I like to do one of these articles every once in a while because it allows us to see where a team currently stands in their leagues. For the Astros this season, they are currently 30-36 and have a net difference of +6, which puts their expected win-loss at 34-32. They are sitting third in the AL West, 1.5 games behind the Rangers for second and 6.5 behind the Mariners for first. Throughout the season, the Astros have underperformed, a rash of pitchers being injured has not helped. Since last week’s article, the Astros have lost Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier to Tommy John surgery. For context, these guys are some of the backbones of the starting rotation as they have been with the team for years and have World Series experience. The main reason the Astros are below .500 is because of the slow start they endured. The pitchers had a combined ERA of 5.01 from Opening Day until April 30th. Since May 1, they have had a combined 3.56 ERA. Not only is this number substantially lower, but Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman are also looking like themselves again. You pair this with the solid return of Jose Abreu and it seems as if the Astros have a bright future for the next 100 games.

Astros Schedule Coming Up

In their next series, the Astros will play the San Francisco Giants, the Detroit Tigers, and the Chicago White Sox, which are all winnable series. If the Astros can go 6-3 or possibly 7-2 in this next stretch, they will be in a good position to threaten the Mariners for the first-place spot. After those three series, the Astros will face the Orioles, who will be tougher to beat. The next week or so for the Astros will allow them to make a run for the top spot in their division, but the main question is if Joe Espada and his squad can take advantage of the easy schedule. As an optimistic Astros fan, I think they can go 7-2, and if they do so, that could put them in a position to ride a wave of momentum into the Orioles series. Hopefully, the Astros will create chaos and take control by the end of this series.

Injuries

As I am sure many of you know, Kyle Tucker has been out lately due to fouling a ball off his shin which caused a contusion. In his replacement, the team called up Joey Loperfido who is yet to see any action in his second stint. As mentioned before, Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier will be out for the rest of this season and part of next year. Now that it’s been a couple of months, it seems that Spencer Arighetti and Hunter Brown have more control and command of their pitches. This has led to quality starts and wins for the pitchers. Beyond Urquidy and Javier’s injuries, Luis Garcia is expected to debut this season soon. He has spent the past couple of weeks in his rehab assignment after he had Tommy John surgery in May of last year.

Bats are Flowing

The Astros have had much success in swinging the lumber this season. They currently rank second in the MLB in batting average (.260), sixth in on-base percentage (.322), fourth in slugging (.421), and fourth in on-base plus slugging (.743). Over the entire season, the Astros have been a powerhouse on the offensive side of the plate. After struggling at the start if the season, Alex Bregman, is hitting .290/.344/.579 since May 9 and the Astros look to be contenders in the AL. The only thing currently holding them back is their overall record. If the season were to end today, the Astros wouldn’t make the postseason for the first time since 2014.

Bullpen Strategy for Astros

In yesterday’s loss to the Angels, Ryan Pressly lost the lead after he allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. In my opinion, the Astros should look at switching Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly’s closing positions because Pressly has not been himself since the start season. Abreu, on the other hand, is throwing the ball well, as he has a 2.97 ERA on the season. By switching their positions, the Astros offense will have more opportunities to hit if they end up going down from Pressly’s pitching. I would like to see Espada make this change, but I doubt it will ultimately happen because of the historical value Pressly has had with the Astros, and the fact that he already got demoted when the Astros signed Josh Hader.