Astros 2026: Multiple choice

After the insane comeback the Astros made Monday night (which was a total dumpster fire meltdown by the Angels), where they flipped the game in the ninth inning, scoring four runs on one hit, it feels like time for a multiple-choice post. Why? Because I just feel like it.

  1. What is making the Astros season so unique is…
    • Their ability to win games where their starting pitcher can’t get past the first inning (they did this Friday and Monday).
    • Their ability to be within 2 games of the lead in a season where Hunter Brown has 2 wins.
    • Their ability to score a decent amount of runs even with putting out a lineup that barely gets beyond the first three players in competency.
  2. If you had only one choice, you would like to see….
  3. The biggest surprise for the Astros this season has been….
    • Peter Lambert’s performance in the rotation
    • AJ Blubaugh’s big boost to the bullpen
    • The overwhelming year of Yordan Alvarez (leading the AL in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, BA, OBP, OPS, total bases and the MLB in many of those).
  4. The biggest disappointment for the Astros this season has been….
  5. In 2027, Cam Smith will…
    • Begin the season in the minors
    • Finally break out for the Astros
    • Be playing elsewhere
  6. The position player who struggled so far this season, who you think will play well down the stretch…
  7. The pitcher who struggled so far this season, who you think will pitch well down the stretch….
  8. The team you hate to see succeed the most is….
    • New York Yankees
    • Texas Rangers
    • Seattle Mariners
    • Other
  9. Of the players who have missed most of 2026, the one I have the most hope for is….
  10. Of the players hitting around Yordan, the most critical one is….

Hope you enjoy…..

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19 responses to “Astros 2026: Multiple choice”

  1. Oh fun –

    1. Lets say Brown at 2 wins and lest we forget a starting staff ERA over 5. It feels like bubble gum and tape.
    2. If Yordan wins the triple crown he wins the MVP. But I would rather see the playoffs. Watching extra baseball with something on the line beats stat lines anyday.
    3. Lambert – because we have said here forever that Yordan is a top 5 hitter he just needs to be healthy. But Lambert, that is straight out of nowhere.
    4. Imai because of the money involved.
    5. Could be any of them. I could see him being one of the main pieces of a deadline trade. I’ll take breakout next season as my choice because we need Cam Smith to get good fast.
    6. Yainer, because he isn’t 35+ and has the tools.
    7. I don’t have any expectations on any of them, but heck, 5 shutout yesterday, even if it was the Angels, makes me say OK I have to take one I’ll take CJ.
    8. Its the Yankees, and always will be.
    9. Blanco – because even in these first two starts, results bad, but stuff looks there.
    10. Both. Pena makes it hard to pitch around if he is on, Paredes makes it hard to pitch around if he is a threat. They are equally important. I’m so glad Chandler Rome traded Isaac Paredes half a dozen times on his pod before the season.

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    • Glad you found it fun Steven.

      • That 5+ ERA for the starters is usually what you see for a team that is on the way to a 100 losses. Crazy stat
      • If you make the playoffs you have a shot
      • Yainer is a puzzlement (until you watch him lunge at the bad pitches and never take a walk)
      • The Yankees are the ultimate hate, but some of those Bannister-led Ranger teams really got stuck in my craw and theirs is a hate that really runs deep too.
      • In the off-season I would wonder about Paredes getting traded off – but I really did not want him to get traded off because of the way he battles every at bat. I think he is just such a critical hitter in this lineup. I do wish he could run faster than a 40 year old backup catcher, but you can’t have everything.

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      • The crazy part of the Houston/New York rivalry – they have only played 109 games in the regular season and 18 in the playoffs. That’s it. 127 games.

        The Yankees will always consider the Red Sox as enemy number 1. There can’t even be a 1A in that. But I think we’ve earned being enemy number 2, not just because of “the scandal” but because we are 13-5 against them in the playoffs, and they have never beaten Houston, despite “we want Houston.” One thing Yankees fans hate is losing. And we provide that to them regularly when the games matter the most. They still have never won a playoff series against the Astros. I think it would be crazy if I leave this earth one day with that never happening.

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      • So, Steven (with my tongue planted firmly in cheek) that would be a good reason to avoid the playoffs this year, because if we meet the Yankees – we be going down fast.

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    1. two games from 1st
    2. Tough one but the playoffs. If Yordan continues his current path the Triple Crown and MVP are a given
    3. Lambert because w/o his performance we’d be out of it
    4. Toss up between Imai and Abreu as you just never know which one will show up (the bad one or good one)
    5. I can see him traded in the off season
    6. Yanier has the best chance IMO. Jose is headed south, Walker is meh, and Cam need some maturation time in the minors
    7. Javier looks to be the guy we need
    8. Yankees 1st with Seattle/Texas tied
    9. Blanco but Sousa could be a shot in the arm for the BP
    10. Paredes because he tends to come through at the right time. They walk Yordan and then Paredes does the damage. No way should we get rid of him.

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    1. Their ability to win games where their starting pitcher can’t get past the first inning.
    2. Yordan winning the triple crown AND MVP.
    3. The overwhelming year of Yordan Alvarez.
    4. Altuve
    5. If there are no MLB games, Cam will be playing somewhere else…. SugarLand.
    6. Diaz
    7. Abreu
    8. Yankees
    9. Blanco
    10. Pena

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    1. Brown with just two wins. It’s almost August and our leader in wins has eight.
    2. Yordan has been remarkable. He’s struggling a bit right now. And with just three guys in the lineup that can hit, he’ll see fewer and fewer pitches in games that matter. But a Triple Crown is rare. If he pulls it off I’ll be very impressed. If the Astros win the division with an 81-81 record, I won’t be impressed.
    3. Lambert, easy. Dana was fine with him walking.
    4. Imai. He’s gutless. I feel sorry for Jose though.
    5. None of the above. Cam will be in right field doing what he’s been doing.
    6. I guess Yainer because he does historically get hot at least once in a season. But he looks lost though.
    7. Abreu.
    8. I have no problem with the Yankees winning, but their fans are total aholes.
    9. Ronel gave us a very solid 5 innings on Sunday. Joe wanted more though. I’ve really turned on Joe at this point.
    10. Pena, because if he gets on and Yordan gets pitched around, we’ve got a chance to have an inning.

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    • I agree with you, Dave, about the Yankees. I have read about how generous Judge is off the field. He is like Altuve, doing things quietly behind the scenes.

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  5. 1. Yes

    2. Triple Crown

    3. Lambert

    4. Altuve

    5. Finally break out

    6. Altuve

    7. Abreu

    8. Yankees

    9. Blanco

    10. Paredes

    Short answer – Altuve is a legend and seeing him struggle hurts. Alvarez has been amazing when healthy so he’s not a surprise. Abreu doesn’t have to be amazing, just reliable to keep them in the hunt. I have high hopes Wesneski can pitch well, but Blanco showed a lot of upside. Paredes needs to ensure Alvarez isn’t walked 50% of the time going forward.

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  6. Good morning.

    Our boys won another one. Actually Yordan won another one.

    We struck out 17 times. We were swinging at stuff all over the place. Even Isaac was lunging last night.

    Tonight would be a good time to score nine. How many innings can Wesneski go? A good outing would be great. The outcome will help determine Imai’s fate in the rotation.

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  7. Thoughts

    • Waking up to a win is always a fun thing
    • I cannot believe they pitched to Yordan in the 9th with two outs and runners on first and third. Maybe they were going to pitch around him, but he went and hit a single on a pitch quite a bit below the strike zone
    • How close are we to having them put Yordan on when there is no one on base? He killed that home run in the first
    • The very impressive thing last night – 4 perfect innings from the bullpen of De Los Santos, Abreu, Okert and Hader
    • As hot as he has been – weird seeing Pena with 4 K’s but he had no clue when facing Detmers when I was awake.
    • 2 hits by Yordan both knocking in runs and then 2 by the recently cold Walker (including a homer) and Altuve. Could really need those last two to go on a run.
    • Hader is likely not available tonight after pitching 2 days in a row, but the other folks plus Blubaugh and King should be.
    • We do have tomorrow off
    • Still 2 back in the division, but only 1 back in the Wild Card. Need to beat these Angels tonight and then come home and then take care of business against the Rangers at home.

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  8. A few quick thoughts between meetings.

    The Astros are 11-10 in July. Two games to go (Angles, Rangers).
    The team is 4-3 in series in July. (May/June were winning months).
    Houston is still -44 in run differential. That hasn’t changed significantly in weeks.
    Fourth in RS, third from the AL bottom in RA.
    The Angels are the worst team in MLB, so take this series with a grain of salt.
    Houston is 11-21 in blowout games and 13-17 Interleague.
    Defining days ahead with series against Texas, bottomfeeders SF/Toronto and mediocre SF.
    And..then, there’s the trade deadline approaching.

    In other words, we should know a lot more by COB Monday!

    Be safe out there!

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    • Of some interest relative to those numbers

      • The Astros 21 losses in blowout games breakdown as 7 in April, 6 in May, 5 in June and only 3 in July
      • They are 4-2 in interleague games in July
      • They are -3 run differential in July

      The trade deadline could be fascinating for the Astros or as dishwater drab as 2016

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  9. Good morning Astro fans.

    Our guy Wesneski gave up a pop fly double, a walk, a Baltimore chop single, a roped double, a wild pitch and a 100 plus mph line out in the first, resulting in 3 runs. That would have frightened another one of our pitchers to the sanctity of the clubhouse. But not Wesneski. He went out there and got 14 more outs and earned a big win on a night there was no long guy available in the pen, scattering just 4 hit more hits and a walk the rest of the way. He’s one of our cockroaches. First time on a MLB bump since May of 2025. He would have pitched off a spray painted white line last night. I stayed up late and watched him compete.

    And then we got big performances from Sousa and Abreu, who actually showed a bit of swagger out there last night. We sure needed his four outs with Hader off duty.

    Sure we beat a crappy team. But we swept a series on the road. That had to be the expectation. And going back to Monday, it did not look very good in the first inning. Our pen got screwed up for the balance of the series. But they kept competing too. Cockroaches all.

    First legitimately big series of the season coming up this weekend!

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  10. Thoughts

    • Yes, Wesneski gutted out a bad start to give the team a solid and needed 5-2/3 innings. The gutted out part is what another of our pitchers needs to work on.
    • The Angels sure earn their poor position, a bullpen that can’t hold a lead and they are the worst fielding team I have seen this year and there have been some poor ones. Their Bad News Bears pop-up drop that let Altuve score from first was really amazing.
    • A four hit night by Diaz and two by Altuve are both encouraging. Even Walker is getting more hits lately. Scoring 7 with no real help from Yordan and Paredes is impressive.
    • Is Abreu back? Looks like it. Sousa is filling in for King.
    • Astros are 1 back in the division and the wild card.
    • Nice to have a day off to re-set for the Rangers – Hader getting a couple days off is big I think.
    • Hunter, Blanco and TBD set to go against 3 TBDs for the Rangers. Is our 3rd TBD going to be Javier or Lambert? Not likely Imai.

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  11. George Springer Astros Reunion? Analyzing the Latest Trade Deadline Rumor

    Chip and I were texting back and forth about this possibility today.

    Positives

    George was always a fan favorite

    He is one year removed from a season where he came in 7th in MVP

    Outfield is the Astros biggest offensive weakness

    Negatives

    This feels like the next JV / Correa trade manufactured by Jim Crane

    George does not play the OF very often – he is mostly a DH and we have the best in the business there

    George is not that great this year – better than the many OFs we are sending out there – but not what he was in 2025

    He would be a rental – do we want to unload a prospect or two from our thin minor leagues for 2 months of who knows what

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    • Oh and for perspective – George is 8 months older than Jose Altuve. It never seemed that way because Jose came up so young – but George went to college and then (unfairly) was held down in the minors longer to push out his eventual free agency

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    • George had a spectacular year in 2025. It was likely his grand finale. Could he show up and give us an .800 OPS on adrenaline? Maybe.

      But he’s a defensive liability at this point.

      Injury lurks.

      We already have two guys to DH.

      I’ve always liked George a whole lot.

      But the Jays are going to want something we don’t want to give up.

      For that reason I’d say no.

      But it sure does sound plausible. Sounds like a Bagwell deal.

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    • Nothing like Correa, who was owed 3 more years. Pure rental, so I support it.

      But – I don’t see it. First, he would need to play LF 5 days a week. It’s not the defense, I am sure he is still a better defender than Wade, but do you really want to put him in LF 5 days a week if you are worried about injury or even the fatigue? Second, he is going to get somewhere around 9M the rest of the year – and that total may put the team over the cap. They would need to send back some semblance of a salary – and I don’t see a salary that you want to move that fits what the Jays want – probably also an expiring contract.

      But maybe he can upgrade the prospect from a D to a C and get the Jays to pick up the 3M or so he needs to keep wiggle room. But it would also make it basically the only deadline deal he can make.

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