5 things you need to know about the Astros right now

The 2025 season is in the stretch run, and suffice it to say that the Astros are at a pivotal point. As we hit mid-August, the team sits atop the AL West, but the road ahead is anything but guaranteed. It could take several different paths, as you will see below.

Injuries, streaks of hot and cold play, and emerging talent make this a fascinating season to watch. Most of you here are true diehard fans, so here’s what you need to know to stay in the loop and understand what could come next.

1. ESPN and MLB Updated Top 10 Astros Prospects

The Astros have one of the worst farm systems in the majors, and ESPN and MLB seem to be at odds on some of the key prospects. Brice Matthews retains his spot at the top of each list, but new names like Jase Mitchell and Ethan Frey are generating buzz as they join the rankings.

Notably, there are some stark differences and you’ll see those in the lists below. I’m not sure if this is just a difference in opinion or if it indicates how volatile the Astros’ system is. Or, if it just further demonstrates how difficult it is to know which players will develop.

RankingESPNMLB
1.Brice MathewsBrice Mathews
2.Jacob MeltonJacob Melton
3.Xavier NeyensXavier Neyens
4.Walker JanekWalker Janek
5. Kevin AlvarezMiguel Ullola
6.Caden PowellJoseph Sullivan
7.Anderson BritoAnderson Brito
8.Ryan ForcucciKevin Alvarez
9.Jase MitchellEthan Frey
10Ethan FreyRyan Forcucci

This list isn’t just a glimpse at future possibilities, though. It’s also a reminder of how thin the system may really be. For a team fighting to maintain its organizational dominance, these prospects are more than names on a list. They can be potential game-changers—one way or the other–in the seasons to come.

2. Was June an outlier?

June 2025 was magical for the Astros. A 19–7 record that month made them look almost untouchable, and everything seemed to click—from timely hitting to lockdown pitching. But the months before and after tell a different story. Through August 14, the Astros are 6–6 this month, and all other 2025 months have hovered around .500 too.

August has been a solid month in recent years (17-11 in 2022, 17-11 in 2023, 18-10 in 2024), so that gives some hope. And you know Seattle won’t/can’t possibly maintain its current pace.

The question is whether June was truly an anomaly or a blueprint the team can replicate. As I often tell my clients: The magic you’re looking for is in the work you’re avoiding. It seems the Astros have been avoiding solving the pitching conundrum. Solve it, though, and perhaps the magic will re-appear in the 2025 post-season.

3. Three Ways the Season Could Go.

Every Astros’ fan loves a good “what if” scenario. Here’s how the rest of the season might unfold. Face it, the next few weeks will likely reveal one of these scenarios.

  • Win It All. The pitching staff stays dominant, key hitters return to form, and the Astros find consistency at the plate. If everything clicks, they’re strong contenders for the World Series.
  • Tread Water. Inconsistency keeps the team hovering around .500 in stretches, enough to maintain playoff position (maybe) but not enough to secure a division title. The team survives, but the magic feels just out of reach.
  • The Dam Finally Breaks. Injuries and underperformance finally catch up. If key players can’t deliver and the cavalry doesn’t show up with strong reinforcements, the Astros will stumble, and even fall out of contention entirely.

4. Who Will Make or Break the Astros in September?

As the regular season winds down, certain players will have an outsized impact on Houston’s playoff hopes. Which of these stars—or surprise contributors—will define the Astros’ fate?

Your guess is as good as mine, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. A lot of the younger players and pitchers may have hit their ceilings, at least at this part of their development, so it may be unfair to ask or expect too much from them.

5. Astros at a Glance

  • Record: 68–53, 1st in AL West
  • Recent Performance: Three straight series wins. Did you notice that?
  • Key Players: Hunter Brown (10–5, 2.45 ERA), Jeremy Peña (.318 AVG), Yordan Álvarez (returning soon, hopefully, definite maybe).
  • Standings: Lead AL West, third-best record in AL.
  • Upcoming Series: Facing the Baltimore Orioles at home starting tonight (August 15).

The numbers show a team with strong bones, though some of those bones may be brittle. But as always in baseball, it’s how they perform in September that matters most. We’re almost there.

Questions for you…

  1. How much impact will the young prospects have in the next 2–3 years, and who is closest to making an immediate difference?
  2. Which strategy (e.g., aggressive lineup changes, rotation adjustments, or bullpen management) will be the key to pushing past the competition in the AL West?
  3. If the Astros struggle down the stretch, what lessons should the organization and fans take away for the future, whether they make the playoffs or not?
  4. Which of the new players will emerge in 2026 as the face of the Astros, as Correa and Altuve prepare to hand off the baton in the coming years?
  5. Which under-the-radar prospects or minor league players could surprise everyone and become key contributors in the next few years?
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39 responses to “5 things you need to know about the Astros right now”

  1. Eh, these prospect rankings are eh. In 2018 Forrest Whitley was rated number 1, Framber Valdez was 16. Cristian Javier was 19. At least they had Tucker and Alvarez high, but they also had Freudis Nova high (great name though).

    I don’t know if I personally consider Brice Matthews the number 1 prospect. He is certainly a good prospect. I like guys that can maintain the BB/K ratios through levels. He has that gappish type power. He hasn’t hit terribly well in the minors at .260 – so you have to wonder how consistently he is squaring the ball up, but we know he squares up.

    Them listing Melton at number 2 is a bit of a surprise. At A ball – 59/103 isn’t something to write home about but it’s not getting you removed from any prospect lists either. But the roughly 2:7 ratios at AA and AAA coupled with batting average struggles again set me to wonder, good prospect, maybe, number 2? Not for me.

    I feel like Walker Janek’s spot on here is because of the position he plays and the smattering of information we have on minor league fielding stats suggest he plays it pretty well. But offensively, I want to see a season at AA before I give up on that aspect, but the fact that he can’t get out of Asheville in 2 full years has to be at least a bit concerning.

    I’ll be honest – I remember the news of another Alvarez from Cuba joining the franchise. He has so far looked legitimate, but lets see what A ball brings him next year. Right now, in the way too early poll, I would have him top 3 in the organization.

    Miguel Ullola has not had a fun last few weeks. On July 20th he threw 5.1 shutout innings, with 11 Ks in 92 pitches. But he also walked 5 guys. Probably had an escape artist moment or two. The last 4 games, those walks have not been escaped. I thought there was a point the Astros might call him up when the injuries started piling up, who knows what happens if they had, but it could have been back breaking. Still, dude has a live arm.

    Ethan Frey should be higher on this list and is a guy you will see in Houston one day.

    Some guys not mentioned that I like –

    Jose Fleury – has only thrown 51 innings this year and this seems to be a career pattern. But dude throws strikes and has some strikeout stuff. At 23 and at AAA we will need to see a healthy 2024 before we get a real read.

    AJ Blubaugh – we’ve seen the stuff. He was hitting 97. We also know the struggles he has had at AAA – but he has been better as of late. I still think a 97 MPH and previous success should land him in the top 10 even if his ERA is in orbit this year.

    Give me a full season at AA for Will Bush. Let’s see if those ratios stay the same or get worse. Let’s see if his power can grow a little more. They will probably get him out from behind the plate though, his entire minor league career has been a free base to the other team.

    I like Bryce Mayer. A full season at AA or even late season AAA promotion could be in line for 2026. Don’t sleep on Jancel Villarroel.

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  2. Eh, these prospect rankings are eh. In 2018 Forrest Whitley was rated number 1, Framber Valdez was 16. Cristian Javier was 19. At least they had Tucker and Alvarez high, but they also had Freudis Nova high (great name though).

    I don’t know if I personally consider Brice Matthews the number 1 prospect. He is certainly a good prospect. I like guys that can maintain the BB/K ratios through levels. He has that gappish type power. He hasn’t hit terribly well in the minors at .260 – so you have to wonder how consistently he is squaring the ball up, but we know he squares up.

    Them listing Melton at number 2 is a bit of a surprise. At A ball – 59/103 isn’t something to write home about but it’s not getting you removed from any prospect lists either. But the roughly 2:7 ratios at AA and AAA coupled with batting average struggles again set me to wonder, good prospect, maybe, number 2? Not for me.

    I feel like Walker Janek’s spot on here is because of the position he plays and the smattering of information we have on minor league fielding stats suggest he plays it pretty well. But offensively, I want to see a season at AA before I give up on that aspect, but the fact that he can’t get out of Asheville in 2 full years has to be at least a bit concerning.

    I’ll be honest – I remember the news of another Alvarez from Cuba joining the franchise. He has so far looked legitimate, but lets see what A ball brings him next year. Right now, in the way too early poll, I would have him top 3 in the organization.

    Miguel Ullola has not had a fun last few weeks. On July 20th he threw 5.1 shutout innings, with 11 Ks in 92 pitches. But he also walked 5 guys. Probably had an escape artist moment or two. The last 4 games, those walks have not been escaped. I thought there was a point the Astros might call him up when the injuries started piling up, who knows what happens if they had, but it could have been back breaking. Still, dude has a live arm.

    Ethan Frey should be higher on this list and is a guy you will see in Houston one day.

    Some guys not mentioned that I like –

    Jose Fleury – has only thrown 51 innings this year and this seems to be a career pattern. But dude throws strikes and has some strikeout stuff. At 23 and at AAA we will need to see a healthy 2024 before we get a real read.

    AJ Blubaugh – we’ve seen the stuff. He was hitting 97. We also know the struggles he has had at AAA – but he has been better as of late. I still think a 97 MPH and previous success should land him in the top 10 even if his ERA is in orbit this year.

    Give me a full season at AA for Will Bush. Let’s see if those ratios stay the same or get worse. Let’s see if his power can grow a little more. They will probably get him out from behind the plate though, his entire minor league career has been a free base to the other team.

    I like Bryce Mayer. A full season at AA or even late season AAA promotion could be in line for 2026. Don’t sleep on Jancel Villarroel.

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  3. Hi Chip,

    Happy Friday. Quick thoughts.

    1. Prospect lists mean nothing to me. We always end up with low and unranked guys that end up contributing, whether on the field or via trade. And I think some of our guys are ranked too highly. Jacob Melton for instance. Clearly a good athlete, but he really has not hit enough at any level. So far he’s a platoon bat, maybe. He’s almost 25 now and his career MILB stats are unremarkable. He’s playing ML ball due to injuries. I’m sure not an expert on prospects though. I got Altuve right. And I think I got Yanier right. But there are so many other guys I’ve been wrong about.
    2. The best strategy that I can think of would be to have the bats go on a tear. Is that a strategy? Besides that, I think Joe won’t simply make Abreu the closer. He’ll use match ups more. If the heart of the order is coming up in the 8th, we still might see Abreu then. If lefties are coming up in the 9th, we might see Okert or Souza. Who knows, maybe we’ll see Lance. Or maybe we won’t.
    3. Lessons? Well, the obvious answer is the medical one. And not just the post injury aspect. As Dan said yesterday, are we doing things that are harmful to our pitchers? I think Yordan has a genetic problem. His hands might not get fixed well enough for him to have a long baseball career. As far as the fans go, I can only speak for myself. It’s already been a memorable season. So much has been overcome. And as we found out with Hader on Monday, there is likely more to come.
    4. Like I said, I’m not great at determining which young guys are going to be difference makers. Cam Smith was rushed, I think to his detriment. We don’t want him to take singles and doubles to right field. We want homers to left center. Hopefully that will come. And I hope Jacob Melton proves me wrong. I liked Ryan Gusto too. I like Alimber Santa, but he, like so many others, can’t throw strikes reliably.
    5. I’ll leave this one to the MILB nerds. I have no clue, but despite our consistently bad minor league prospect ratings, a couple of guys always show up. I expect that to continue.

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  4. Now to your questions –

    1. Matthews and Melton have their shots. I personally don’t think he can, but Melton could honestly win the CF job next year with a good September. Meyers is the teams CFer but Melton bats from the side they need, and isn’t about to get 5M in arbitration. Blubaugh should see more innings next year. Those are the guys that will get first crack, but I’m not sure any of them are really major league starters.
    2. I’m going to take bullpen management. Staying in close games in the 5th or 6th inning is going to matter. I would even venture to say 5-7 are going to become the most important innings in September. Certainly there will be games that are decided earlier to our benefit or our chagrin, but I think 60% of our games will be decided after Javier or Arrighetti or Garcia if he makes it back, after they do a 4 or 5 IP, 2 ER performance, they will be decided by the next pitcher on the mound.
    3. I don’t know if I’m qualified to suggest what they should do differently. Every I say Espada should have zigged when he zagged, I end up wrong. I would say maybe conditioning, but they are not the only franchise dealing with tommy johns and injured players.
    4. Jeremy Pena. Altuve is still the face that runs the place. But Pena is arguably already the man.
    5. I mentioned Fleury, his lack of innings is letting him fly under that radar. I could see him becoming a bullpen piece/spot starter. I’ve always had praise for Shawn Dubin’s stuff, but every time I think the corner is turned he throws a fastball right down the middle with multiple runners on. I still think he has the stuff to become a leverage guy but it’s up to him to not lose focus out there and put one on a tee. I hear we have this guy pitching in the minors named Luis Garcia that is pretty good, but I find it difficult to find any real information on the guy (or a stat line for that matter). There is a chance he makes an impact on 2026.

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  5. Great job, Chip. I will go after your questions a little later during my lunch break. Right now I wanted to hit quickly on one of your subjects – the one-off ness of June.

    I pulled this back up.

     ChipalattAwards for June – ALL THINGS ASTROS

    When you look at June – the hitting was middle of the road or just below middle of the road. The pitching on the other hand was the very best in the AL and if I had done the comparison that way – the very best in the majors.

    Can they do that again? The gut feeling is that without Hader, with regression by Sousa, Okert and King, with trying to integrate the injured (Arrighetti, Javier, Garcia, France, McCullers, Walter) into the rotation and bullpen and the likely shorter stints they will do for awhile – that kind of dominance is not coming. But they could do better than their middle of the road ERA in July, which led to a middle of the road 12-13 record.

    The plus side is that with the return of Jeremy Pena and the addition of Carlos Correa, Jesus Sanchez and Ramon Urias they are already putting out a much deeper lineup. If (big if) they can add Yordan Alvarez and / or Jake Meyers they can put out a lineup that could do good things from top to bottom, which they frankly have not seen all year long.

    A June-ish month is going to depend on both better offense and pitching than the middle of the road they put up in July and so far in August.

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  6. Before you completely dismiss the idea of Ryan Pressly making a swan song appearance in this bullpen where the circumstances have taken a crazy turn, go to his game logs and count how many appearances he had where he gave up 0 earned runs. Then compare the percentage of 0 ER appearances to, say, Bryan King. He had 36 scoreless appearances. He 8 where he gave up something. King – 50 appearances, 11 in which he surrendered at least a run.

    Ryan Pressly has had some incredible flameouts. 8 ER without recording an out. Seven earned runs in his last 5 appearances. He also gave up no earned runs in April. He gave up 8 in the month of May, all in one appearance. He gave up 2 in the month of June, in one appearance.

    A week ago, I spoke my mind. I wouldn’t trust him to close a game. Being Haderless makes you think though, you might need someone who has seen that spot before. I’m not asking for it, but I’m no longer just dismissing it.

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  7. OK so I did not quite come back at lunch time, but anyway….

    How much impact will the young prospects have in the next 2–3 years, and who is closest to making an immediate difference?

    Almost impossible to guess at this time, because frankly it ties back to opportunity, which if the Astros are finally healthy may not be much to speak of. Let’s look at potential opportunities…

    • Infield – Coming back – Walker, Correa, Pena, Altuve, Paredes (we hope), Urias, Dubon (and maybe Dezenzo and Whitcomb) – is there room for Brice Matthews?
    • Outfield – Coming back – Meyers, Sanchez, Smith, Altuve, McCormick, Trammell, and perhaps Dezenzo and Whitcomb – is there room for Melton, Sullivan, or Frey (Alvarez is still a teenager)?
    • DH – Cross your fingers it is Yordan, but if it is not – certainly Altuve would fill it up.
    • C – Diaz and ??? Caratini may well leave for more money and more starts. This is a spot where a prospect catcher could grab some time – but…Janek is only at A+ ball, Will Bush may not be a catcher. Maybe they go grab a 2nd catcher off the FA market.
    • Starting Pitching – Framber will likely be gone, but still here are – Hunter, Arrighetti, Javier, Garcia, France, McCullers, Walter, Gordon, Alexander and perhaps after the All Star Break – Wesneski and Blanco. So, where does Ullola, Blubaugh, Fleury and whoever fit?
    • Relievers – Coming back – hopefully Hader, Abreu, Sousa, King, Okert, Dubin, maybe Ort. There could be spots here for prospect pitchers, but rarely do the young guys end up in the Astros bullpen. They are more likely to grab a veteran rejected from another team.

    So, if I’m guessing who is going to make a difference from the prospects…. let’s say Ullola and Fleury – after the Astros blow out 4 or 5 more elbows or shoulders.

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    • Dan, not sure whether to say “I like your optimism” that Ullola and Fleury will make a difference, but since it’s paired with the cynicism of blowing out elbows, not sure how to position that thought. 😉

      There’s a line in my favorite movie (Apollo 13) where the cynic says this could be the biggest disaster in NASA history, to which Gene Kranz purportedly reponds that… “This will be (NASA’s) finest hour”.

      That’s how I view September. There are skeptics who say this could be a mitigated disaster because they didn’t ante up at the deadline. While others believe Houston could end up with its finest hour. Same for the offseason since the opening ’26 roster will look incredibly different than the one from this season.

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  8. Which strategy (e.g., aggressive lineup changes, rotation adjustments, or bullpen management) will be the key to pushing past the competition in the AL West?

    Prayer and fasting.

    If the Astros struggle down the stretch, what lessons should the organization and fans take away for the future, whether they make the playoffs or not?

    The fans need to realize that they have been so fortunate to live through such a wonderful time as this Astros Renaissance. Of course, most of us have earned it by walking through decades long wastelands with this team. But the bottom line is we should learn to even appreciate a team from a non-playoff season that has overcome so much to even be competitive.

    The organization may look back and learn about what happens when you kind of go all in (though as OP said the other day – they may have found how to avoid the luxury tax – pretty impressive)

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  9. Which of the new players will emerge in 2026 as the face of the Astros, as Correa and Altuve prepare to hand off the baton in the coming years?

    I think it is Jeremy Pena. Tremendous talent. Charismatic smile. Plays at a key position. Longer term may be Cam Smith but he needs to grow into it.

    Which under-the-radar prospects or minor league players could surprise everyone and become key contributors in the next few years?

    Your toughest question. Since I am not sure which on the radar prospect is going to make a big impact, how will I pick the under the radar guy? I’m not sure how under the radar they are since they got mentioned above but Alimber Santa and Jose Fleury are only their 13th and 17th ranked prospects were very good at AA (though AAA seems a little tough at the moment).

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      • Dan, remember that the average ERA of all pitchers in the PCL is consistently in the 5.50 range. So every pitcher at that AAA is going to appear rough because of the elevations.

        On a not-so-nice note, your guy, Jeremy Pena, is sick and under the weather and not in tonight’s lineup!

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    4. Good morning from a very rainy West Indies. No Cricket being played today, as hurricane Erin passes safely well north.

      If I had not known the Astros were in first place last night, I would have thought they were a last place team playing out the string.

      I only have comments about Framber this morning.

      He’s had 11 games on the season where his club has given him 0-2 runs to work with. In these games he’s put up a sparkling 1.93 ERA. But I think maybe it’s finally wearing on him.

      In August he’s given up a .338 BA, a .383 OBP, a .408 SLG and a .791 OPS.

      His ERA in 3 August starts is .5.89, his WHIP 1.636.

      On the month so far, he’s walked 6 guys and struck out just 10 batters in those three starts. And his BABip against is .365.

      He’s 0-6 with a 6.76 ERA in losses.

      He’s 11-0 with a 2.10 ERA in wins.

      So what’s up with Framber?

      Is the pressure of too many low scoring games and high leverage innings getting to him? I think that’s part of it. Once he gave up that solo shot into the first row of the Crawford Boxes with 2 outs in the 4th, his demeanor changed. It was a terrible pitch, a change up that stayed up over the plate like a ball on a tee. If that was Yanier’s pitch call, it was a bad idea. And then the 5th inning turned into a mini version of a Framber freakout. He just did not have his head fully in the game. Again. By now, he’s got to know his shortstop is playing right up the middle. Deflecting a ball by waving his glove at it started his problems. Dubon had an easy play on it. Then another hit followed by a walk to load the bases. And then he failed to back up home, the only place he needed to be, on a sac fly, allowing two runs to score. And that was essentially the game. He got zero support from his offense against a guy with zero pedigree.

      So I’m wondering. Has late season pressure reached him? Is it possible the guys playing behind him are getting tired of him losing his composure and failing to do fundamental things on the field?

      Problem is, we have to have the good version of Framber going down the stretch.

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      • I’m blacked out when we play the Orioles because Manfred and Selig are jerks. Was Young, previously 0-6 with an ERA around 6.00 really that great or did our hitters just not show up last night? My comment is about Framber, though. You mention the run support, but by the numbers this was a classic Framber game. Watching the replay of Sanchez’ error you can’t really blame Framber him for that play – he needed a strikeout or popup and he got one. But you can’t forget he put himself in that position loading the bases. I started a really long post last night that I abandoned about how sometimes you have a matchup that is so skewed in the favor of the pitcher that as a fan you can see a player may have a .200 batting average but you know the likelihood of them getting a hit is in the single digits. Even on nights where Framber has that curve biting sharply and missing bats almost every time he throws it I feel like he is one mental mistake away from melting down. This opinion is unfair to him though. He had a rough April despite only having one bad start. We lost two of his starts across May, June, and July. August hasn’t gone well as we’ve lost all three of his starts, but they were also to BOS, NYY, and BAL.

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        • Devin, you’re right, Framber should not be blamed for both of those runs scoring on the fly ball to medium left. Sanchez made a bad throw. But, had Framber been behind the plate where he belonged on that play, the second guy to score probably would not have come home. I also don’t think your comment on mental mistakes and meltdowns is unfair. When something goes wrong for Framber, we always wonder if he’ll manage the situation or allow it to mushroom, as it has too many times in the past.

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    5. Thoughts

      Daveb – You’ve hit it solid on Framber – he has always been driven by the psychology of what is going on and I think this lack of support is wearing him down. Composure is not his middle name.

      The Astros have traditionally been bad against pitchers they do not know, but man they let an absolute nobody dominate them

      The guys should have had a no hitter. I would have given him an error on that throw – an accurate throw would have nailed Urias on that throw.

      How can the Astros be 6-4 in their last 10 games. My mind does not think so.

      With 40 games to go and a 1/2 game lead the Astros look like one of those marathoners in the Olympics who went out too hard and is weaving his way either to the finish line or a collapse on the ground.

      Jason Alexander to the rescue again?

      I’m sure Jpe Espada is looking in his bag of tricks and realizes he has used them all already.

      Maybe its just that Brit saying “Stay Calm and Carry on

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    7. After last night’s shoddy show, I am parking the bandwagon behind the barn, out of sight, and moving to the upper bleachers for the rest of the season. Ugh.

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    8. at least the $55 Houston restaurant weeks menu we had at Xochi, on Walker, beforehand was fabulous. Great modern Mexican cuisine!

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      • Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught have given Houston an enduring group of quality restaurants over the years. Hugo’s remains my favorite, but I spent too much time on the patio at Backstreet Cafe all the way back in the 80’s. It’s a great story for a guy that started as a dish washer and then went on to become quite a chef.

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    9. As usual the Astros should have crashed and burned after a terrible effort on Friday and after going out of their way to boot this game. But they don’t and they are back up by 1-1/2 games

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    10. I think Friday night could be considered the ugliest loss of the season for the Astros. And last nights effort qualifies as the ugliest win of the season.

      Gosh though, what pitching the Astros got, except for those two mistakes that ended up way out in the right field seats.

      It’s so hard to watch our guys not hit. Bases loaded no outs in the 4th, two runs already in. We had the guy on the ropes. And then Altuve and Diaz had horrible at bats. Horrible.

      And I know, three pinch hitters in a row in the 8th had me scratching my head a bit, wondering who was going to play where if the game went on. And on it did. At least we found out that Carlos can play second. The O’s had a man on second base and no outs in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th and did not score. We were almost as bad. But I was so happy to see that squeeze play attempt. Only a great defensive effort negated it. The Orioles made some plays and they didn’t make some plays.

      As usual, Joe took some grief last night. I think he was simply trying to avoid extra innings at all costs when he marched the trio of pinch hitters up to the plate in the 8th. Baseball sure is a game of failure. And there was a plenty of that last night!

      I sure hope Reptil can give us some innings today. I’m not even sure who’s on the roster these days. Do we have enough arms for today’s game?

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    11. I thought the Astros 3 for 15 w/RISP was terrible until I saw the Orioles were 0 for 14. Enyel de Los Santos was a hero last night!

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    12. Thoughts

      A great game by the latest starting rotation hero out of nowhere, Jason Alexander. 6 innings with really only one pitch – a two run homer – staining his outing.

      Sousa almost got out of it in the eighth – batter almost struck out on a check swing – but NOOOOO – so he had to give up the 2 run homer to tie it on a terrible pitch smack in the middle of the plate.

      Like daveb said – that 4th inning they should have put it away 2 runs already in and the bases loaded with no outs. But NOOOOOO….

      Daveb – it probably would not have made any difference, but I was not in on the squeeze bunt – only because with a guy on 3rd and nobody out – the fielders were in – the first baseman was not inside the bag towards the plate. It almost worked, but it kind of ended the threat in a way. But the way the guys were hitting with RISP they probably wouldn’t have brought him in anyway.

      OP – lots of pitching heroes, but de Los Santos was definitely a big one last night.

      Altuve strikes out on a bad pitch with the bases loaded and no out – next time up swats a solo home run. Whatcha going to say.

      Urias looked a bit like Maldonado getting down to first base, but I think he beat the DP throw even if it had been caught.

      Kind of surprised the O’s did not come to the plate on that last play. But glad they did not.

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    13. Pre-game – Joe Espada said Yordan is going to play at Corpus and next would be activated with the big club. Acting like it will be a short stay in Corpus.

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    15. Okay guys, Mr. Positive here is beginning to see the tarnished silver. That was embarrassing. So much for winning three series in a row, the dropping this one.

      Javier was looking okay, and it’s a good thing he’s only sick, not injured.

      And it’s really strange the Astros still have the third-best record in the AL, but geez, I’m not sure how you right this ship.

      Yordan may come back soon, but he’ll still be in his “spring training” during September, so how much can he help? Arrighetti and Javier have shown signs of being able to stabilize the rotation, but the lineup is still a mish-mash with some veterans, younger players and still a few wannabes.

      They have no choice now but to dance with who brung ’em. Someone(s) will need to get hot and the previous three above will need to be strong contributors, but can they hang on and have a shot in October?

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      • Yes sir, I certainly hope they will hang in there and at least get into the October playoffs. Backing in is ugly but they will be in there. Hopefully. Gone are the Golden years.

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    16. I really think it’s getting time for the Astros to rebuild. Yes, we have enjoyed the last 7 years and it’s been a great run but I fear that it’s coming to and end. I won’t go into all the details but I think we should have made some trades for the future of the team (Framber?). And although I understand the Correra deal I just don’t think it is in the teams best interest for the long run. 125MM for 6 players for next year just doesn’t leave us a lot of room to improve. Some of these last few loses are just down right embarrassing.

      I hope we make the playoffs but I won’t be surprised if we don’t but there needs to be some changes made to give hope to the future. Sorry for being such a Debbie-downer.

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    17. Good morning Astro fans.

      The Astros remain 1 1/2 games a top the division this morning! We kind of stink right now though, kind of in an affectionate way I’d reserve for my little brother maybe 60 years ago. He was always smelly. It took years, but he got over it.

      I just don’t know if our guys can get over it though, at least in 2025. We don’t have enough hitting and pitching on our present 26 man roster. It’s that simple. And even though the M’s politely kept pace with us over the weekend, they’re going to have their full rotation back this week. And they do have the ability to put some runs on the board too.

      We get to play three against the Tigers and then four more in Baltimore this weekend. I think we know what the O’s want to do to us. Maybe we’ll get Yordan back on Friday night. Whether he can hit or not remains a question, but his presence can’t hurt, even if only for moral support. These next seven games might well tell us where we’re heading. I’m somewhat dubious. Even Chip is on the fence right now. And Z is ready for the rebuild.

      We are in it for the duration though. Do our guys have anymore rabbits?

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    18. You know you were awful when your right fielder saves a ton of runs with two robberies and you still lose 12-0.

      Many times recently, the Astros have tried to ruin my Sundays and Scottie Scheffler salvages the weekend! The shot he made from the deep rough around the 17th green yesterday will be legend!

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      • OP, happy for you. Unfortunately, not everyone has a Scottie Scheffler in their lives to bail them out.

        Believe it or not, the Astros are 17-14 in blowouts (5+ or more runs) and a solid 22-12 in one-run games, which is a testament to the pitching staff, especially earlier in the season.

        June is still the outlier (19-7) while other months are around .500, including August thus far (7-8).

        Espada is trying everything: 118 different batting orders, six guys in the leadoff spot, outfielders as pitchers and who knows what else. What’s left to try?

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