank the top 40. What’s come before:
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
34. Brandon Bielak
33. Trey Cabbage
FYI, I used batters faced and ERA+ to rank the pitchers, along with plate appearances and OPS+ for hitters.
J.P. France is a six-foot, 198 lb. right-handed pitcher from New Orleans, LA. Born on April 4, 1995, he was Houston’s 14th-round selection in 2019 out of Mississippi State University. He worked his way up through Houston’s system over the next few years, ranking fourth in the Carolina League in 2019 with 8.97 K/9 with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. He led the PCL in 2021 with 11.99 K/9 and with 7.51 H/9, then ranked second in the circuit in 2022 with 135 strikeouts.
After opening the 2023 season as Houston’s number 21 prospect, he was unexpectedly and suddenly pressed into the major league rotation after several injuries necessitated an early promotion. He performed better than we had any right to expect, putting together an 11-6 record over 23 starts (and one relief appearance). He had a 3.83 ERA, a 4.66 FIP, a 1.357 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 111, with 47 walks and 101 strikeouts in 136 1⁄3 innings.
France entered the 2024 campaign as Houston’s number four starter, making his debut against the New York Yankees on March 31. In 5 2⁄3 innings, he earned no decision after allowing three runs on six his and a walk, striking out five while getting 54-of-94 over the plate in the eventual 4-3 Houston loss. France started five times for the Astros for the first month of the season, going 0-3 while the team lost all five. He had a 7.46 ERA, a 5.54 FIP, a 1.697 WHIP, and a 54 ERA+ over 25 1⁄3 innings, with 12 walks and 22 strikeouts.
According to Baseball Savant, France was mostly reliant on a four-pitch mix. He used a 92 MPH four-seamer (29.4 percent), an 87 MPH cut-fastball (23.8 percent), an 82 MPH changeup (22.7 percent), and a 74 MPH curveball (19.3 percent). He also showed a 79 MPH sweeper 14 times and a 91 MPH sinker eight times. His expected slashline (.277/.368/.501) was right in line with his actual mark (.290/.364/.505). France’s curveball is clearly his best pitch, with an opposing expected slashline of .126/.224/.149.
France was optioned to Sugar Land on April 26. On May 7, he went under the knife for surgery on his right shoulder, and soon thereafter went on the injured list for the remainder of the season.
When all parties are healthy, France is on the outside of Houston’s top 5 rotational pitchers, but in recent years, it’s become clear that a major league organization needs more than that. Look for France to return to action next season, likely as a BOR starter or long-reliever.