Out of necessity more than anything else the Astros have had to rely on bolts of lightning from unexpected sources this season to be 6 games ahead in their division, tied for the best record in the AL and a game out of the best record in all of baseball headed into Thursday’s games.
Today, we will look at those folks who were not expected to be on the team when it headed to Spring Training and what they have contributed to date.
Cam Smith. Even though he was the Astros #1 prospect after his off-season trade from the Cubs, no one thought a player with 115 minor league ABs (with only 19 as high as AA) was destined to start the season with the big club. He has done a great job in his MLB debut. After a slow start to the season, he hit his stride and is currently slashing .266 BA/ .333 OBP/ .732 OPS with 7 HRs and 42 RBIs. On top of that he has played an excellent right field for the team, after coming to the Astros as an infielder.
Highlights. His two0-homer / four-RBI game against the Padres in a 6-4 win on April 18th was one of his early clutch performances for the team. His walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th on June 14 against the Twins in a 3-2 win was also very memorable.
Ryan Gusto. Perhaps the front office knew all along that Ryan Gusto, who we had last seen getting his MLB debut rained out at the end of 2024, was going to make the team out of 2025 Spring Training. But he was at least a possibility only if he earned a spot in Spring Training over any of the other minor league pitchers vying for a spot and if a spot was open due to Lance McCullers and Luis Garcia not being ready for the season. Gusto has done a solid job – not only eating innings but competently swinging between the bullpen and the rotation. In 22 appearances, including 12 starts in 76.2 innings, he is 6-3 with a 4.46 ERA.
Highlights. 5.2 innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win over Toronto back in April and more recently six innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 win over the (then) best in baseball Dodgers.
Brandon Walters. He was brought up after others to help fill in behind the losses of Spencer Arrighetti, Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski, but has pitched very well. He has an undeserved 1-3 record, but in 9 starts and 53.2 innings, he has an excellent 3.35 ERA and 0.932 WHIP.
Highlights. Beyond his MLB debut (5 innings/0 runs) – he has a number of top notch starts including 6.2 innings of 1 run ball against the Twins in what ended up a 2-1, 10 inning walk off and his last start – 7 innings and 1 run allowed against Arizona in a game the bullpen blew handing him an undeserved no decision.
Colton Gordon. Again, he has done what the Astros have needed by eating innings and giving the team a chance in most of his starts. In 12 games (11 starts) and 57.2 innings, he has been a steady 4-2 with a 4.53 ERA.
Highlights. Five scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over the Phillies and 5 innings of 1 run ball in a 4-2 win over Cleveland.
Bennett Sousa. After missing all of 2024, the Astros could not have gone into the Spring Training expecting anything out of Sousa. But he came up early (first game on April 9) and has moved himself up the ladder to pitch a number of high leveraged outings. He is 4-0 with 3 saves, a 2.59 ERA and 1.008 WHIP.
Highlights. Three extra inning scoreless appearances which brought him saves against the Guardindians and Angels and a two inning win over the Rangers.
Taylor Trammell. He was picked up in a cash deal with the Yanks early in the off-season, again as positional depth. After being brought up late in June amidst the flurry of Astros injuries, he has given them a decent left-handed bat 217 BA/ .339 OBP/ .752 OPS, but more importantly a very good glove who has spent most of his time in LF and with Jake Meyers out a lot of CF.
Highlights. Biggest game was probably the critical third game of the Mariners series on July 20, where he had three hits, including a homer and three RBIs, his homer giving the Astros a two run lead in the sixth inning and his two run double capping the scoring.
Brice Matthews. Matthews took over the #1 prospect crown when Cam became a full-time major leaguer, but the team no doubt thought he would spend all of 2025 in AAA learning how to cut down on that high K-rate and honing his defense. The avalanche of injuries including infielders Jeremy Pena, Brandon Rodgers and Isaac Paredes changed that mindset and the young man has been up for a crazy effective first week in the majors.
Highlights. The whole of the recent D’Back series was a highlight as he had his first three MLB home runs and had 8 of the Astros 11 RBIs in a sweep of Arizona. He also flashed a very good glove at 2B.
Zack Short. The journeyman 30-year-old infielder was certainly not on the Astros opening day radar when he was signed as a free agent to be organizational depth back in January. He’s looked much more like a retro Astros shortstop (Roger Metzger? Adam Everett?) than a modern one (Carlos Correa, Jeremy Pena) since he was brought up, but has shown a very good glove and added at least one clutch hit in his time here.
Highlight. Against the hated Rangers on July 12, he lined a walk-off single to right in the Astros 5-4, 11th inning win.
Cooper Hummel. Yes, he has been pretty so-so for the team, but at least he has given them a switch hitter they can slot in there as needed and another outfielder in the mix.
Highlight. Hummel had the game winner back on June 24 against the Phillies. He broke a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 8th with a huge solo home run and the Astros held on for a 1-0 win.
Jason Alexander (no not that one). He only appeared in two games for the Astros, but he pitched a heckuva lot better than he did for the A’s earlier in the season going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA.
Highlight. He made an emergency start on June 17, that would have been 6 innings of scoreless ball, except for Joe Espada getting greedy and sending him out for the seventh inning and giving up three runs while getting no outs.
When you look at this as a whole, this spotlights just how important these performances from the unplanned and unexpected were to the Astros in 2025.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
25 responses to “Astros’ 2025: The out-of-nowhere kids”
Did you hear about the team that didn’t care about Homecoming?
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Good morning,
Oh well, the A’s keep sending Severino after us. Maybe we should get a deal done for him.
Looking beyond the Astro loss last night, there was some good news to be had. Jacob Melton got a couple of hits in four at bats while playing centerfield for the Space Cowboys. He should be back pretty soon.
Our friend Reptil threw 49 pitches, hitting 93+ to 94+ on the gun while walking a couple of guys and giving up a run over 2.2 innings. As long as he feels well today and tomorrow, he should be on whatever schedule the club has set up for him. Maybe mid August? The only other thing I noticed, is that he looked a bit chunky and he was sweating a whole lot out there.
Ryan Gusto gets the nod tonight. We sure need a good game from him. He’s only thrown 28 live pitches since his 4.1 innings on July 11th, so he’s had plenty of rest, maybe too much. We’ll see.
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Dan, looking at the names you’ve provided above, I’m wondering which of them will be with the big club a week from now.
Cam Smith is not going anywhere.
Ryan Gusto threw 148 innings last year, so he’s got plenty of arm left and should be one of the last guys to go down, if he does go at all. He’s versatile.
Brandon Walter will only get held up by his innings count. Over 100 already, his professional career max is 117 and that was in 2023, just prior to his rotator cuff injury that cost him all of 2024.
Colton Gordon is also at 100 innings. He’ll probably max out around 140 on the season. But there might not be room for him by the end of August.
Bennet Souza has been an unexpected huge help but his July, not so great. Is he coming back down to earth?
Taylor Trammell should stick around as long as Jake is out, even as Melton gets back, but that also depends on whether or not Dana brings in a lefty outfield bat. He’s pretty well rounded, at least so far.
Brice Matthews will stay as long as he does not go into a real bad hitting slump, again, unless Dana Brown finds a third baseman.
Zack Short, same thing as Brice. If Dubon has to stay at third, then Zack will be with us until we get Pena back. Gosh, I sure want to see Jeremy back.
Cooper Hummel, as willing as he is, will go back to AAA. He just does not hit enough or play solid defense.
Jason Alexander. We might need him to eat one more start. But I hope not.
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Thoughts
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Javier and the rehab brigade could bolster Astros’ rotation
I find it funny that an Astro need is for RIGHT handed relief help after all those seasons of one or no lefties in the bullpen.
Just plain bad luck that we are at a point where we may have starting rotation help on the way, but there is no sure thing when it comes to rehabbing pitching.
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Was Lance in the dugout last night?
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My brother, David, just texted me “Walter’s elbow inflammation, OMG!”
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Astros Claim Logan Davidson, Place Brandon Walter On Injured List – MLB Trade Rumors
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With so many guys out and their return questionable, it does not make a whole lot of sense to trade off prospects for rentals at this point.
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Has anyone seen the chatter on social media about the Astros bringing back Carlos Correa? It seems to be coming from some places that have historically been right about such things and may have some connections to decision makers in the Astros Organization.
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I hadn’t heard that Jeff – a couple questions:
Are they saying at the trade deadline or the offseason?
Where would he play – Peña should be back soon and Paredes some time?
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The discussion seemed to me to be a trade deadline thing. The couple of twitter accounts come from one person who describes himself as a “Astros Writer” apparently for the Ice Box Insider. and the other describes himself as a person who “tells stories for a living.
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And as to your second question, the theory seems to be 3rd base because Paredes may not return. I think I saw him quoted as saying it would “months and months.” His injury is listed as “pretty serious.”
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I saw something by a guy named Bonda who posts prolifically on X daily.
I don’t know why the Astros would take on Correa’s salary, or even half of it at this point in time. Carlos has had his best days. He’s under contract through 2028.
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Correa chose to go elsewhere for the maximum amount of money possible. Maybe I’d do the same thing. In fairness, he earned more from the Twins in the first year of the contract than he did from the Astros across six seasons. If you factor in signing bonus then the Astros paid him more…but since that point in time the Twins will have paid him $141M after this year and then get the please of paying him $96M more over three years before they reach the final four years of a contract where the team holds options of $25M, $20M, $15M, and $10M. We’ll assume he won’t hit the thresholds to guarantee those years. In what universe would any team take him on with that contract? The Yankees just traded for a guy who I don’t think I’d ever really thought about before who is owed another $4M this year and then $32M across the next two despite never putting up an OPS over .779 (.717 for 2025) while hitting in Colorado. Correa has a .711 OPS this year. Mauricio Dubon’s is .706.
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Based on last night and tonight’s games – maybe I should have titled this Back to nowhere Kids
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I want to know, who kidnapped the Astros’ pitching staff and who are these guys??
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Kurtz… why didn’t Espada just put up four fingers each time Kurtz came up after the second homer??
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Good morning! I feel kind bad for Ryan Gusto. He just was not ready last night. I also think losing his starting job to Lance hindered his momentum. There was really no other option though. His last start was 14 days ago, an excellent one against the Dodgers. Having to go two weeks with just 28 pitches out of the pen was not an ideal way to get him ready for last night. He did not look confident and got ambushed by a good line up. A starter, especially a rookie starter, needs his routine. Being the swingman is a tough role for anyone but better served by a veteran.
I don’t know where we go from here. We have pitching problems. We have an anemic offense. I don’t think Dana Brown, even with divine intervention, can work miracles at the deadline. We just have to get some guys back, fully healthy, without rushing them, guys that will be effective, while this group hangs on.
One note. Hunter put up a 5.09 ERA in his rookie season while getting 31 starts. Gusto is sitting at 5.18 right now. I hope he’s around in 2026. He’ll be a pretty good pitcher before long.
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Thoughts
Kurtz kind of reminded me of Lance Berkman on some of those shots – line drives the other way into the Crawford Boxes. 4 HRs and that double was to one of the deeper parts of the park off the wall. The kid has 59 RBIs in only 66 games.
The one thing the team has done well is take one on the chin like last night and then turn it around the next day like nothing happened.
Somehow they are still 5 up on the M’s. The M’s made a couple moves yesterday to improve. Rangers are only one game back of them.
Tough game for Gusto – hope he doesn’t get too down about it
The Astros need Hunter Brown to be an ace today.
Wondering why Framber is going from last Tuesday until at least Monday without pitching. Brown is today, Gordon is tomorrow and then the dreaded TBD
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This current Astro tm has a very limited array of super powers to defend against a league of competitive antagonist looking to overthrow them now before some of their more productive wounded warriors return. Even then it may still be a crapshoot to win the division and make an extended playoff run if returnees do not produce. As I have stated previously, this is a scrappy bunch have done just enough to continue winning. How long can they maintain getting by with a roster littered with AA-AAA gamers? I see some of this as an audition for prospects in 2026 and beyond.
At this juncture I am ready to sell Framber rather than see him walk at season’s end (does anyone think Crane will open the vault?) Surely there are other deals they can make to bolster this roster for 2026 and beyond but I can’t say what that is. Two position players this tm was relying on this season are C. Walker and Diaz. Both have been more than disappointing given their past offensive contributions. Walker appears ready to cook unless another string of ofers derail him. Diaz is one of the teeth gritters for me. This guy is very capable. Watching him 0-2 too many AB’s out the gate for an easy out then amble back to the dugout pains me. Take a page from Pena, Meyers, even Cam, big D. You got the goods.
How about a new contract for different medical tm Crane? This one sucks.
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It looks like this club has finally hit the wall. I say finally because they’ve really hung in and deserve a whole lot of credit. Remarkably, they still lead their division by 4 games. If they can hang around, even close to first place, then they’ve got a chance if some guys get back and can be effective. That does remain an if though. Lance got all the way back, but could not be effective. But I’m pretty sure Crane means it when he says the Astros will never be sellers as long as he’s around. Dana will try to make some moves to make the club better. They will try everything doable to steal as many wins as possible and count on several guys coming back and having a positive impact. It’s going to be tough and ugly at least for a while, but the season is far from over. More good things can still happen. I’m also not sure if Framber wants to leave. He might make it easier on the club .
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Thoughts
Teaser – Chip will be bringing it tomorrow – I won’t say anymore than that
Hector Neris 2025 is not Hector Neris 2022, nor pre-injury Shawn Dubin of 2025. OK his ERA looks good at 2.57, but frankly he gave up three unearned runs last night based on a questionable error – I feel like they were earned in my heart. They need to be looking elsewhere.
Hunter Brown struggled last night, but only gave up the 1 run in 5 innings. The team did not have their bats working last night – again.
17 straight games allowing the opposition to score first – a recipe for disaster. 19 is the record by the 1987 Orioles (in the expansion era0.
Colton Gordon needs to avoid the sweep by the A’s. Imagine typing that at the beginning of the season.
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I believe that this group has run out of gas. These four games have been an embarrassment and I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. I’ll give credit to all of those guys who have gotten us this far but the proverbial well has run dry. Until we get back the regulars (pitching and hitting) we may see a collapse like never been seen before. I hope not but my optimism has waned significantly in the last couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see what happens at the trade deadline.
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Yes Zanuda, they can brings us to so many highs, then drop us to so many lows.
It’s like, which team is going to show up today??
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