The Astros and Pitching Efficiency

What with all the questions around starting pitchers and the bullpen throwing more, something I've wanted to look at lately is Inning Efficiency. Across the other 29 MLB teams, there have been 242,118 of 381,040 pitches thrown for strikes (63.5%). The Astros have thrown 8,439 of their 13,272 pitches for strikes, which is...63.6%.

So that's cool. But let's figure something else out: 29 MLB teams not named the Houston Astros are throwing 381,040 pitches to 97,924 batters for an average of 3.89 pitches per batter faced. Below, thanks to FanGraphs, is a list of how many pitches/batter faced the Astros are throwing.

Keuchel: 1038 / 283 = 3.67
Gregerson: 548 / 146 = 3.75
Harris: 509 / 135 = 3.77
Giles: 498 / 132 = 3.77
Morton: 1040 / 273 = 3.81
MLB Average: 3.89
Musgrove: 1242 / 318 = 3.91
Fiers: 1602 / 402 = 3.99
Devenski: 805 / 202 = 3.99
McCullers: 1513 / 378 = 4.00
Sipp: 445 / 108 = 4.12
Feliz: 692 / 167 = 4.14
Martes: 444 / 107 = 4.15
Peacock: 1090 / 262 = 4.16
Hoyt: 580 / 138 = 4.20
Diaz: 268 / 58 = 4.62

Obviously there are some limitations here. If you throw a first-pitch strike that the batter tattoos for a 430-foot home run, that's two fewer pitches thrown than if you struck him out looking on an 0-2 pitch. More "efficient," but less ideal. So let's try it again with pitches per out. The other 29 teams, on average, are throwing 381,040 pitches to get 68,574 outs, for an average of 5.56 pitches per outs:

Keuchel: 1038 / 227 = 4.57
Harris: 509 / 104 = 4.89
Devenski: 805 / 158 = 5.09
Giles: 498 / 97 = 5.13
Gregerson: 548 / 102 = 5.37
Morton: 1040 / 191 = 5.45
McCullers: 1513 / 274 = 5.52
MLB Average = 5.56
Sipp: 445 / 79 = 5.63
Musgrove: 1242 / 219 = 5.67
Fiers: 1602 / 281 = 5.70
Feliz: 692 / 119 = 5.82
Hoyt: 580 / 99 = 5.86
Peacock: 1090 / 185 = 5.89
Martes: 444 / 73 = 6.08
Diaz: 268 / 39 = 6.87

What's to take away here? Keuchel is very good and it will be very nice to get him back in the rotation. Dayan Diaz is having a tough time getting guys out, but who didn't know that? Martes flashes some things, but has a ways to go. Brad Peacock throws a lot of pitches but, again, who didn't know that? Let's hear it for All-Star Break #content.