Astros’ six-game losing streak is officially no fun

We knew this, but it took Josh Reddick to make it official relative to the Astros’ current six-game losing streak. “It’s zero fun, I can tell you that,” Reddick said.

There you go. It was not just our imagination.

The Astros’ streak, which has included the last game of a successful homestand against the lowly Blue Jays, a road sweep at the hands of the mediocre Reds and the first two road games against the high flying Yankees has covered all the bases in the world of stink.

  • Do you want blowouts? 12-0 against Toronto will do.
  • Do you want close but no cigar? All three games against Cincinnati were 1 run losses.
  • Do you like blown saves leading to an opponent’s walk-off? In the last game against the Reds, closer Roberto Osuna took over a one-run lead, allowed a leadoff double, came back with two strikeouts and then allowed two singles with an error attached to the first to lose the game.
  • Do you want a bullpen meltdown? You have Cionel Perez letting the Blue Jays torch him for seven runs in a prolonged sixth inning.
  • Do you like the elements affecting the head of a starter? Here’s Framber Valdez pitching great through 3 innings in the opener against the Yanks and then allowing three homers and six runs in the rain during the fateful fourth.
  • Do you like bad offense? In all six games, the Astros did not score until the fourth at earliest and in four of them, they did not score until the sixth at earliest.
  • Do you like bad offense (part 2)? The Astros only scored 14 runs in the six games and if you drop the six they scored late in the already lost 10-6 opener against the Yanks, they only scored eight in five of the games.

This could go on and on. Luckily, the closest competitor to the Astros in the division, the Rangers, has only won 4 of their last 10 while the Astros have won 3 of their last 10.

The good news is that some of the cavalry is coming. Jose Altuve is back and had 3 hits and a walk in Friday night’s game. George Springer is playing at rehab and should be back next week. Collin McHugh and Joe Smith are both in rehab and if there are no setbacks (McHugh came out of Friday’s game as old pro pointed out after only a couple hitters for no reported reason) should be back soon. Carlos Correa and Aledmys Diaz are a little farther down the line. Oh, and a big piece of the cavalry is Yordan Alvarez, who has appeared with 9 runs scored, 5 HRs and 11 RBIs in only 10 games.

The Astros still have a 7.5 game lead in their division, but they have really been playing shaky during this losing streak. Can they turn it around quickly? The return of George Springer, who is the heart of the club and the key to the offense may tell us a lot.

So, is this just a little bump in the road or something more systemic to be concerned about?

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116 responses to “Astros’ six-game losing streak is officially no fun”

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  1. When Fangraphs says there’s not much out there on a player, it must mean there’s not much out there!
    Brett Conine was a late signee drafted by the Astros last year because of the College World Series.
    This is a baseball fantasy article that includes some talk about his performance so far for the Astros: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/the-stash-list-deep-dive-edition/
    Maybe somebody out there can send somebody out there to get an actual scouting report on Brett Conine.

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    • A 2018 11th-rounder, Conine has been utterly dominant everywhere he has pitched as a pro thus far. Though he pitched as a reliever often at Cal State Fullerton, he’s been deployed as a starter in the minors and has stacked up 119 strikeouts against 21 walks in 92 pro innings across three levels between 2018 and 2019. Though he lacks any overpowering stuff, Conine’s feel for pitching is advanced and he has a chance to make it as a back of the rotation starter. The early returns have been excellent, and the Astros should continue to push him aggressively if his performance holds up. While Conine doesn’t have the raw stuff of the pitchers ahead of him on this list, he has enough to envision a long term future as a #5 starter whose best trait is feel. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him crack Double-A before the end of the year, considering just how well he has performed in the low minors thus far. He is of no relation to former big leaguer Jeff Conine.

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  2. Following along on your rankings OP….
    – Tampa Bay with 4 in the top 50 is next behind the Astros 7. Now theirs are impressive because all 4 are in the top 20 as opposed to 3 for the Astros in the top 20.
    – Six teams have 0 in the top 50 – Texas, Toronto, Pittsburgh, ChiCubs, NY Mets and Cincinnati
    – Eleven teams have only 1 in the top 50 – StL, KC, Philly, Arizona, Washington, SF, Minny, Boston, LADodgers and the Orioles.

    This does not bode well for some teams who are not very good right now – they may have a wait a long while until they get help, if ever.

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  3. As we near the trade deadline in about 5 weeks, we know the brain trust is working diligently behind the scenes to get us to the promised land. I thought it would be interesting and fun for our contributors (many who are well versed in knowing the lay of the land) to come up with some possible trades for us. Your thoughts?

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    • I think the Astros and Tigers have trade history and that the Tigers are good candidates. I would be shocked if the Astros traded for Castellanos, though. I’m thinking a trade for Boyd or Greene.
      I’ll be looking at other scenarios in the coming days.

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  5. Hey, Dan, guess what?
    There’s a guy.
    Another guy in Roster Resources top 100 prospect performances for 2019 for the Astros.
    His name is Luis Garcia and he is slotted in the #82 spot. He is not easy to find because there are so many Luis Garcia’s who have been in MILB.
    So, I’m putting his stat sheet link in here:
    http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=677651#/career/R/pitching/2019/ALL
    Look at those 2019 stats! I’ll be honest with you. I’m not even sure if that is the right photo for him. Time will tell.

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    • I’m up with Luis! Thank 1OP. You know, up until last season, I was able to make one click and come up with the MILB web page with all of the Astro farm club info; game results, rosters, stats, player ratings within the organization, etc. Did I miss something, or have things changed? It was much easier to keep an eye on the prospects.

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      • If you go to the Astros’ mlb website like old pro suggests and click on the top prospects link – scroll down to where they show the Astros’ top prospect for the day. Below it is a link where they show all the box scores for the organization from the Astros on down. Nice one place to look.

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  6. Tomorrow morning, be sure to check on the Astros website for Monday’s Top Prospect Performers, because they will talk about Brandon Bielak’s terrific start against a real good and veteran Iowa Cubs team.

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  7. Tucker was back in the lineup for today’s 6-4 win over Iowa Cubs. He went 1 for 5 with 2K and 1 run.

    Rojas started in LF and went 2 for 3 with 1 K, 1 BB and 5 RBI, including 4 on a GS in the 6th inning. Rojas is a premiere bat that has hit at every level for both average and power. His transition to AAA has gone very smooth. They are playing him all over the field and I could see him as a future super- utility player or a very good trade piece. If he does not get traded I could see him get a few ABs in the show in September.

    Bielak was money today.7 IP, 1BB and 9K. Two strong starts in a row.

    1OP brought up Garcia again. He continues to move quickly through the system (entered system in 2017) and put up excellent numbers. This year he is pretty much un-hittable at Fayetteville (.157 avg, 0.96 WHIP). He has 80K in 56 IP and 23 BB. He is only 22 and should end the season in AA. If he performs well at AA he could start 2020 in AAA and possibly be an option for Astros to consider in the 2020 season. Yes, his stuff is that good!

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  8. So, is the slump over? Suddenly, the line up looks a lot more robust. I think the guys are going to start having fun again, and by extension, so will we.

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  9. We are going to Thurs afternoon game, Peacock will face Musgove. I really liked Joe Musgove, and I hope he has a long tenure with the Pirates. We like sitting down the first base line. I don’t feel safe at night in the area of Minute Maid anymore. When they reinstate George tomorrow does Guduan go back down? Robert Ford said when Verlander starts he wants Jake in centerfield, he said that was the only request Verlander asks. I’m so excited for Springer to be back!

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    • His jersey will be sold out in 5 min.!! “Beer” on the back of a jersey is awesome!
      He sure has blown through out minor leagues fast! I’m gonna get me a jersey with his name on it!LOL!!!

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    • It is weird – you would think that someone who can play football, be a competitive swimmer and skater would be a decent athlete on the baseball field.

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      • Dan, here’s the way I look at it. The Astros drafted beer because he was rated higher than their spot in the draft. He was a great value because he had a great bat. The Astros knew who he was when they drafted him and he has shown that he is that guy.
        Beer has power, but the Astros liked that he had more than that. Beer had the bat tool to go along with the power tool. He was slow when they drafted him and his defense was questionable when they drafted him.
        The bottom line is that they drafted him to be a hitter and he is doing it. That means he has not lost value, but actually gained value because he has continued to hit all the way up and including AA. No matter what, if he retains his value then he will benefit this organization, one way or another.

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      • Draft beer is always best!

        Our drafted Beer has great value, and you are right 1OP, his value has only increased. He is basically White with a better bat and without the future fat induced health issues. All in all, I can’t name too many players that have moved through the system as fast as he has, despite the fact that he really has only one tool. If he could master 1B he would be a great Yuli replacement. Less range on D but a much better bat.

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      • Again, if you look at prospect tool grades, you have the hit tool and the hit for power tool. Beer has both. For an America League organization these two tools are the most important, followed by run, arm and field. Astros prospects with their position player tools listed:http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2019?list=hou
        MLB has Beer’s hit tool graded at 50 and his power tool at 55. His run tool is a 20, his fielding a 30 and his arm a 45. But the batting tools are so important that they give him an overall prospective grade of 50.

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