Peter Lambert Made His Case to Lead the Astros’ Rotation in 2027

The Astros’ pitching performance was all over the place. That said, they had a few players really step up, and one of them was Peter Lambert.

The Astros started the season with a handful of pitchers sidelined from surgery, like Hayden Wesneski, Brandon Walter, and Ronel Blanco, all out from Tommy John surgery. They were also without Josh Hader, who had left biceps tendinitis; Bennett Sousa, who had a left oblique strain; Nate Pearson, with right elbow issues; and Enyel De Los Santos, who had a knee strain.

The Astros were already off to a rough start, and then early on Hunter Brown was sidelined with a right shoulder strain. They were already down a ton of pitchers, and then they lost their ace.

Despite the constantly thinning staff, the Astros managed to use a club-record 19 starting pitchers.

But one of the starters led the team in innings pitched, and that was Lambert. It was a rough start on the mound for the Astros, but Lambert really stepped up and gave them his all. On top of being the most reliable arm in the rotation, he also managed to keep himself off the injured list for the entirety of the 2026 season.

Lambert finished the season 8-10 with a 3.82 ERA, 154 strikeouts, and 155.2 innings.

Lambert became the Astros’ top starter when they needed him most. Through all the ups and downs, Lambert has been their rock. Despite him coming in clutch, he can’t carry the team all by himself. Now, many of the players have returned from the IL, and if it all goes well, they should start the 2027 season healthy and ready to go.

Other starters who held things down were Brown, who went 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 20 starts (107.1 innings), and Wesneski, who had a 3.25 ERA in 11 starts.

However, many of their other starters struggled, like Tatsuya Imai, who had a 4.93 ERA, and Mike Burrows, who had a 5.99 ERA.

No one had more wear and tear than Lambert, though. To put it in perspective, Lambert’s 155.2 innings are 48 more than Brown’s. That is substantial, especially for a pitcher who gave at least five innings countless times.

There is a case to be made about Lambert becoming the ace, but can he keep up the pace and live up to the challenge? The only way to find out is to see what he brings to the upcoming season.

MLBTR projects him at $4.6 million in his final arbitration year, and he can become a free agent after 2027.

Lambert cannot hold this staff together all on his own, and they need a few more strong, consistent arms. That said, if Lambert carries that same consistency, length, and reliability into the 2027 season, he could easily become a true ace. Now he just needs a few others in the rotation to back him up.