Jake Kaplan posted a really good article detailing Astros pitching on the Athletic. A few notes I thought I'd pass along that i did not realize..
Not only did the 2018 Astros lead the majors in total strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings, but also their minor-league affiliates all the way from short-season Single A to Triple A led their leagues in the same categories. Their low-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League, set a minor-league record for total strikeouts in a season with 1,514, surpassing the 2017 Triple-A Durham Bulls' record by 93.
Of the 53 minor leaguers who struck out at least 10 batters per nine last season (minimum 100 innings), 11 pitched in Houston's system. That includes Hctor Prez and Patrick Sandoval, who were traded in July. Josh James led the minors with 13.5 strikeouts per nine across stints in Double A and Triple A.
The '18 strikeout totals were built without much help from former first-round draft picks.
Forrest Whitley, their 2016 first-rounder and top overall prospect, pitched only 26 1/3 innings in 2018 because of his 50-game suspension and lat and oblique injuries. J.B. Bukauskas, their 2017 first-rounder, logged only 59 innings because of a slipped disc in his back he suffered in
a spring training car accident.