ChippalattAwards for September 2026

In a reversal from the month before, the Astros outscored their opponents in September (104-96) but finished with a losing 11-13 record. They went from 2 up in AL West before the month to a barely there one-game lead at the end of the season.

How do the Astros’ stats look compared to the other teams in the American League in August?

  • Offense
    • .246 BA (7th) / .312 OBP (9th) / .773 OPS (1st) / 104 runs (8th) / 43 HRs (1st) / 9 SBs (13th)
  • Pitching
    • 3.55 ERA (5th) / 11 Wins (9th) /1.20 WHIP (4th) / 201 Ks (9th) / 81 walks (3rd most) / 24 HR (10th most)

Normally, OPS tracks pretty close to where teams end up in runs scored. But not this month. The Astros had the most HRs in the league, which goosed their slugging and their OPS, but a ton of those must have been solo shots. Their pitching was improved, reflecting a better run from their starters (when they weren’t leaving games early).

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

Here is a quick stat chart for the Astros’ pitchers in September.

NameGmWLSvsIPERAWHIPKs/9 IPBAAOBPAOPSABAbipIR/ IS
Hunter Brown521026.12.731.17713.202.282.524.317N/A
Peter Lambert5030234.701.3049.300.333.811.359N/A
Tatsuya Imai500092.001.11114.100.270.404.1880/0
Ronel Blanco300010.14.351.1617.8.211.268.654.2222/0
Hayden Wesneski521028.12.541.0595.7.212.274.592.238N/A
Cristian Javier411018.11.961.0368.3.159.264.534.182N/A
Kai-Wei Teng20102.115.432.5717.7.300.5001.000.3750/0
Josh Hader80158.12.161.0807.6.172.273.480.2270/0
Enyel De Los Santos60006.28.101.80010.8.321.3751.161.3334/1
Bryan King91307.28.222.0878.2.343.410.925.4076/0
Steven Okert——–——————————
Bryan Abreu11111102.701.00010.8.222.282.726.2736/3
AJ Blubaugh1211011.27.711.8006.2.283.4001.030.28611/6
Bennett Sousa110009.14.821.6079.6.278.357.802.3207/3
Ethan Pecko510021.12.530.8915.9.184.244,520.2131/0
Miguel Ullola720010.20.840.6565.6.091.231.382.1150/0
Logan VanWey50006.21.351.0505.4.261.292.683.2781/0
Josh Hendrickson20002.23.380.75010.1.222.222.444.3334/0

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

  • Starting Pitcher of the Month  –  Hayden Wesneski  – It is unclear if the Astros would have made it to the playoffs without Wesneski’s contributions down the stretch. This included a very good ERA, but more importantly, he was very efficient in most of his starts and went deeper than any other starter they had.
  • Runner-up – Tied – Ethan Pecko / Hunter Brown – There is a bit of a cheat here as a number of Pecko’s appearances were after an opener pitched the first inning, but he did a good job flexing between starting and almost starting games. Hunter did a good job, the biggest complaint was that he did not go as deep in games as an ace would be expected to go.

Last Month Starting Pitcher of the Month – Hayden Wesneski / Runner-up – Hunter Brown  

  • Special Acknowledgement –
  • Relief Pitcher of the Month – Miguel Ullola – the young man was thrown into high-leverage, multi-inning situations and he shined.
  • Runner-up  –  Josh Hader – He finally gave up a few runs and blew a save, but he was still one of the best closers in the majors.
  • Last Month Relief Pitcher of the Month –Josh Hader Runner-up – A.J. Blubaugh
  • Special Acknowledgement – Cristian Javier pitched very well, but pulled up lame. Logan VanWey gave the team some very good innings in 5 appearances down the stretch.

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

NameABsRunsDblsHRsRBIsBBsKsBAOBPOPSBAbip
Isaac Paredes861548211215.291.382.999.262
Jose Altuve969629318.260.284.670.295
Jeremy Pena98153510232.255.282.741.323
Christian Walker8191511720.210.270.677.211
Cam Smith7610146828.184.271.652.227
Yordan Alvarez781465121517.308.4321.009.339
Yainer Diaz8485412214.357.379.963.394
Jake Meyers3000000.000.000.000.000
Christian Vazquez17000004.118.118.235.154
Taylor Trammell523412923.154.279.567.250
Nick Allen14421112.357.4001.114.364
Lucas Spence18514947.333.4551.621.286
LaMonte Wade Jr.27411217.185.214.548.211
Brice Matthews6000013.333.429.762.667
Daulton Varsho585124213.172.200.528.186
Nelson Velazquez13101325.154.267.651.143
Jorge Barrosa11210034.091.286.468.143
  • Positional Player of the Month – Tie – Isaac Paredes / Yordan Alvarez – Both men had excellent numbers for the month. Paredes was a bit more impactful since they were pitching around Yordan and Yordan had less people on base with Pena’s so-so month.
  • Runner-up – Yainer Diaz – Yainer continued an uptick over the last half of the season with his best month of the season.
  • Special Acknowledgement – Lucas Spence – Has anyone had a more impactful 18 ABs than Spence with his 5 extra base hits and 9 RBIs?
  • Last Positional Player of the Month – Yordan Alvarez / Runner-up – Jeremy Pena
  • Biggest Surprise (Positive) – Lucas Spence – We were so used to the Astros calling up or picking up outfielders and watching them stink, that Spences bat guano crazy weekend in Sacramento stood out.
  • Runner-up  – Nick Allen again….why was he only given 14 ABs in September?
  • Last Biggest Surprise (Positive) – Hayden Wesneski / Runner-up – (Tie) Lamonte Wade Jr. & Nick Allen
  • Biggest Disappointment –  Taylor Trammell – He was given a ton of chances and just was terrible.
  • Runner-up –  A.J. Blubaugh – This is truly unfair. He was so over-used and abused that it was amazing his arm did not fall off. But it was a big downturn from how good he had been before September.
  • Last Biggest Disappointment – Jeremy Pena / Runner-up – Bennett Sousa

Some Comments on September

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

  • There was an interesting anomaly (not sure if it was a trend) in September. Some of the best pitching for the month – Wesneski, Pecko, Ullola and VanWey came with a normally tiny K rate below 6 Ks per 9 innings. For Wesneski this tied into a pitching formula that saved him pitches by getting the hitters to put the ball in play earlier in the count.
  • Jeremy Pena – c’mon man – 2 walks vs. 32 Ks is ridiculous for a player of your talents.
  • Practically every stat in Bryan King’s line is beyond terrible, except one. Somehow, he inherited six runners and none of them scored. For somebody allowing a .343 BA / .410 OBP / .925 OPS slash line – that is almost miraculous.
  • On the hitting side, you have to stare at a lot of those names and think you will not see them again next year – Daulton Varsho, Lamonte Wade Jr., Nelson Velasquez, Jorge Barraso, Jake Meyers, etc.

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

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19 responses to “ChippalattAwards for September 2026”

    • Sounds like a mature 20 year old. I’m wondering if he can keep his weight at 230 on that 6’4″ frame.

      Nice to see someone in the minors having some success at first base.

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  3. I completely shut down my baseball interests when the Astros are eliminated in that I just can’t watch these other playoff series. I have zero interest in them.

    I have to force myself to write the blog posts at this point. It is hard to get inspired at the moment.

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    • Dan, I have interest is watching well played baseball. And seeing good teams play reaffirms just how far the Astros have fallen. I believe a full rebuild is the way forward. I’m dubious if our owner recognizes or is willing to accept that reality though.

      Why not take a break until Crane has something to say? We’ll manage. Clear your head.

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    • While I must confess that I didn’t watch a single inning, seeing the news of the Yankees being swept lifted my spirits. I also follow Jomboy on facebook because he just makes some really interesting content about baseball – but he is huge Yankees fan, has a weekly sit down with Boone on his show, and does watch parties. To see their heartbreak on the Volpe fan interference call was heartwarming. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, I’m so happy that he was so talented that he could turn his love for the game into a multi-million dollar business, but I’m not here to watch him celebrate his team winning when it’s the Yankees.

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  5. I was hoping that the White Sox would close the series out last night but their pitching seems to have turned into the Astros. 8 walks and Smith couldn’t make it out of the 1st inning. It appears to me that the team that has the best plate discipline tends to win more times than not. As the saying goes goes, “a walk is as good as a hit”. Do you think there’s a lesson here for our Astros?

    Nothing worse than watching a player take a close pitch for a ball to run the count to full and then striking out on a pitch a foot off the plate or in the dirt. Something to work on for the next season.

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  6. I’m doing better today – work has been kicking my donkey as it were – but I have a day off today to recharge. Working on the next post while they are doing maintenance on my car – this one will take a while but it has me intrigued. So I think I am back from my short funk.

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  8. Good to hear Dan. Wow, don’t know what happened to the comment box, for me anyway, but the font is so small when I type it in, it will be impossible for these eyes to see what I’m typing. I’m guessing it will post in the same sized font we’re all used to, but this squinting for me, even for just a moment, it won’t work for me.

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  9. Great write up Dan. My only input – the things that we lament as an issue with this offense, they are an issue mostly league wide. Pena’s 2/32 is as frustrating a stat as I’ve seen, and when you combine him with Yainer you are talking about 2 spots in the batting order that guys are not out there to see pitches and extend at bats.

    It’s going to be an interesting offseason. The Astros have 2 DH, and one of them actually can’t really hit anymore. They have 2 third basemen. I know which one I prefer, but I don’t get a vote. I would assume the one that is actually tradeable will have months of rumors swirl around him again. They have a 1B that is d-u-n done. They’ve known OF is an issue for a few years now, and yet it just seems to get worse not better. They have a roster of rift raft castoffs from other orgs and failed prospects. 2 of their 6 possible starting pitchers are only possible because they have salaries that you won’t just write off in Imai and Javier. Why does Blanco visually look like the exact same pitcher as 2024 but is getting wrecked? Can Burrows figure out his issues?

    This 40 man needs a reset. Like a major one. 25 shouldn’t be back. But we know you can’t reset a 40 man like that. Really the only guy I’m sure won’t be back is Jake Meyers. After that, I don’t know. The best I can tell, Loperfido is the only one with no options remaining going into 2027 that isn’t a lock to make the team.

    Do they pursue Okert, Abreu, and Varsho?

    Does Delgado, Barrosa, Cole, Dezenzo, Loperfido, Spence, Velazquez, Wade and Trammell all stay on this roster? No way. Who goes?

    How do you solve the Altuve issue? They need to get him off the field. The only way to do that is put Yordan on it. Paredes and Correa can’t both play 3rd. Josh Reddick had an interesting solution on Rome’s podcast the other day about Correa playing LF. We’ve seen stranger things, but it doesn’t seem to be something the Astros are thinking about.

    Whomever ends up the GM and field manager of this team, well they have their hands full.

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    • Steven, if Correa were to play left field wouldn’t that be great to have two cannons in the outfield? Him in left and Smith in right?

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    • The other way to get Altuve off the field would be to start the rebuild in earnest. And that would mean trading our most valuable asset.

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      • But I don’t think making room for Jose to DH is going to do much good because I don’t think he’d make much of a DH. WAR is hard to define, especially dWAR, but our future Hall of Famer finished the season with an 0.0. It’s a good thing we have memories.

        And for those thinking about getting Yordan into the outfield more often, BR gave him a -1.7 dWar over 25 starts. That’s a remarkable stat.

        This club has so many problem to fix. That’s why I’d embrace a full teardown. I can’t put together a better solution. I sure doubt I’ll see it though.

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