Since my article last week about the Astros, the team has finished with a 3-3 record. Not too shabby, but still far out from the goals they are trying to achieve. The highlight of the week was Kyle Tucker due to hitting 4 home runs in his past 5 games. In fact, all of his last hits have all been home runs during that span. Other news includes the return of Justin Verlander in Comerica Park, in which he tossed a 7 inning gem while only allowing two hits.

Injury Updates

Other than Verlander, some other pitching news includes the reintroduction of Cristian Javier into the starting lineup. In his first back start, he allowed 5 hits and 7 runs allowed in 1.1 innings pitched. Although not a stellar start, it was good to see him back on the mound after all the injuries the Astros have endured. Jose Urquidy and Chas McCormick have also started rehab assignments in AA Corpus Christi. Urquidy, who has been in his rehab for a couple of months now, is optimistic that his last start will come on this Saturday. McCormick has also said his hamstring injury that has been nagging at him for the past three weeks is finally starting to feel much better, although he has stated that there is no rush in returning. The current timeline for McCormick is unknown; however, he should be back and running soon. The additions of these two starters will be very helpful in allowing the Astros to get back to winning. In addition, pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia have started to throw in bullpen sessions, something to keep an eye on as they ramp towards their returns in summer.

New Hitting Stats

Newly released batting stats have been released on Baseball Savant. The data shows bat speed and the percent of balls that players square up. Not to anyone’s surprise, Yordan Alvarez tops the Astros as the fastest swinger at 75.9 MPH with a square up percentage at 26.6. Surprisingly, though, Jose Altuve has the lowest speed on the team, with an average bat speed of 68.8 MPH. The reason why he has so much power in his swing is because he has the highest swing length on the team. Other notable names from these new stats are Kyle Tucker with 72.1 MPH/31.8%, Jeremy Pena with 72.9 MPH/30.1%, Alex Bregman with 70.4/30.8%, and Yainer Diaz with 72.6/27.5%. As time goes on, we will be able to interpret these stats better, as people will be able to understand how they correlate with success at the plate.

Looking Towards the Future

The next series for the Astros starts tonight against the A’s. This is the first of a ten game stretch in which the Astros will be playing at Minute Maid Park. Looking ahead for the next week, the Astros face the A’s four times, then they will face the Brewers three times. Overall, this first game against the A’s should set the tone for the series against the AL West rivals. Past the team, recently called up outfielder Joey Loperfido has begun to make his mark. Through his first 28 at-bats, he has posted a .321 average with a .357 slugging percentage. He has been a nice replacement for McCormick while he is rehabbing, but there are some question marks surrounding what the Astros will do with their outfield positions. Kyle Tucker has right field locked up, but other than that, left and center field are currently being shared with Jake Meyers, Joey Loperfido, and Trey Cabbage, with Yordan Alvarez and Mauricio Dubon being sprinkled in for a couple of starts. Once McCormick comes back, manager Joe Espada will have to make some decisions surrounding his outfielders for the future of the season. Once again, this roster has so much talent to it that it may be hard for Espada to make a wrong decision.

Things to Look For

For the next week, I will be mainly looking at how pitchers are doing from their games that they play and why there are either succeeding or not living up to expectations. I will also be looking at the at-bats people are putting up, whether they are playing with effort, and if they are hitting the ball hard. Something else to monitor is Jose Abreu, who has been recently sent to West Palm Beach to get his mojo back. Espada has said that Abreu is “doing well” and that he has been facing live pitcher with multiple at-bats per day. Past that, this next week will important for the Astros because we will be able to see if they have the grit to make it past the beginning of the season of adversity they usually find themselves in.