Cristian Javier (born March 26, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Javier signed with the Astros as an international free agent in 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2020. During the Astros' World Series championship season in 2022, Javier was the starting pitcher of two combined no-hitters, including Game 4 of the World Series, the first player in MLB history to do so. The World Series no-hitter was just the second in baseball history and the only combined no-hitter.
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Career
Minor leagues
At age 16, Javier starting pitching, having a maximum velocity of 86 miles per hour (138 km/h) when he initially auditioned for the Houston Astros. Although his velocity was deemed to be low, the fastball generated notable whiff from batters and he threw with excellent command and control. The team brought him back for subsequent workouts, resulting in an increase in velocity each time. When Javier reached 89 miles per hour (143 km/h), scout Román Ocumarez quipped, "if you touch 90, we’re going to sign you." He did so in the next workout, and Javier signed with the Astros as an international free agent on March 18, 2015. His contract was reported to be worth $10,000.
Javier spent his first professional season with the Dominican Summer League Astros, going 4–0 with a 2.13 ERA over 42+1⁄3 innings. He played 2016 with the Gulf Coast Astros and Greeneville Astros, pitching to a 4–2 record and 2.29 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 51 innings, and 2017 with the Tri-City ValleyCats, Quad Cities River Bandits and Buies Creek Astros, compiling a 3–0 record and 2.25 ERA in 14 games (nine starts). He pitched in 2018 with Quad Cities and Buies Creek, going 7–6 with a 2.70 ERA with 146 strikeouts over 110 innings. He opened the 2019 season with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers before being promoted to the Corpus Christi Hooks on May 15. He was promoted to the Round Rock Express on August 23. Over 26 games (18 starts) with the three clubs, Javier went 8-3 with a 1.74 ERA, striking out 170 over 113+2⁄3 innings.
Following the 2019 season, the Astros added Javier to their 40–man roster.
Major leagues
On July 25, 2020, Javier made his MLB debut, pitching one scoreless inning versus the Seattle Mariners. He made his first career MLB start versus the Los Angeles Dodgers four days later. On August 4, he received his first MLB career win.
In 2020, Javier was 5-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 54+1⁄3 innings over 12 games (10 starts). Javier made his postseason debut against the Minnesota Twins in the American League Wild Card Series, also receiving his first playoff win in this game. Javier finished third in voting for the AL Rookie of the Year award behind Luis Robert and the winner, Kyle Lewis.
On April 22, 2021, Javier became the first Astros pitcher to record the first eight outs of a game by strikeout since Jim Deshaies in 1986. In a five inning performance, he set a new personal high with nine strikeouts and one walk on no earned runs.
Javier finished the 2021 season 4–1 with a 3.55 ERA, setting numerous then-career highs, including 36 games pitched, nine starts, 101+1⁄3 innings, 130 strikeouts, 53 walks, and two saves. He also struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings pitched (K/9).
After 8+1⁄3 scoreless innings in relief spanning three appearances to begin the 2022 season, the Astros made Javier their sixth starter. He won his starting debut on April 27, in which he allowed two runs, four hits, and two walks in five innings versus the Texas Rangers. He started the May 3 contest versus the Mariners without allowing a hit until the fourth inning when Ty France led off with a single; Javier permitted two hits in all over 5+1⁄3 innings as the Astros shutout the Mariners 4–0. Javier tied his career high with nine strikeouts on May 25, keeping the Cleveland Guardians hitless until Ernie Clement singled with two outs in the fifth inning. Javier totaled 5+2⁄3 scoreless innings in which he earned the win in a 2–1 final score.
On June 25, 2022, Javier threw the first seven innings to lead his team to a combined no-hitter against the New York Yankees, starting opposite former Astros ace Gerrit Cole. In that game, Javier also collected 13 strikeouts to establish a new career-best. In his next start on July 1, 2022, Javier topped his strike-out record against the Los Angeles Angels with 14 over seven innings, giving up just one run on one hit, with no walks. With 27 strikeouts in total over his last two starts with one hit allowed, he set a Major League Baseball record for most strikeouts with only one hit allowed over a two-game span. He became the fourth pitcher in franchise history to attain 13 or more strikeouts in consecutive starts, and the first since Cole in 2019.
International career
Javier made and won his World Baseball Classic (WBC) debut on March 13, 2023. He pitched four scoreless innings in a 6–1 final over Nicaragua.
Personal life
Javier's parents are Trinidad Mieses and Cecilio Javier. His father saw him pitch in Major League Baseball for the first time during a combined no-hitter started by Javier in Game Four of the 2022 World Series. Javier is nicknamed El Reptil.