He has been the 25th guy and has been bounced back and forth between the minors a few times this season.
But with his recent play, the next time the Astros have a move to make, it might be a much tougher decision than in the past.
In the past eight innings, Feliz has looked outstanding, allowing only one hit while striking out 13 batters. He has looked downright nasty.
The young righty, up until Wednesday had yet to pitch in a game of major importance. Normally he's come into games and mopping up the last few innings, and to his credit, he was tearing through batters.
Wednesday left with few options in the Astros 16 inning game, A.J. Hinch turned to the 22-year-old flamethrower and he answered the call, big time. He was able to give them three innings of one-hit ball while striking out five.
"I joked with (bench coach) Trey (Hillman), what took me so long, I should have brought him in earlier," A.J. Hinch said of Feliz's night, "he's gaining confidence more and more, that's one of the first leverage roles that he's had in his career and he stepped up admirably."
Feliz who normally has been around 94-96 MPH, was able to dial up a little more heat. Wednesday he not only hit 98 MPH but was able to consistently throw it.
"We watched him grow in front of our eyes today, a little bit more, a little bit more and a little bit more," A.J. Hinch said, "there's no tentative approach to him it's 96 to 98 miles an hour, he's raring back and blowing it by a very contact driven lineup."
Having that heat has really helped him step up his game.
"Once you start throwing 98 and then getting control of the slider and the changeup, I've felt a lot better in the last couple of innings," Michael Feliz said of his recent stretch.
Feliz with his first career win under his belt, just might have earned himself some innings where he can be more of a factor in wins. The Astros have been searching for a flamethrower who can get swings and misses, maybe they had him all along.
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