To be totally truthful – today I am prepping for the type of procedure tomorrow where you have to uhhhhh – clear the pipes today.
So, I am looking to do a quick and easy post where my dear readers must do all the work.
Please, give me your best shots at the answers….
- Have you ever in your life seen a team that could not obtain reasonable outfield offense as the 2026 Astros (ignoring the times when Yordan plays LF)?
- Peter Lambert is being called by some this season’s Jason Alexander. Do you think he is destined for the same crash and burn in 2027 that Alexander just experienced in 2026? Why or why not?
- If you were a betting man – who do you think will be in the Astros starting lineup in 2029 – Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and/or Yordan Alvarez or none? And why?
- To match their record from 2025, the Astros would have to finish 2026 on a 37-21 roll. Can they do it?
- Yordan Alvarez is well on his way to winning the MVP and the Triple Crown. He’s leading batting average .328 to .307, home runs 34 to 30 and RBIs 77 to 71. Do you even care about the Triple Crown in this day of lots of other prime stats or is it an old fashioned title?
- Peter Lambert currently has 8 wins, Spencer Arrighetti has 7 wins, and Tatsuya Imai has 6 wins. Who will lead the team in wins this year and with how many?
- Christian Walker has a current slash of .234 BA/ .309 OBP/ .761 OPS, while Jose Altuve sits at .232 BA/ .300 OBP/ .702 OPS. Which one is going to end the season ahead in 2 or more of those categories?
- What do you think a five- or six-man rotation for the Astros will look like at the end of the season? Will there be someone in it that is not with the organization right now?
- Bryan King had given up two runs in 23 appearances when he hit a rough spot with 9 runs given up in his last four games. He was sent down to the minors at that point – was that fair?
- When Carlos Correa returns in 2027, what will the infield for the Astros look like?
- If you were the Astros GM – who would not be with the team on August 4, the day after the trade deadline this season? (Note – they are allowed by the CBA to move the deadline between July 28 and August 3 to avoid game times. Seems weird)
- What percentage chance is there that the work stoppage that is coming will be resolved by the beginning of next season? By May 1st? By All Star Game? Not resolved until 2028?
OK – that should keep y’all hopping for a bit.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
27 responses to “Astros 2026: Quicky questions”
That’s great Dan. You’ve probably lost a few pounds!
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I’m one of those people who thinks OBP is the most important stat for judging a hitter. However, I think both batting average and RBI are both criminally underrated today. Batting average gives you a better predictor of what will happen against a pitcher who is going to throw strikes. When you get to the postseason you’re going to face guys who limit the free passes. In regards to RBI (and runs scored), it doesn’t bother me that they are semi-reliant on what the guys in the lineup are doing around you. I can accept that looking into some composite stats when judging the real impact of a player’s RBI total is necessary if you want to use it as a predictor of future success, but ultimately I think we should recognize the players whose AB successfully brought runners home.
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Good morning.
Devin, I like OPS, of course OBP is a big part of. We need more of both.
I just found out that our guys came up with nine unanswered runs last night.
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Thoughts
The White Sox starter Davis Martin had the Astros nailed down entering the 6th inning, having allowed 0 runs, 3 hits and no walks. But he started the 6th allowing 3 hits and a HBP and the first run of the game. He left with no outs, but a 5-1 lead.
They brought in a left hander with reverse splits to face Walker, but Walker turned on one and ripped it down the third base line into the corner narrowing the game to 5-4 and tagging Martin with 3 more runs.
A couple batters later Cam puts them ahead with a 2 run homer, but they keep hitting and eventually 14 guys come to the plate and the Astros go ahead 8-5. They score another in the 9th on the way to the win,
Arrighetti gave up 3 in the 1st and left with some kind of foot problem.
Teng got an unearned win – giving up a couple runs on 2 hits, a walk, 2 HBP and a wild pitch.
Blubaugh, Sousa, Abreu, Okert and Hader all threw scoreless innings.
Those were Walker’s first RBIs in more than 2 weeks and he was only 1 for 5 on the night.
It was an unexpected win, because they were down 5 and the bats were showing no life – until they were. Astros still back 2 in the division and 3 back in the Wild card.
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Baseball is very odd when it comes down to rewards in games.
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We need a couple of lengthy starts. Got to figure Chen is on his way back down. I hope they put Santa on a plane this morning.
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A couple critical starts this weekend
Can Hunter return to be Hunter?
Can Blanco build on a good start last time out?
As Daveb said we need some solid starts or we will burn out a bullpen that gave us 8 innings yesterday
No word on what will happen with Arighetti and his foot injury though Hayden Wesneski pitched well last night and might be able to slide into Spencer’s spot if he can’t go.
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Not so fast Sarge. Rookie George Springer had the most PA’s in right field in 2014 and gave us an .804 OPS. Flower had a .774 and Grossman, a 2026 like .670. He’d have fit in this season. But overall, 2014 was better.
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Just my opinion <grin>
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I did not see Springer until after you pointed it out rightfully so.
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Sarge, we sure had it good those few years ago as the Astros started to become a force. George was the first of all that great raw talent. Glad we experienced it all.
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Has the real Hunter Brown stood up? He was impeccable and delivered exactly what the club needed last night.
Remarkably, he is now 2-1 on the season.
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Thoughts
Yes, the biggest takeaway from the Astros win last night was the return of the king – Hunter Brown. Was back to his nasty pin point control that had been missing. And daveb, it seems like a miracle that the team is in a pennant race when Hunter is only 2-1 as we are about to head into August.
Paredes continues to come up with big hits in behind Yordan and remarkably both his run scoring hits came on line drives the other way which has never been the modus operandi for someone who has never hit a home run to right field.
I don’t know if he can get enough at bats to qualify after missing so much time, but Pena is closing in on Yordan with his recent hitting streak with a .315 BA.
I wish they did not have to use Hader last night. but both Abreu and Sousa were shaky in their appearances. At least he got a save out of it.
Pretty amazing they won with no hits from Yordan, Altuve, Walker, Diaz, Spence and Smith. Walker with 3 Ks last night – yuck.
Awful lot of hit by pitches lately – I don’t like them at all, because they take me back to when Bagwell got knocked out of like 3 seasons with hits to his hands.
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Following that game by Paredes I saw the breaking news that the Nationals traded a young 3B to the Red Sox for Connelly Early. I think Steven was banging the drum for such a trade in the offseason and have to say if Brown had the opportunity to do so he dropped the ball. I’m not saying the residents of this blog are the top experts, but we heard all those rumors about the Astros and Jarren Duran (.192/.252/.341, handful of incidents with spectators this year) and we all wanted nothing to do with that. I’d still rather have Paredes on this team than not, but the presence of Walker and his contract greatly complicated that prior to Correa’s injury. Anyhow, it will be interesting to see what Mead does going forward. I think the Red Sox got fleeced.
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Arrighetti to the IL – McCullers DFA’d
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King called back up
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Fun while it lasted. No pitching today at all.
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Good morning. I think I’m starting to realize (it’s taken a while) that most of the customers here don’t post until after Dan drops a his latest thoughts sometime later on Monday. I can’t help it. Roosters, coffee, and a few comments, even if I’m making them out loud to myself.
I won’t rehash yesterday’s game, although I thought we got five pretty good innings out of our just off the long IL best hope, Ronel Blanco. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to pull him.
I keep wondering where Alimber Santa is. Why not? Are they working on one of his pitches? I think the pen needs help and he seems like a viable option. Is he being saved as a secret stretch run addition? I suppose we’ll get some clarity in a week.
In the meantime, we’ve got a whole bunch of guys that just can’t hit. And that’s not going to change for the most part. Just looking at OPS, Altuve is at .692 and swinging at everything. Cam at .647, Yainer at .637, Vazquez .599, Nick at .608, my friend Zach at .636, our new CF at .472, old Jake at .580, and even our big outfield bat Taylor Trammell at .688. And there are plenty of other visitors coming and going sitting under the .700 OPS Mendoza line.
But comparatively speaking, our offense is not terrible, thanks to Yordan, Pena and Isaac. We’re third in dingers in MLB although we’re 29th in stolen bases. We’re an elderly lumbering group. Our OPS is 11th in MLB. Imagine how many really bad offenses there are in MLB? Plenty. Our BA is 17th, almost mediocre. We don’t walk a whole lot, nor do we strike out a lot.
Seems to me that is Major League Baseball has a real shortage of talent these days. There are not enough good hitters, pitchers or defensive wizards in the game today. I guess that’s why we have so many teams just hanging around.
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dave, indeed, the ‘shortage of talent’ is noticeable. And, Manfred wants to expand in a few years! College baseball is hanging onto its talent more now with NIL and they seems to be a LOT more injuries in MLB these days.
Not to mention expanded rosters, the prima donna mindset, pitchers not going as deep into games and more and more players not able to make it 162 games, means the talent pool has edged toward average.
Who knows what MLB will have to give up to get its salary cap!? 28-30 player rosters? Shorter season? That could also portend even more on the ‘real shortage of talent’ going forward!
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Chip, I’d be fine with clubs using their 26 man roster how they want to, such as being able to have 14 pitchers.
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Good morning.
The Angels really are angels.
The Astros are now 10 and 5 in Imai starts.
Thank you Reptil.
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Late to the party (busy week!) –
1 – I don’t concern myself with the OF in particular. I concern myself with the ability of Astros to generate pressure on opposing pitchers and the ability to take advantage of it. You don’t need Aaron Judge roaming your OF (though it certainly helps), you just need guys, 1-9 not just the OF, that see pitches, force you to throw strikes, and then take advantage of them. The Astros generally don’t have enough of those guys everywhere, so it relies on hot hitters. Lucky for us, Yordan has been hot all year.
2 – Jax is a two pitch pony, and the word is out on that change up. Lambert is a pitcher. I honestly spent most of the year thinking we signed the guy to a 1 year deal and we were going to lose him in 2027, but that’s not the case. He is arbitration eligible, so we still have control through 2027. I think he is far better than Alexander, he is more of a McHugh situation than a Alexander one.
3 – The chances are very low that Pena will be here in 2028. They are are not really looking great for 2027. If he can stay hot and be the catalyst for this offense through 2026 the haul he would bring in the offseason has to be taken. It hurts, but all these do. You have to make the return worth it. If I had to pick one, Alvarez. I can’t see Altuve playing baseball at 39.
4 – No. Too many inconsistent starters. Not enough quality starts.
5 – Triple crown is cool still.
6 – Lambert at 10. It’s hard to accumulate wins when you only 5-6 innings, especially if the opposing pitcher navigates 1-3 twice and gets a break through the rest of the lineup.
7 – I trust Altuve to have a heater more than Walker. Seems likely neither will though and Walker wins the turtle race.
8 – I do think the Astros make a move for a bottom rotation guy. I think Blanco and Wesneski both are in with Brown, Lambert, and Spencer. The playoff rotation is Brown, Lambert, Blanco and Spencer but both Ronel and Arerighetti are on short leashes with Javier and Wesneski to back them up. But I don’t assume there is a need for a playoff rotation.
9 – Bryan King is gassed. His fastball is down a full 2 ticks from the start of the season. His spin rate has disappeared. Everything looks like beach balls coming out of his hand. Fair, proably not, but needed.
10 – I think its basically, Walker at 1B, Altuve at 2B, Correa at SS and Paredes at 3B because Walker, Altuve, and Correa are all unmovable objects. Maybe Paredes is traded, maybe Pena is traded, in one of those trades a young SS comes back, who knows. If the Red Sox would give us Arias for Pena, even if I have to put an addon young pitcher like Ullola, thats a done deal.
11 – I don’t know. I would tend to leave the team alone I think. I would go in the clubhouse, announce we aren’t making any major moves, because the guys in the clubhouse, the 26 we have, are the ones that have to get it done. And we believe you can, but the reality is too many buyers, not enough sellers, and the few bullets we have is probably not enough to move the needle. Let it ride. They are hot right now. Who knows.
12 – 100% stoppage coming. How long, depends on who wins the PR battle.
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Trade deadline fun – only one major deal seems to come out – a guy I wanted in the offseason in the proposed Paredes deal – Connely Early, in exchange for an infielder that was actually DFAd at the end of ST by the White Sox and picked up Washington. That’s a pretty good move by Washington, they got Early for a guy they didn’t have 6 months ago and they sold really high after a hot half a season.
Now Early is dealing with dreaded “left elbow inflammation” and you know where that can go.
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This trade probably never happens if the Red Sox hadn’t signed Alex Bregman to such a crazy contract last year.
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Christmas in July last night as the “Angels” gifted us a win in the 9th with only 1 hit/4 runs. Feel sorry for the Angel fans watching that fiasco. Javier looked good. Imai became Mr Hyde again. Way to go Brown on that signing.
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Thoughts
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