WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Don’t talk to the Astros about openers -- last year’s popular trend of relief pitchers starting games. They don’t want to hear about starters doing the five and dive, working only five innings before turning a game over to the bullpen.

The Astros still believe in starting pitchers working deep into games and turning the ball over the back end of the bullpen. That path to 27 outs is almost considered “old school,” but it’s an easy one to believe in when you have veteran starters Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole -- a pair of top five finishers in the 2018 American League Cy Young Award race -- at the top of your rotation.

“I do believe the tone of a team is set by the pitching staff, and we have a really good one and we’ve got some boys at the top in J.V. and Gerrit that are really setting a tremendous tone for our entire pitching staff,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said.

In 2018, the Astros were the only team in the Majors to have three starting pitchers reach 200 innings -- Verlander, Cole and Dallas Keuchel, who remains a free agent. Houston starters threw 955 1/3 innings, which trailed only the Indians (993 2/3) for the most by a starting staff. The Astros’ 98 quality starts tied the Indians for the Major League lead.

“I think the ability to help your bullpen and eat up innings, those are innings your bullpen doesn’t have to throw,” Verlander said. “When they come in to a high leverage situation they’re [fresher]. They have an opportunity for more success that way. I think up and down the entire organization, it lends to success to have good starting pitching and throw 200 innings. I think that should be something that will come back around. I think it is something that’s really valuable.”

Last year, the Astros had used only five starting pitchers all season until Brad Peacock made a spot start on Aug. 21 in place of Lance McCullers Jr., who went on the injured list on Aug. 5 with a muscle strain in his right forearm. The McCullers injury -- which eventually required Tommy John surgery -- and the loss of Charlie Morton (Rays) and Keuchel (unsigned) in free agency, means the Astros will have to fill 500 innings in their rotation this year.

Collin McHugh is sliding back into the rotation after a solid year in the ‘pen, and the Astros signed veteran lefty Wade Miley, who topped 200 innings in 2013-14. Peacock is expected to be the fifth starter -- a role in which he flourished in 2017.

“We all compete with each other,” said McHugh, who reached 200 innings in 2015. “That’s the good thing and the bad thing about it. We have two of the best examples in baseball last year of how to be successful and how to do it over the long haul, and you want to go out there and do at least what those guys did when you go out. Hopefully that builds momentum and builds confidence throughout the staff. Like I said, when somebody goes down, hopefully somebody steps up.”

The Astros’ bullpen has the ability to be one of the game’s best. Ryan Pressly, who earlier this week signed a two-year, $17.5-million extension, and Roberto Osuna were terrific for Houston last year after coming over in July trades. Osuna posted a 1.99 ERA and saved 12 games with the Astros in the regular season, and Pressly had a 0.77 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP in 26 games with Houston, striking out 32 and walking three.

The Astros will also be counting on big contributions from former All-Stars Chris Devenski and Will Harris and veteran Hector Rondon. The Astros have plenty of weapons to get 27 outs, but it begins with the starters and ends with the bullpen.

“This is the deepest our ‘pen has been at the start of the season where we feel really, really excited about Osuna, Pressley, Harris and Devenski,” Hinch said. “These are really big arms that are going to try to find a spot for some innings.”