In the middle of May, starting pitcher Adrian Houser found himself without a spot in the Texas Rangers' rotation. Searching for an opportunity to pitch MLB innings, he requested, and was subsequently granted, his release.
The Chicago White Sox, hoping to find competency by any means necessary, gave Houser those innings, and he's pitched better than anyone expected.
There have been trade whispers as the deadline approaches, but on Wednesday afternoon, Houser put himself on the radar for a rather sickening reason.
Adrian Houser threw more than zeroes
After the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, Houser skipped the typical sticky substance check, made a beeline for the dugout, and promptly threw up. He dutifully returned the next inning and continued what he started, shutting down a red-hot Blue Jays lineup.
Apparently, this isn't anything new for Houser, who went viral in 2019 for losing his lunch on the mound.
"Oh yeah, that's probably about the fifth time,” Houser said, via Jack Ankony.
“So that's nothing new. The trainers knew. I told them when I came in. I was like, 'Hey, this is a possibility.' So once I get it out, it's all good. Ready to rock and roll. I felt a lot better after it. So I was able to settle in after that and just, you know, puke and rally.”
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Houser finished his afternoon with seven innings, allowing seven hits but only one run. He struck out two, walked two, and will enter the All-Star break with an incredible 1.56 ERA.
The veteran is pitching himself back into trade rumors, tasking teams with determining whether his improvements are for real.
Is Houser's season sustainable?
Houser is a career 4.00-ERA pitcher, and without a considerable jump in stuff or command, it doesn't take a statistician to project regression.
However, there's reason to believe that Houser is improving in his age-32 season. Yes, he's vastly performing his peripherals, getting some good home run luck, and running a suspiciously low BABIP. But his 3.12 FIP is easily the best of his career, and his xFIP hasn't dropped to 4.00 or below since 2019.
The answer might be in his sinker. He's using at a similar rate to prior seasons (over 40% of his pitches). He isn't offering any plus pitches outside of it, tossing two average breaking balls and a fastball/changeup combination that plays off its sinker without adding a ton of production.
What Houser is doing in spades is what most sinker-ballers would prefer -- suppressing contact and avoiding hard fly balls. His sinker has returned a .202 average and .238 wOBA entering Wednesday's festivities (via Pitcher List).
The biggest difference between last year's sinker (.252 average, .332 wOBA) and the 2025 version is where he's throwing it. He's putting it in the zone 10.5% more than he did in 2024, going from the 39th percentile to the 92nd percentile in Zone%. Houser is limiting walks, inviting soft contact, and making sure his lesser pitches play a mitigated role by staying ahead in the count.
Command can come and go, and even Houser's improvements have their limitations. Still, his growth is notable, even if regression is looming.
Championship contenders looking for a playoff starter should pivot elsewhere, but several teams need quality innings down the stretch. In a back-end role, Houser's aggressiveness will be enticing.
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