ChipalattAwards for July 2026

The Astros were 13-10 in July, including a 9-1 run at the end of the month that gave them a 0.5-game lead in the AL West.

How do the Astros’ stats look vs. the other teams in the American League in July?

  • Offense
    • .251 BA (4th) / .327 OBP (3rd) / .763 OPS (2nd) / 119 runs (3rd) /  38 HRs  (1st) / 9 SBs (12th)
  • Pitching
    • 4.41ERA (13th) / 13 Wins (T-7th) / 1.34 WHIP (12th) / 215 Ks (T-6th) / 93 walks (2nd most) / HR (33 5th most)

The team rode a much better offensive performance in July to carry a shaky pitching performance that was frankly more of a starting pitching problem than a bullpen problem.

But enough of the team stuff. How did the individuals do in July?

Here is a quick stat chart of the Astros’ pitchers in July.

NameGmWLSvsIPERAWHIPKs/9 IPBAAOBPAOPSABAbipIR/ IS
Mike Burrows10104.114.542.5396.2.391.4401.179.389N/A
Hunter Brown521027.14.941.3907.6.217.342.713.239N/A
Peter Lambert520028.21.881.04710.204.277.537.280N/A
Tatsuya Imai411011.27.712.40010.2.283.444.988.323N/A
Spencer Arrighetti4010167.311.5636.8.214.378.807.209N/A
Ronel Blanco2010108.101.20010.8.171.293.836.105N/A
Hayden Wesneski11005.24.761.5886.4.333.417.845.412N/A
Cristian Javier5100123.001.41712.8.234.321.746.3450/0
Kai-Wei Teng21004.14.151.1548.3.200.429.695.2730/0
Josh Hader1100692.001.4412.229.325.582.3482/0
Enyel De Los Santos12110132.771.1549.7.250.294.627.3334/1
Bryan King90209.29.311.9667.4.378.4171.172.3753/1
Steven Okert1231012.11.460.64911.7.186.200.526.2593/0
Bryan Abreu10002111.640.81811.5.158.220.509.2171/0
A.J. Blubaugh800014.24.301.22712.3.259.302.802.3147/3
Bennett Sousa50004.20.000.6435.8.177.177.412.2143/0
Alimber Santa20002.23.381.5003.4.300.333.933.2223/2
Nate Pearson510053.601.4005.4.143.400.543.1820/0
Miguel Ullola200039.001.0009.0.182.250.977.2500/0

Note – I added the IR (Inherited runners) / IS (Inherited runners who scored) stat for the relievers.

  • Starting Pitcher of the Month.  Peter Lambert – Lambert won this running away as he was really the only starting pitcher who put up above average numbers across the board.
  • Runner-up. Hunter Brown – He takes this almost by default when you look at Burrows (14.54 ERA), Imai (7.71 ERA), Arrighetti (7.31) and Blanco (8.10). But Hunter actually turned things around after struggling upon his return from the IL, winning his last two starts in July and giving up 2 runs in 12.2 innings.
  • Last Month Starting Pitcher of the Month – Peter Lambert / Runner-up – Hunter Brown  
  • Special Acknowledgment – Hayden Wesneski – Wesneski bulldogged his way through 5.2 innings and a win in his first start back from Tommy John surgery. He gave up 3 runs in the first and then showed a lot of guts to extend his outing and save the bullpen.
  • Relief Pitcher of the Month (Tie) –  Steven Okert and Bryan Abreu – Okert (1.46 ERA) and Abreu (1.64 ERA) were the two biggest anchors for the set-up men. Abreu was pitching like he had not pitched since before Hader got injured in 2025.
  • Runner-up  –  Josh Hader – He was excellent again in July.
  • Last Month Relief Pitcher of the Month – Josh Hader / Runner-up – Tie – Steven Okert / Bryan King
  • Special Acknowledgment – Bennett Sousa returned from the IL and had 5 scoreless appearances.

Here is a quick stat chart of the Astros’ position players in the month of July.

NameABsRunsDblsHRsRBIsBBsKsBAOBPOPSBAbip
Isaac Paredes89924151011.281.375.836.280
Jose Altuve9212248421.228.260.663.254
Jeremy Pena63172613214.381.4121.110.409
Christian Walker729437627.208.305.694.286
Cam Smith709226517.143.218.504.154
Yordan Alvarez851549221718.361.4671.188.367
Yainer Diaz611225929.295.318.891.277
Jake Meyers4000000.000.000.000.000
Joey Loperfido3000102.333.333.6671.000
Brice Matthews16401423.250.333.771.250
Christian Vazquez321114211.219.257.601.286
Taylor Trammell447123515.182.294.635.222
Nick Allen28420625.321.355.748.375
Ray Delgado5000001.200.200.400.250
Lamonte Wade Jr5181181315.137.313.528.171
Lucas Spence374103315.162.244.433.273
Zach Dezenzo26600139.280.357.637.438
Braden Shewmake11420203.364.333.879.444
Jake Meyers4000000.000.000.000.000
  • Positional Player of the Month (Tie) –  Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez – The two players at the top of the lineup were a powerhouse one-two punch in July. How do you pick between Pena (.381 BA/ .412 OBP/ 1.110 OPS) and Alvarez (.361 BA/ .467 OBP/ 1.188 OPS)? You don’t – thus the tie.
  • Runner-up (Tie) – Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz – Paredes gave Yordan needed protection behind him in the lineup. Diaz picked up the pace and gave the team a little bit of pop farther down in the lineup.
  • Special Acknowledgement – Small sample, but Nick Allen hit .321 in July. Who would have thunk it?
  • Last Positional Player of the Month – Yordan Alvarez / Runner-up – Jeremy Pena
  • Biggest Surprise (Positive) –   Bryan Abreu – He went from totally lost to a high leverage reliever.
  • Runner-up  – Bennett Sousa – Quietly came off the IL and was very effective.
  • Last Biggest Surprise (Positive) – Ray Delgado / Runner-up – A.J. Blubaugh
  • Biggest Disappointment –  Pick a starter – Burrows, Imai, Blanco….
  • Runner-up –  Cam Smith – this guy has too much talent to hit .143 for a month. It looks like he found a different gear here in August. Bryan King is right there too – but I think his problem was over-use.
  • Last Biggest Disappointment – Jake Meyers/ Runner-up – Jose Altuve

Some Comments on July

There are some interesting and puzzling things that happened to the Astros in July 2026:

  • What is a worse OBP – .260 coming from Jose Altuve or .218 coming from Cam Smith?
  • Brice Matthews slash in July was .250 BA/ .333 OBP / .771 OPS – just before he went on the IL. Was he figuring something out?
  • Enyel De Los Santos looks a lot worse than his 2.77 ERA. I guess he is used a lot so he does give up a run here or there and it stands out.
  • How the heck did this team have a winning record in July with so many terrible performances by the starting pitching? As Yul Brynner said in the King and I – it is a puzzlement.

As usual, it is your turn to comment. Any awards you disagree with? Any new ones you want to award?

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21 responses to “ChipalattAwards for July 2026”

  2. Dan, seems the deadline excitement wore out the customers at Chippalatta.

    I’ll bet Wesneski has a hard time watching Imai pitch.

    We’ve got Hunter on the mound today, a rested pen and a day off tomorrow.

    Are the M’s fading?

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  3. Thoughts

    • daveb – I get the feeling my awards posts are just not that popular, which is a little discouraging because they take a lot of work. I feel like there were not many comments the last few months on it.
    • Wesneski was the main story last night – another solid start – getting through 6 innings and 2 runs in 78 pitches.
    • The Astros got one hit out of the top 4 in the order and still scored 7 runs. That was impressive really.
    • New guy Varsho is at least working the counts. Three walks in his first two games, but I don’t know why he’s in the cleanup spot.
    • Altuve has looked a lot better here lately – 7 hits in his last 3 games/11 hits in his last 7 games
    • Trammell continues to hit against right handers – his .738 OPS stands out in an outfield that features OPS’s in the .600’s
    • Diaz continues to hit and Cam seems to have figured something out. Walker has been better the last week.
    • Nice to have Sousa and De Los Santos carry the last three innings – the over worked back of the bullpen has gotten some time off here lately.

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  6. Sorry, I was stuck on the previous article wondering why no one was commenting. Where would we be without Peter Lambert?

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  7. Back to their losing ways. 3 for 9 with RISP. Second and third with no outs and they post up a big ZERO. Bad running mistake by Yordan in the 10th. They just looked lethargic in these last three games. Hey, how’s that Varsho guy working out for you Dana.

    Well on to the weekend to face the red hot Padres.

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  8. I’m 0-2 when at the ballpark this season.

    Too many wasted opportunities. Hunter suddenly giving up three runs after cruising. Espada leaves Nick in to hit with two runners in scoring position while Paredes sits. Yordan with an inexcusable base running decision. Just a forgettable performance at a point in the season when giving away games is really unacceptable.

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  9. Thoughts

    • daveb that was a terrible loss yesterday – Hunter was pretty perfect (5 no-no innings) until he wasn’t and barfed up the lead quickly. (And I don’t blame your attendance for their poor game – just sorry you had to sit through that)
    • They could not get those runners in from 2nd and 3rd with no out to take the lead back
    • Like you said Joe did not pinch hit with Paredes then – though when he did later Paredes did not do anything
    • And Yordan who made a big slide the other day scoring on a wild pitch, never left his feet this time. Of course no telling if they would have gotten him in from 2nd base and no out…..but they never had that chance.
    • Well, it feels like the lack of action at the trade deadline and losing the Blue Jays series took the starch out of the Astros surge. Can they get rolling again in San Diego, who did make moves at the deadline and are 7-3 in their last 10?

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    • My big complaint about the Yordan baserunning blunder is that the review confirmed the call rather than upholding it. The home plate angle made it look like he was out. The behind the ump angle his foot looks to be on the bag before the tag. The tag wasn’t held in place so you couldn’t rule one of those foot bouncing off the bag situations. People claim MLB has like 24 camera angles to use and it’s possible one of them was definitive, but the broadcast replay alone was not good enough for me. The thing is it was only one out. The offense still had a chance.

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      • According to my AI bot – 0 outs and a man on 2nd – 60% chance of scoring. 1 out and nobody on – 15% chance of scoring. So it did make a difference.

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    • Forgotten on that play was the impeccable one hop throw from Lukes. Without it, there was no quick tag made and Yordan cruises into second with a stand up double.

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  12. Always reading, every day. Just lose most of my comments to the ether and weird WordPress log in circles ….

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  13. Same here. The word press log in even changes my sign in name. Is there a way to disable it? i continually have to retype my name and email which used to be automatic. Sorry but this is a “PITA”.

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  14. I’ve never used word press. I just put my email and name in. I don’t think Chip can do much about the word press issues, except cancel the service and that is back to the comments section drawing board.

    Interesting series coming up. On the road in San Diego. Big man has been doing a lot of hand shaking lately. The Friars are playing a good brand of ball at the moment. They are hungry for that last wild card spot. But it’s important that we don’t let this be a momentum killing series on our end and win 2 of 3.

    If I was going to say one thing about the Jays series, well two, first, my kid was happy so I was happy enough. Second, if you are paying 20M a year to a guy that is supposed to be your best pitcher, but you can’t even get a second inning out of him after throwing a 10 pitch 9th inning, why are you paying him 20M? I get it, if he had been stretched out, threw 23 pitches to get through an inning, but he threw 10 pitches, 8 for strikes, his command was there. Instead you go down the leverage chart to your 3rd or 4th option and you lose the game.

    I know the 2nd and 3rd with no outs situation just stunk. It’s bad baseball. But we aren’t the only team that happens too on occasion. We missed more than just that opportunity. It’s become a pitchers league. Some of it goes back to what I was saying weeks ago about the Yainer/Vazquez dilemma. It’s clear Yainer is a better hitter. He just swings a better bat. But I’ve seen Vazquez really push out some situational at bats; Yainer just does not change his approach. Ever. So when he pops up to the 2nd baseman there I’m not terribly surprised. Vazquez would have probably worked at trying to push the ball down. What a dilemma for Espada.

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    • And this is why I was so disappointed with the Dubon trade. I get what people are saying when Dooby was miscast as an everyday player. His OBP, and OPS as an extension, is not 500 plate appearance a year worthy. But man, in some of these spots, its so easy to point down the bench to a guy that is just so hard to strike out and tell him get out there and put one in play, preferably on the ground. Using a guys strength the time you need it just gives Espada a tool.

      No, instead, 7M was the tool Crane cared about.

      And watching Arrighetti talk about getting traded from his childhood favorite team was just heartbreaking. Especially when it was for a mediocre 2 month rental. Even if the Astros franchise lost faith in Spencer, I will not. I’ll be rooting for him as hard as any Astros player going forward. I don’t know that he will find the command he needs to take the next step, but I’ll be rooting for him.

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    • It’s worth me eating crow here to say Dubon has played better for Atlanta than he ever did in Houston and we sure miss what he brought to the team. I’m torn between wanting the Astros to get a couple top of the rotation starters with a focus on October and wanting them to play smart and just get enough good players who can get them to October. Taking a swing on Imai made more sense than sticking with the status quo, but it didn’t pan out. This sounds like I’m taking an unfair shot at Varsho, but moving a guy with arm talent for an outfielder who probably doesn’t help you win more games than just sticking Jake Meyers out in CF didn’t make sense.

      I wonder if Brown and Espada know they are gone at the end of the year? It dawned on me that we’re going to see a lockout and have a very short period of time to make any moves / negotiate with free agents when things do start back up next year. That concerns me a bit, but at least it will be someone new for me to complain about making these trades when they do get a chance.

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