Astros have a Rookie of the Year finalist

HOUSTON – Cristian Javier, 23, is a Rookie of the Year finalist, the Astros announced Monday on its social media.

Javier is a right-handed pitcher who debuted on July 25. He has an ERA of 3.48 in his 12 MLB appearances with 10 starts. His .188 opponent batting average was the lowest among all AL rookies and ranked fourth among all AL pitchers behind only Shane Bieber (.167) Kenta Maeda (.168) and Lucas Giolito (.184).

He led all AL rookies in ERA with a minimum of 150 batters faced, and opponent average, and ranked tied for fourth in wins, tied for second in starts, fourth in innings pitched and third in strikeouts with 54.

In the postseason, Javier went 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA with five walks, 13 strikeouts and a .156 opponent batting average. The Astros went 5- in the games he appeared in. Both of his postseason victories came in series-clinching games -- ALDS Game 4 vs. OAK, Wild Card Series Game 2 at MIN) making him the second pitcher in Astros history to record two wins in series-clinching games in a single postseason. Charlie Morton did that in 2017.

He could become the fourth Astros player to earn the Rookie of the Year award. Jeff Bagwell got it in 1991. Carlos Correa got it in 2015 and Yordan Alvarez got it in 2019.