Wait.

The Astros blew up the Trade Deadline after the 3pm Deadline acquiring Cal Stevenson, Joe Biagini, Aaron Sanchez, and - holy crap - Zack Greinke. And that's after re-acquiring Martin Maldonado earlier in the day.

The Return

Martin Maldonado. 

You know Machete.

Joe Biagini

Astros getting a guy with 88th percentile curveball spin, and elite vertical movement, but who only throws the pitch 7% of the time ... https://t.co/Arwwf5JsWY

— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) July 31, 2019

Looks like a Strom Special.

Biagini - a 29-year old reliever - won't be a free agent until 2023. In 50IP in 2019, he has allowed 50H/21ER, 50K:17BB, 3.78 ERA / 3.80 xFIP. He has an 81% LOB rate this season, AND his HR/9 rate has declined from 2018 to 2019.

Aaron Sanchez

Sanchez - a 27-year old righty starter - has had some, uh, issues this year, but he looks like another project for the analytics team and Strom. Sanchez is 3-14 with a 6.07 ERA belied by a 5.04 FIP and a 5.09 xFIP. In 112.1IP he has allowed 131H/76ER, with 99K:59BB. The Astros have likely seen something fixable in all of that. He won't be a free agent until 2021.

Sanchez also has three options remaining, so maybe the Astros don't bring him up immediately and instead send him to Triple-A.

Cal Stevenson

Stevenson - a 22-year old lefty-hitting outfielder - is hitting .298/.388/.393 in High-A. He was the Blue Jays' 10th Round pick in 2018, so this is just his second professional season, and his first full pro season, in baseball.

Rainier Rivas

The Astros get 18-year old Rainier Rivas from the Angels for Max Stassi, made expendable by the arrival of Martin Maldonado. Rivas was hitting .400/.512/.543 in the DSL and has come to the States in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .260/.309/.440. He's an 18-year old 6'3" 220lb lefty-hitting outfielder. That's crazy.

Raider Uceta

Uceta is the other piece in the Stassi trade. Also 18, also a lefty, Uceta has spent all of 2019 in the Arizona League, where he's hitting .278/.341/.373

Zack Greinke

Just a future Hall of Famer. Some initial thoughts on this one...

Greinke will be 36 in October, but that hasn't stopped him from putting in a career year in a career full of career years. In 141IP in 2019, Greinke has allowed 115H/45ER, 128K:18BB, 2.84 ERA / 0.94 WHIP (which leads the National League). He has a 7.11 K:BB ratio. And he's about to get deployed by the Astros' coaching staff. He's a thoughtful fella, likes analytics, so pitching under Hinch and Strom and with Verlander and Cole is probably going to work out pretty well.

The Astros are taking on $53m of the $80.5m remaining on Greinke's contract. Doing so probably precluded Arizona insisting on Kyle Tucker and/or Forrest Whitley. It gives the Astros easily the best Top 3 in all of baseball, which will of course carry over to October. This is insane.

This move also adds an immediate placeholder for Gerrit Cole's spot in the rotation after this season, when Cole is eligible for free agency. Remember that Lance McCullers, Jr. comes back in 2020, as well. So the Astros will waltz into 2020 with Verlander-Greinke-McCullers and then some Wade Miley-type guy who we don't even think about and then we look up and see he has a 2.98 ERA and then possibly Forrest Whitley, the #1 pitching prospect in baseball, who will spend September learning from Verlander, Cole, and Greinke, and then Spring Training, as well. There is no reason to be upset about this trade.

The Send-Off

The Astros are losing the following.

To Toronto: Derek Fisher. That's it. Seriously. I looked. I looked for a long time.

To Arizona: J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer, Corbin Martin, and Josh Rojas. If you read this blog, I don't have to give you the breakdown of who the Astros sent to Arizona, but I will try to give you a reason to not be all that broken up.

Bukauskas: He's not Forrest Whitley. The 1st Round pick in the 2017 Draft, Bukauskas has had a rough go of it. He has walked 54 batters in 85.2IP at Corpus and has a 5.25 ERA / 1.58 WHIP. At Double-A, where he is admittedly a couple of years younger than his competition.

Martin: He's not Forrest Whitley. Promising pitcher, had Tommy John surgery, and won't pitch until 2021.

Rojas: He's not Kyle Tucker. Utility guy who was really putting it together at Round Rock. Can play 2B/3B/LF and did so hitting .310/.402/.586 at Triple-A. He's 25, but was also a 26th Round pick in 2017. The Astros have Aledmys Diaz.

Beer: He's not Kyle Tucker. 1st Round pick in 2018. He's also nine months older than Yordan Alvarez.

The Astros County Summary

Are you kidding? The Astros remade the bullpen and added Zack F. Greinke and didn't lose Kyle Tucker or Forrest Whitley.

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*It was the All-Star Game last night, if you're in to that sort of thing. The American League won. Astros batters accounted for the first three hits of the game for the first time in All-Star Game history.

*Gerrit Cole talked to (separate links) Fox 26's Mark Berman:
I'm looking forward to (free agency). I know what my right is as a player. Once I get six years of service time, my right is to be able to say yes or no to a place I want to play. So I'm excited to be able to exercise that right. (Houston) checks a lot of the boxes. I expect them to be there when push comes to shove. I wouldn't mind playing there for a lot longer.

*Noah Syndergaard has "intrigued" some members of the Astros organization, reports Jon Paul Morosi. Syndergaard is arbitration-eligible for two more years and won't be a free agent until 2022. I guess I took that "Thor" thing rather literally, because I had no idea he was from Mansfield, Texas.

*Missed this from a couple of days ago, but Joel Sherman says the Astros are "said to be among the most interested" in trading for Trevor Bauer. Wonder if he'll unblock everyone on Twitter if that happens. Also, in no way would I buy a Trevor Bauer shirt. A Tyler Bauer shirt, however...

*Justin Verlander had to talk to MLB officials regarding his comments on the baseballs. Manfred:
The biggest flaw in that logic is that baseball somehow wants more home runs. If you've sat in an owners meeting and listened to the way people talk about our game being played, that is not the sentiment among the owners for whom I work. There is no desire on the part of ownership to increase the number of home runs in the game. To the contrary, they're concerned with how many we have.

He told Ken Rosenthal in the dugout that the players and MLB should "be able to figure this out."

Jayson Stark: MLB should recruit Verlander to help.

*Freddie Freeman was mic'd up during his AB against Verlander.

*Hahaha Cleveland didn't even offer Michael Brantley a contract.

*Joe Smith threw what was likely his last rehab outing for Corpus last night. 1IP, 4H/3ER, 2HR allowed. He's ready to join the Astros.

*Baseball America dropped the hammer on Forrest Whitley:
Beyond the poor results, evaluators have consistently said that Whitley, who began the year as the youngest player in the Pacific Coast League, has displayed an immaturity on the mound so caustic that it has obfuscated his still-bright ceiling.

*Seth Beer was named the Texas League Player of the Week.

*Former Astros Great A.J. Reed will head straight to Chicago to join the White Sox.

*Manfred is "optimistic" that somehow MLB teams can figure out a way to increase minor-league pay.

*Here's a great story in SportTechie about how the son of a golf pro developed the foundations of swing path and launch angle.

*SI's Emma Baccellieri: Alfredo Griffin's legacy as the least-deserving All-Star ever.

*There have been charges filed against one person related to Blue Bell: the girl who licked the ice cream, and not the people responsible for killing their own customers.

*A Musical Selection:

Thursday Morning Hot Links

The Astros beat the Rockies, 4-2. Houston is 55-32, winners of five straight games, with an eight-game lead on Oakland. The Astros have allowed two or fewer runs in three of their last five games. In games decided by a margin of 1-2 runs, the Astros are 24-14. Seven years ago today Jeff Luhnow traded Carlos Lee to Miami for Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen. Five years after that the Astros won the World Series.

*Today is July 4. The Astros are off. They start a home series tomorrow with Anaheim, who is wrapping up a series with West Terrell tonight. There are 12 MLB games scheduled, which means that six teams do not play on the 4th of July, and three of those teams are missing out on a holiday crowd. Also not playing today: the Mets, Giants, Orioles, Diamondbacks, Rockies. Freaking Toronto  (in Canadia!) gets a home game. Hinch:
It's going to be the first 4th of July where I don't have a reason to go to the ballpark. It will be weird. Having a number of teams having the off day, I don't think many of us know what to do. We're just so used to coming here and letting the game be our celebration.

*It's the 5th time this season the Rockies have been held to two or fewer runs at Coors Field. The Rockies were held to 0HR in consecutive home games for just the 2nd time this season (May 4/5 vs. Arizona).

*Alex Bregman was 1x2 with his 23rd home run of the season and two more walks. It's the 5th time in his career - and the 3rd time in 2019 - that Bregman has homered and drawn two walks in the same game.

Bregman walked a career-high 96 times in 705 PAs in 2018, once every 7.34 PAs. In 2019, Bregs has 63 walks in 380 PAs, once every 6.03 PAs. At this pace he would draw 117 walks in 2019, which would be 6th all-time in franchise history.

*Yuli Gurriel was 2x4 with another home run, his 11th of the season. Yuli has six home runs in his last eight games (35 PAs), after hitting five home runs in his previous 71 games (304 PAs)

*Wade Miley: 6IP, 5H/1ER, 6K:2BB, and settled in after walking the first two batters of the game (and falling behind 3-0 to the third), retiring eleven of the last twelve batters he faced. Miley:
I felt lost on an island out there in the first inning. I couldn't throw a strike. I was just trying to throw it over the plate and just let them hit it. The last thing I wanted to do was walk guys around the basepaths. But I was able to get through it and found some traction in the third and fourth and felt back to myself. 

Hinch:
Nothing like almost getting a guy up in the first inning and then you go six strong. I stayed patient with him, he got better as the game went on. He felt better at the end than he did at the beginning.

Chanandler Rahm has a breakdown of Wade Miley's first half.

*Since returning from the IL, Collin McHugh: 4.1IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:1BB.

*A.J. Hinch, at 429 wins, is six shy of Larry Dierker for 2nd-most in franchise history.

*Gerrit Cole and Yordan Alvarez won the AL Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month for June, respectively.

*The County Mountie goes on one and has a pretty valid assessment of what Tyler White is to this team.

*Alex Bregman will face off against Joc Pederson in the 1st Round of the Home Run Derby. Bregman:
It's a lot of fun and something I watched as a little kid. I had a lot of fun doing it last year, and hopefully can have a better showing than last year and make it a lot further.

*The Astros will donate all proceeds during Friday's game against Anaheim from the Share2Care 50/50 Raffle to the Angels Baseball Foundation, in honor of Tyler Skaggs.

*Round Rock was down 8-1 to Omaha in the middle of the 5th...and won 9-8. Taylor Jones hit a 3-run home run, his 15th of the year.

*Cristian Javier started for Corpus against Frisco last night, throwing 5IP, 1H/0ER, 8K:3BB. J.B. Bukauskas came in and allowed 5H/6R (3ER), 0K:1BB in 0.2IP. Layne Henderson allowed 5H/5ER in 1.1IP. Corpus scored four in the top of the 9th, but lost 11-10. Seth Beer was 4x5 with his 9th home run as a Hook, and his 18th on the season.

*Fayetteville lost to Salem, 2-1. Astros County Pitcher To Watch Brett Conine (11th Round - 2018) threw 5IP, 2H/0ER, 7K:1BB. He has 91K:12BB in 73IP in 2019.

*Quad Cities is 52-26 after beating Wisconsin 4-0. Felipe Tejada threw 7IP, 2H/0ER, 8K:3BB.

*Tri-City lost to Staten Island 5-2. Nathan Perry was 2x2 with 2BB. Juan Pablo Lopez struck out eight batters in 4.1IP.

*Check out the crazy box score from the DSL Yankees 38-2 win over the DSL Twins.

*Joe Posnanski wrote about Nolan Ryan.

*SI's Tim Rohan: Byung-Hyun Kim is at peace after years of being misunderstood.

*Yahoo's Hannah Keyser: The collective delusion that winning matters.

*Sunday will be fun: USWNT play The Netherlands in the World Cup Final at 10am (Central) and the USMNT play in the Gold Cup Final against Mexico at 8pm.

*Watch a bunch of fireworks shows go horribly wrong.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Okay, well...no one was reinjured. The Astros dropped their fifth straight game, eclipsing a season-high they set on Wednesday. Houston is 48-28 which [takes off socks] is still 20 games over .500 with 85 games left in the regular season. This was the fourth straight game in which there was a rain delay.

*The Astros allowed 12 runs in the entire early April series against the Yankees, and gave up ten last night. Houston is 4-7 at Yankee Stadium since the beginning of 2017 (postseason included).

*Astros pitchers gave up four home runs - three in the 4th inning alone - for the 8th time this season. They've allowed 37 home runs in 18 June games so far, 13 in the last five games.

*Framber, by inning:
1st: 4 batters faced, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
2nd: 3 batters faced, 0H/0ER, 0K:0BB
3rd: 4 batters faced, 0H/0ER, 2K:1BB
4th: 6 batters faced, 3H/3ER, 0K:2BB

Hinch:
They're dangerous whenever they get into these hitter's counts and it started from the very first hitter of the blowup inning. They showed how explosive they are. We couldn't keep the ball in the ballpark and the game kind of got away from us a little bit.

*Hector Rondon quietly had a 1-2-3 8th inning, striking out the side on 15 pitches. He had struck out three batters in his previous 5.1IP combined (22 batters faced). Rondon, June: 8.1IP, 5H/2ER, 8K:3BB (2.16 ERA / 0.96 WHIP).

*Houston batters hit four home runs for the 8th time. They're now 6-2 in those games. The Astros had hit four home runs in the previous five games combined.

*Jake Marisnick hit two home runs for the third time in his career, and the first since July 31, 2017. He had previously done it in May 2017. Historically, the Astros are 1-0 in the World Series in years in which Jake Marisnick hits two home runs.

*Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez homered (and Alvarez also doubled) like the Good Strong Boys They Are. Alvarez has five home runs in his first nine games, joining Carlos Delgado as the youngest to do it.

Yordan Alvarez: 113.2 mph HR

It's the Astros' hardest of the year. pic.twitter.com/czNK8rsl2E

— David Adler (@_dadler) June 21, 2019

*Jose Altuve got his first hit since May 10.

*This kid George Springer hit two home runs down at Corpus. Maybe bring him up and give him a shot? Seth Beer hit two home runs, as well, going 3x4 with a walk. Corpus hit six home runs in the game.

The plan for Springer is to take today off, then play Saturday and Sunday. Bregman:
Oh, it's gonna be awesome. We're getting Jose back now, he's gonna get on a roll. Springer hit two homers today in rehab - he's coming soon. And then hopefully Correa heals quickly and he gets back. I think we're having a little rough stretch right now. But we'll be back.

Hinch has an update on that:
I'm not sure [Correa and Diaz] are going to factor into the Major League team prior to the All-Star break. Their rehab calendars are still in pencil, and we're closing in on the last homestand before we hit July. I know Correa won't be available. I think the hope is that Diaz is still a little bit ahead of Correa.

*Jose Urquidy for Round Rock last night: 6IP, 5H/2ER, 7K:0BB. Urquidy has 95K:13BB in 70.2IP with a 3.69 ERA / 0.96 WHIP. Taylor Jones was 3x4 with two doubles. Nick Tanielu, Drew Ferguson, and Jamie Ritchie each had two hits in a 4-3 loss to Iowa.

*C.J. Stubbs hit a home run in his first professional AB in a 10-7 Tri-City win over Aberdeen. Joe Perez (2nd Round - 2017) was 3x4 with a walk, 2RBI, and his first career professional home run. Tri-City's coaching staff is a combined 81 years old and were all interested in learning the way the Astros do things.

*The NY Post's Ken Davidoff writes that the Yankees were right to hold on to Former Astros Great Cameron Maybin. The Yankees acquired Maybin from Cleveland for $25,000. The Indians are stupid (see: Brantley, Michael).

*New York gets Aaron Judge back tonight.

*The Rays may eventually split their season between Tampa and Montreal? Lol no, says pretty much everybody.

*How to use social media, according to a mental health expert.

*His biggest hit sold more copies than any of the Beatles' hits. So why haven't you heard of Prince Nico Mbarga?

*The 13 coolest record stores in America. Waterloo Records is not a part of this list.

*A Musical Selection:



The Hot Links Playlist on Spotify is now at 130 songs and 8h15m of musical goodness.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

The Astros finally beat the Oriololololes in a game that was completely stupid and unnecessary. They won, so yay, but got dang. That game was dumb. Houston is 44-21, and the lead is back to 10 games over Arlington.

*Houston has an MLB-best 23-7 record over their last 30 games. They're 9-5 vs AL East teams in 2019. (Baltimore is 9-18 vs AL East teams in 2019).

*The Astros are 4-0 in extra-innings and 12-6 in 1-run games.

*Houston won their 2nd straight extra-inning game on a Maybe slide by Gurriel after Chirinos doubled in the bottom of the 11th. Hinch:
You can't really tell did Yuli touch the plate or not. Whatever he called was going to be the play that he saw. He's the closest guy there...it's a tough play and nearly impossible to be perfect. I'm still not sure what happened, but I like the ruling.

*Gerrit Cole threw a gem: 7IP 4H/3R (1ER), 14K:0BB. The 14Ks are the second-highest of his career (16Ks vs Arizona on May 4, 2018). He got a career-high 29 swings-and-misses. More on Cole's mean streak from the Chronicle here.

 It's the fourth instance across MLB this season in which the starter struck out 14+ and didn't walk anybody (Chris Sale has done it twice, Shane Bieber did it for Cleveland, and now Cole). In three of the four instances in 2019, Baltimore has been on the Walking-Back-To-The-Dugout end.

It's the first start in his career in which Cole has had a 14K:0BB line. It's the 10th time he's had double-digit strikeouts and no walks.

*Gerrit Cole's 1st Innings this year:
-March 29 @ Tampa: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-April 3 @ Arlington: 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB
-April 9 v. New York: 1H/1ER, 1K:0BB (1HR)
-April 14 @ Seattle: 1H/1ER, 2K:0BB (1HR)
-April 20 @ Arlington: 4H/5R (4ER) , 1K:2BB
-April 25 v Cleveland: 0H/0ER, 2K:2BB
-April 30 @ Minnesota: 0H/0ER, 0K:2BB
-May 6 v Kansas City: 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 11 v Arlington: 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB
-May 17 @ Boston: 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 22 v Chicago (AL): 0H/0ER, 1K:0BB
-May 27 v Chiacgo (NL) 1H/1ER, 2K:1BB (1HR)
-June 2 @ Oakland: 0H/0ER, 1K:2BB
-June 7 v Baltimore: 2H/3R (1ER), 2K:0BB, 1HBP

Mostly pretty good. A bad one against Arlington, somewhat inconsistent to set the table.

*Cole's 130 strikeouts lead the American League.

*Cionel Perez threw 3IP, 0H/0ER, 2K:0BB and got his first career MLB win. Good for Cionel Perez, good for Us. Hinch, on Perez:
It was a night where we needed Cionel. It was his game, and he was going to continue to pitch. He's had a rough season in Triple-A and strike-throwing has been an issue for him. He throws a ton of strikes and is really conservative with his pitch total - no hits, huge innings. Just an incredible night for him.

*From May 7-June 6 the Orioles' pitching staff had allowed 251 hits in 241.2IP, a 5.77 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. So of course the Astros got six hits in eleven innings.

*Top four in the lineup (Fisher-Bregman-Brantley-Gurriel) went for a combined 1x18 with two walks, both via Derek Fisher. Alex Bregman went 0x5 for the 7th time in his career, and the first time since March 31, 2018.

*Josh Reddick homered and stole a base in the same game for the first time since July 4, 2018. Tony Kemp homered into the upper deck, as well.

*Baltimore's Rio Ruiz plated the 2nd and 3rd Oriole runs. Why does that name sound familiar? Because the Astros picked Ruiz in the 4th Round of the legendary 2012 draft. Houston traded him to Atlanta as part of the deal that brought in Unconscionably-Unemployed Evan Gattis. The Braves waived him in December 2018, and Baltimore picked him up.

*A tranzaction as the Astros work to get healthy and also to not lose against horrible teams. Via McTaggart:
-Cionel Perez is up, Brady Rodgers was optioned back to Round Rock.

Hinch:
Fourteen innings will create a little urgency to mix things up and find a fresh arm. [Cionel Perez] has been here before, has been in the 'pen before and he's stretched out to help us as much as he can in a very tired and depleted bullpen after the road trip.

Rodgers made his 2019 debut on May 22 and threw 37 pitches. Then he didn't pitch again until June 4, where he threw a clean inning. And then he pitched on June 5 (the rough one against Seattle) where he threw 63 pitches. I don't know that 12 days off in between your 1st and 2nd outings are ideal, following by a 60+ pitch outing the next day. Tough situation for Brady Rodgers.

Meanwhile, Altuve, Springer, Diaz, Stassi, and McHugh could go on a rehab assignment by the end of the homestand.

*Framber Valdez gets the start tonight.

*Jose Urquidy threw 6IP, 3H/0ER, 8K:0BB as Round Rock beat Salt Lake City 10-0. Yordan Alvarez, who is still in Triple-A so he can work on his defense, got the start at DH and hit his 23rd home run of the year. Josh Rojas hit three doubles.

*Seth Beer hit his third home run of the season for Corpus last night.

*Fayetteville's Chad Donato threw 6IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:2BB.

*You hate to see it:

The Seattle #Mariners, who opened with a 13-2 record, have since gone 13-38. The Houston #Astros, who opened with a 2-5 record, have since gone 41-16. That’s a 25-game gap in just two months for those counting.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 7, 2019

*Lance McCullers threw a no-hitter as himself on MLB The Show.

*Dallas Keuchel is now an Atlanta Brave and Former Astros Great Mike Foltynewicz (and Josh Hader) credit Keuchel for taking them under his wing. He'll make $4.9m less than he would have if he/Boras would have accepted the Qualifying Offer from the Astros.

*Seattle's Mitch Haniger was put on the IL after Thursday's game against Houston with...a ruptured testicle.

*Corpus' Abraham Toro gets a nice shoutout from Baseball America in their latest report.

*Math With Bad Drawings: Why Baseball Statistics Matter

*How John Smoltz went from a media darling to the topic of debate.

*Outside: A Supposedly Fun Thing I Might Do Again

*Check out this Texas Monthly interview with Shea Serrano, a Legit Legend.

*Deadspin's Laura Wagner: Competitive musical chairs is New York's friendliest sport.

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Yesterday, James brought us a whopping 25 Hot Links. I have, staring at my tabs, maybe significantly less than that. The Astros didn't play last night and it seems as if people are getting tired of writing about how good the Astros are.

Your comments are gone on the website. I can post whatever I want without any repercussions. 😈

Let's check out some odds shall we?
FiveThirtyEight- The Astros and Dodgers have the exact same odds to go to the playoffs, go to the World Series, and win the World Series.
Fangraphs - The Dodgers have a 20.3% chance to win the World Series followed by the Astros at 20.2%. We have a comfortable 99.1% chance to win the division.
Vegas - 4/1 for the Astros, 4/1 for the Dodgers.

~Forrest Whitley has been placed on the DL due to a 12.20 ERA Shoulder Fatigue.

~The Astros seem to make any pitcher relevant, this time with Wade Miley.

Chandler Rome's Astros mailbag was posted last night, which includes questions about the middle infielders, Corbin Martin, and (of course) Yordan Alvarez.

Climbing Tal's Hill ranked the top 10 best "diamonds in the rough" prospects in Astros history.

Here's something fun to look at: the Astros Prospect statlines!
Round Rock
Yordan Alvarez: .367 AVG, 20 HR, 64 RBI
Kyle Tucker: .261 AVG, 16 HR, 10 SB
Corpus Christi
Abraham Toro: .322 AVG, 9 HR, 42 RBI
Seth Beer: .331 AVG, 11 HR, 45 RBI
Cristian Javier: 39.1 IP, 50 K, 1.60 ERA
Quad Cities
Jeremy Pena: .302 AVG, 42 RBI, 15 SB
Enoli Paredes: 40 IP, 53 K, 1.58 ERA, 0.98 WHIP

Full Prospect Watch:

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1975, the Astros put up a dozen in the 8th inning to break a 3-3 tie against the Phillies.

In 1997, Ila Borders became the first woman to appear in a minor league baseball game.

In 2012, Carlos Gonzalez hit his 4th consecutive home run off of Astros pitching, becoming only the 22nd player to do so (shoutout to Lucas Harrell, David Carpenter, Xavier Cedeno, and Bud Norris, respectively).

Wednesday Morning Hot Links

Unsurprisingly, we curb stomped the White Sox again, this time 5-1. Verlander took a no-hitter into the 6th. It was dominant. Notes:

Gurriel: 2-4, Solo HR
Brantley: 1-4, 2 RBIs
Diaz: 2-4
Verlander: 8 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K

Full Box:

Actually, everyone in the Astros organization brought home a win last night.

MLB.com ranked the top 7 most important unsung heroes for the Astros so far this season.

As you can see from above, Aledmys Diaz is back. Altuve is not, but he is being "encouraged" to do "more and more activities" so whatever that means.

Collin McHugh landed on the IL yesterday and Cionel Perez Brady Rodgers got the call. Here's a couple potential reasons why.

Is Madison Bumgarner seriously an option for the Astros at the deadline?

Check out these baby pictures of the 2019 Astros!

Seth Beer made his AA debut with the Hooks. See how he did along with some other familiar faces.

Roger Clemens son Kory was hit with a DWI.

Erik Kratz got traded to the Rays, which means he is playing with probably his 37th unique MLB team.

Plano, Texas is making dog-friendly movie theaters. These are the headlines I like to see.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1999, Mark McGwire became the 3rd player to ever hit a ball out of Dodger stadium. It traveled an estimated 483 feet.

In 2006, Jake Peavy fanned a Padres franchise record 16 batters in a 3-1 loss to Atlanta.

In 2009, Michael Cuddyer completed the cycle with a broken bat triple.

Friday Morning Hot Links

Hey it's your pal James here. Sorry for my caterwauling yesterday, but it was necessary. Anyway, I'm giving Flick a three-day reprieve from the Blogging Conclave. The Astros did not play last night. They are 29-15. Earlier this week I won Whataburger from a co-worker because the Astros swept the Rangers (if the Rangers had split or won the series, I would have been buying). Today is the beginning of the second of three bets with the same co-worker: if the Rangers are ten games behind the Astros at any point after May 17, he buys Whataburger. Houston is 8.5 up on Arlington. Third bet: the Astros will finish 25.0+ games ahead of the Rangers. I love making bets with Dallas homerz who barely watch baseball.

*A side story that I also put on Twitter last night: On the day our daughter was born, we gave her a little stuffed lamb that she eventually named Bob. She carried Bob with her wherever she went. About three years ago, my wife was away for the weekend and my daughter and I made a Whole Thing about it: baseball game, ice cream, museum trips, etc. When that weekend was over, we noticed we didn't know where Bob was. It was An Ordeal. Ultimately, I was able to get a Replacement Bob from Amazon, but it wasn't the same. One night, my dear wife told me that she wished I would have told her that I cheated on her rather than Bob getting lost under my watch. I felt the predictable Shame, but I knew I didn't lose Bob. Fast forward three years to last night. Daughter comes into the living room after brushing her teeth and says, "Bob looks weird." And he did! He looked like he needed to get thrown in the washing machine. Then she says, "Why is he different from the Bob in bed?" And I yelled, "There's another Bob in bed?" And she looks at me like I'm crazy and says, in the way that only she can, "Yeah." So I sprint to her bedroom (not a good idea: my knee still hurts from that half-marathon) and, sure enough, there's the Newer Bob. I sprint back into the living room and she's holding Janky Bob. I ask, "Where did you find him?" And she says, "Oh for the life of me I can't remember." She's six years old, talking like she's in a got dang Danielle Steele novel. She has no idea where she was when she came across the Actual Bob, but by God, he's back. Skros gonna win the World Series this year. Bob has made it so. #WorldSeriesBob

*Off-Day Playoff Odds Check!

FanGraphs (101-61): 99.2% to win the division, 99.5% to make the playoffs. 21.5% to win the World Series.

FiveThirtyEight (103-59): 95% to win the division, 97% to make the playoffs. 22% to win the World Series.

Baseball Prospectus (99-63): 98.1% to win the division, 98.9% to make the playoffs. 20.9% to win the World Series.

*Yesterday I wrote up how the Astros' bottom of the order is producing in historic fashion (just not *as historic* as the 2019 Twins' bottom of the order, which is kind of a bummer. Also the 2019 Astros are out-pacing the 1927 Yankees from top-to-bottom. Good day.) The Athletic didn't want it, so here you have it for free.

Three hours later, Chandler Rome posted an article indicating the exact same thing, but with Access.

*Check out Chandler Rome's Mailbag.

*Richard Justice: How George Springer became the "heart and soul" of the Houston Astros. Jake Kaplan has a great piece about why Springer has gotten more starts at DH in 2019 than he did in all of 2018.

*Jon Tayler says Forrest Whitley, who has really struggled in Round Rock so far, could make his Houston rotation debut around mid-season.

*Yeah the balls are different but Yordan Alvarez was 3x6 with 6RBI last night for Round Rock with two home runs and a double. He's hitting .410/.497/.903 with 30K:22BB. Take that for what you will. He will be 22 at the end of June, and the Astros got him for Josh Fields. A scout Peter Gammons knows mentioned "David Ortiz" when talking about Yordan.

#Astros' Yordan Alvarez leads all of MiLB with:
🔸17 HR
🔸53 RBI
🔸36 R
🔸32 XBH
🔸.903 SLG
🔸.497 OBP
Oh yea, and he ranks 2nd with a .410 AVG.

📰: https://t.co/RHYcMxMuhX pic.twitter.com/4uLYKOPuy1

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 17, 2019

*MLB.com's Jason Beck says it's way too soon to determine who won the Verlander trade. (Hint: it's the Astros).

*In this SI 3-up 3-down column, the Astros look good.

*The Ellen DeGeneres Show asks this question:
Are you [an Astros] fan who lives in the Houston area, and could use help from Ellen? We want to hear your story! Share your personal story of why you think you deserve financial help, tickets to your favorite MLB game (Let's Go Astros!) and more. Tell us your story here!

While I could use some financial help [side-eyes The Athletic] I don't live in the Houston area, and also there are many more who are deserving than I am. So have at it. Make some dreams come true.

*After hitting .328/.414/.602 for Fayetteville, Seth Beer got promoted to Corpus.

*Need another Astros shirt from BreakingT?

*Quad Cities beat Peoria 21-1. River Bandits' 2-5: 11x19, two doubles and three home runs. Jeremy Pena (3rd Round, 2018) went 3x5 with two walks, a double, triple, a home run, and 6RBI. Scott Schreiber (9th Round, 2018) went 3x4 with 1K:3BB. Marty Costes (22nd Round, 2018) went 3x4 with two walks, a double, a home run, and 7RBI.

Pitcher Jojanse Torres went 5IP, 2H/1ER, 7K:0BB - the solo home run he allowed was the first earned run he has allowed in 16IP this season, and he has 26 K:8BB in 16IP.

*Former Astros Great Teoscar Hernandez got optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, after hitting .189/.262/.299 with an almost-30% K-rate.

*Not-paywalled article from Craig Goldstein: On the end of the beginning of baseball season.

*The Marlins are basically MLB-sanctioned organized crime.

*Tyler Kepner: The Rays are a surrealist's delight.

*The Orioles had their Buttslide moment.

*The Square Ball, on Leeds' defeat to Derby, and the defeat which comes for us all.

*Complete Whack-Job/Absolute Delight Mike Leach teaches a class at Washington State called Leadership Lessons in Insurgent Warfare and Football Strategies. One assignment was to draw up some plays. Mike Leach graded them.

*Eater: The Myth of Authenticity is Killing Tex-Mex.

*Drew Magary: The Night the Lights Went Out

*A Musical Selection:



The Hot Links playlist on Spotify now contains almost seven hours of music, if you're into the kind of music I like.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

The Astros hit four home runs and beat the Tigers 8-1. Houston is 27-15 and brings their Road record back to .500 at 11-11. Houston has a 6-game winning streak in which they've outscored their opponents 50-12. It's not bad. Remember that watching this team is a blessing, though this blessing has been earned by the blood and hand-wringing of 2010-2014. The win gives the Astros the best record in baseball, edging out the 27-16 Dodgers by a half-game.

*Since going 2-5 to open the season against Tampa and Arlington, Houston is 25-10.

*They have hit four home runs for the second straight game and have 31 home runs in their last 11 games. The Marlins have hit 24 home runs all season. Springer, who went 2x5:
I think that the team mentality - don't quit and pass the baton onto the next guy - is absolutely huge. It's a testament to the guys on this team. Just go out and try to win every single day no matter what happens.

*Houston struck out three times on the night, their lowest total in a game since the 7-1 win over Minnesota on April 24. They've now gone 15 straight games without striking out 10+ times. The 2018 Astros went 25 games without double-digit Ks, from June 3-June 30.

*Brad Peacock threw 5IP, 3H/1ER, 3K:4BB, with only 49 of his 88 pitches going over for strikes. It's the fourth time in his career that he has walked 4+ batters and won the game, the last coming on July 9, 2017. The Astros would go on to win the World Series. Peacock:
I didn't have my best stuff, but I grinded through it, had some great plays by the guys and they swung it today. That's all you can ask for. I was happy to get through five today. I know it could have been a lot worse.

*Hector Rondon's last ten appearances: 8.1IP, 7H/2ER, 5K:3BB. Last night was the first hit he had allowed since April 26.

*For the 9th time in 42 games this season, Astros pitchers did not allow a home run.

*Aledmys Diaz had two hits, including a home run. In the last three games, since Altuve has been out for a full game, Diaz is 5x13 with 2HR and 7RBI.

*Jake Marisnick was 2x3 with a homer, stolen base, and 2RBI. He also got flat-out drilled on the elbow in the 9th inning. We'll see how much time that costs him.

*Robinson Chirinos hit a home run and drew two walks in a game for the first time since August 3, 2011.

Look away, it's a robbery. #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/0EVj4PBwhI

— Houston Astros (@astros) May 14, 2019

*George Springer earned a share of the AL Player of the Week honors. Sarah Langs writes that Springer has taken the next step towards super-stardom.

*Casey Harrison writes about Verlander's trip down memory lane in Detroit. Verlander:
There's some anxiousness and just a little bit of excitement. I don't think that will ever go away. It's just something that I was here for so long, just a lot of memories.

Within the link we also find that Altuve may not start rehabbing his hamstring until the middle to the end of the week. Hinch:
We don't have a target date. We're going to let his treatment plan play out and then we'll work towards getting him back up and running.

*Richard Justice notes that since Hinch moved Springer to the leadoff spot on May 24, 2016, the Astros have the best record in baseball (298-185).

*Chandler Rome: 1B Coach Don Kelly returned to Detroit, where his legend began. Kelly:
I think being a hard-nosed, blue-collar type guy resonated with the city. They appreciated it even though you don't go up and get a hit every time, but you go out there and give it everything you've got. They appreciate that. 

*Max Stassi, on Corbin Martin's debut:
I thought he did amazing. He's wise beyond his years. He's very level-headed. No highs, no lows. Obviously, he has the stuff to pitch here for a long time. It was very, very impressive.

*If Power Rankings are your thing, the Astros took #1 in USA Today's Power Ranking, as well as The Score, and The Athletic. They're 2nd in ESPN's.

*Justin Verlander and Papa John's are teaming up to save future service dogs for returning veterans. Meanwhile, Verlander sits atop the first Cy Poll of 2019 (I do not know who gets to vote on this).

*Kyle Tucker hit a triple and then stole home...

🏃‍ @KTuck30 steals home!

The No. 7 overall prospect legs out a triple, then races home for @RRExpress. (@astros)

🎞️: https://t.co/I69NiRIStG pic.twitter.com/705i1BOBVG

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 14, 2019

*Seth Beer leads the Carolina League with nine home runs.

*SI's Matt Martell lists the Astros as the 3rd-best fit for Madison Bumgarner.

*Seattle beat Oakland on a walkoff last night. They're 21-23. The Mariners are 5-19 against teams currently over .500.

*NY Mag: Los Angeles Fire Season is beginning again. And it will never end.

*Tracy Morgan turned the drama of his life into comedy.

*A Musical Selection:

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Houston lost last night in the Return of Marwin. The Astros are 13-9, 1.5 games behind Seattle and 0.5 ahead of Arlington. Houston has lost four of its last five games since the ten-game winning streak. They're 6-1 at home.

*The Astros have given up 29 runs in their last three games. A quick check of Baseball-Reference indicates that this is not ideal. From June 3-6, 2018 Houston allowed 21 runs. You have to go back to September 9-10, 2017 to find a three-game stretch (Sept 9 was a doubleheader) in which the Astros allowed more runs, with 31.

*Marwin got a warm ovation in his return to Minute Maid Park.

Thank you Marwin! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/2rT1PFS4d4

— Houston Astros (@astros) April 22, 2019

*Brad Peacock gave up three runs in the first two innings, but settled down for a 5IP, 6H/3ER, 2K:3BB performance. Hinch:
It's a few games in a row for us where we really haven't gotten into the game very easily. I was happy with how (Peacock) responded to it and got through five innings.

Reddick:
I think if we get past the point of the first where we're not down, I think we have a good shot going into it. This thing will pass. 

*Houston has allowed 19 runs, and an MLB-leading 18ER, in the 1st inning in 2019. Opponents are hitting .308, also an MLB-worst, in the 1st inning. They are now 4-5 when beginning the 2nd inning behind.

*It was 3-1 Minnesota in the top of the 6th when Josh James decided to allow 4H/4R (3ER), 3K:1BB.

Josh James, 2019: 12.2IP, 10H/11R (10ER), 17K:8BB, 3HR. 7.11 ERA / 1.42 WHIP.

*It was 7-5 Minnesota when Chris Devenski gave up a 2-run home run, giving him a 2H/2ER, 0K:1BB outing. He does not get to be called "The Dragon" for the time being.

*Eight of the Twins' nine runs came with two outs.

*Jason Castro hit his first home run since March 31, 2018. It's his second home run against the Astros, making Brad Peacock and Tony Sipp the sole members of a very not-special club.

*Brian Arbour asks where the Astros' DH production is.

*Last night was the 11th time this season the Astros have recorded 10+ hits. They're 7-4 in those games.

*Michael Brantley was 2x5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He has an 8-game hitting streak and nine multi-hit games on the year.

*Carlos Correa hit the 85th home run of his career. It was his 9th career 3-run homer. Correa has home runs on consecutive days for the first time since May 31-June 1, 2018.

*Josh Reddick was 3x4. He's hitting .365/.403/.476, and has three 3-hit games in his last five. Reddick has made a point since Spring Training of trying to go the other way with the ball. All three of his hits were to opposite field. Reddick:
It's too cliche, but I'm not trying to do too much. I'm just going up there and using what they're going to give me, and I had a pretty significant hole over there on the left side today. If they keep pitching away, I'm going to try to keep going that way until they come in. It's a matter of just riding that wave as long as I can because eventually it will come crashing down and I've got to get back up on that board and go again.

*The Astros were 2x8 w/RISP. They're now 42x187 (.225) with runners in scoring position.

*Yordan Alvarez was the first minor-league player to 10HR with his 9th inning blast as Round Rock beat Memphis 9-4. Taylor Jones hit two home runs, and Jack Mayfield added another shot. Alvarez is hitting .339/.451/.915 with 11K:11BB. Not bad, I guess. He has 18 home runs in 62 games at Triple-A. He's 21 years old.

*Seth Beer is the Carolina League Player of the Week, after hitting .391 with three home runs. Through 16 games, Beer is hitting .333/.403/.540. Jake Adams, Bryan De La Cruz, Beer, and Colton Shaver are all OPSing over .900.

*Man, the rules changed pretty quickly around here. Rangers manager Chris Woodward - who came to Arlington from the Dodgers - is celebrating how well his team has been stealing signs. Woodward:
You know what you are holding. Now, if you had a chance to know what both cards the dealer has are, wouldn't that increase your chances of success? And if you knew (what) the dealer had with those two cards before you even placed your bet, wouldn't that increase your wager?

I'm old enough to remember when the Astros were blitzed in the media for having a guy near a bullpen.

*Emma Baccillieri: Pirates pitcher Nick Burdi's injury is a cruel reminder of how fleeting success is for baseball players.

*Shoutout to Towson University, who upset Grand Valley State to win the NCAA Dodgeball Championship.

*SI: Has anyone ever Googled Jerrod Mustaf?

*A Musical Selection:

Friday Morning Hot Links

Today is the first day of the first three hour class I have ever taken as a student as well as the first Friday class I have ever taken, so today is kind of a bummer. To cope, I will post. 

Forrest Whitley talked to Tags about dominating the AFL, injuries, mechanics, and veteran guidance.

Here's another Whitley article, this time talking about his excitement for his MLB debut.

Today is the arbitration deadline, and 10 players, some of which include stars Carlos Correa, Gerrit Cole, and Lance McCullers. All the figures and players can be found in the link.

The Astros are one of 6 teams with "substantive" trade negotiations picking up for J.T. Realmuto again, with the Dodgers being reported as "the most motivated". 

What might a Houston trade package look like?

The Tags Mailbag is here!

Bleacher Report gave us the odds of the best suitors to the best free agents still available (except for Lowrie) (except for Grandal).

The Astros scouting team is extending the team's contention window, which to me sounds like a splendid idea.

Get to know Cristian Javier, one of the best international pitching prospects in the pipeline.

Seth Beer was ranked as the 7th best storyline to come out of Clemson in 2018 per ClemsonSportsTalk.

Here is a deeper dive into the unfortunate and alarming inequality in the payment of Minor League baseball players.

Some Japanese billionaire broke the Twitter record for most retweets on one post, passing up the original title holder of the kid I blocked on Twitter for whining about wanting free chicken nuggets to Wendy's for months on end. He is just the worst.

DAREDEVIL MONKEYS

Monday Morning Hot Links

Folks, one week from tomorrow we will be pumping playoff baseball straight through our veins. But before then, we gotta take care of business. Framber was cooking once again as the Astros swept the series after being the LA Angels again 6-2. Charlie Morton left very early in the game, but is expected to make his final start this weekend in Baltimore. Full recap is here.

The Burgundy Bros. are off to Canada.

Ken Giles said in an interview that he's enjoying pitching with Toronto more than Houston.

The Astros have given away over 250,000 World Series rings.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 87-68 and are 6.5 back of the second wild card. This record would have them as the second wild card team if they played in the National League. The Mariners would only be 1.5 GB but are 8.5 GB now in the AL.

It seems as if Hector Rondon is still trusted by A.J. Hinch. There's still some time to find that form again before October.

LMJ should pitch either tonight or tomorrow.

These Astros are 16-4 in the month of September and that's quite alright.

Marwin Gonzalez, George Springer, and Carlos Correa are the only three batters to strike out more than 100 times this season.

Today is the first Astros instructional league game against the Marlins. Seth Beer and Freudis Nova headline the big names of the team. Side note, there is no team in sports with better names than the names that can be found in the Houston Astros organization. Thank you, Mr. Luhnow. 

Gerrit Cole and his 16 K masterpiece was picked as the "best Astros game" of the season.

Take the "Country musician or baseball player" quiz. I got a 6/11 which is a failing grade please do not kick me off of the Internet.

Researchers pumped some ecstasy into this octopuses for science.

Uranus, Missouri went on ahead and named their local newspaper The Uranus Examiner.

I found this stock image of a husky and I believe that it is in everyone's best interest for me to share it.

On This Day in Baseball History

In 1957, the Dodgers defeated the Pirates 2-0 in the last game the Dodgers played in Brooklyn.

In 1974, Al Kaline picked up his 3000th hit.

In 2004, Pedro Martinez claimed that he was "the Yankees daddy."

In 2014, Phil Hughes fell one out short of receiving a $500,000 bonus due to a rain delay.

Saturday Morning Hot Links

This team. It is a frustrating team. It is a frustrating team because they should have won a game like they played last night. Do I expect them to be 162-0? Yes Of course not. Are they going to have off-nights? Why would they? Sure. But, man, kind of in a division race over here. Astros lose 5-2. Oakland beat Seattle. The Astros have a 1.5-game lead with 27 games to play.

*Astros in August: 14-12. The 12 losses tie May for most in a calendar month. Houston was 9-10 vs the AL West in August.

Offense: .253/.324/.444, 32 GIDPs.
Pitching: 232IP, 202H/87ER, 260K:64BB

For reference, August 2017: 11-17, .726 OPS.

*Houston has now been shutout eight times. They have been held to 0-2 runs 37 times, after being held to 0-2 runs 34 times in all of 2017. Houston has been stuck on 666 runs scored for two days. This is not a good omen.

*Astros away, 2018: .267/.336/.457, 1.13 HR/game
Astros at home, 2018: .245/.322/.400, 1.43 HR/game

*In last night's infuriating loss to the Angels, Houston went 0x8 w/RISP. Idiots. They had the leadoff runner on in five different innings. Let's look at some opportunities that the Astros let pass by:

Bottom 3rd: Springer on 1st, Maldonado on 3rd, one out -> Bregman foul out, Altuve line out.
Bottom 4th: Correa on 2nd, one out -> Marwin ground out, Gurriel fly out.
Bottom 8th: Bases loaded, one out -> Altuve strike out, Correa foul out.

*Six days after allowing 5H/4ER in 3IP to the Astros, Jaime Barria allowed 3H/0ER, 4K:1BB in 6IP. Andrelton Simmons stood in front of runners on second base between pitches last night to prevent them from what Jaime Barria believes is Astros runners relaying signs to the hitter, something A's pitcher Brett Anderson wondered about after his start on Monday.

*Jose Altuve was 0x4 with three strikeouts.  In the last four games he's 3x17 with 9K:0BB.

*A.J. Hinch was ejected after the 3rd inning for arguing about Altuve's strike zone. Hinch:
[Eric] Cooper is a good umpire and very easy to like, but as he started walking toward Altuve and escalate the argument, I took exception to that. In between innings like that, the simplest thing to do is walk away. I said something from the dugout and he turned his attention to me and kicked me out of the game...None of it needed to happen. Me getting run out of the game is ridiculous.

Clarity on ejection of A.J. Hinch per @raford3's broadcast. Jose Altuve disliked HP umpire Eric Cooper's calls in two ABs. Hinch came out to break up a conversation between them, getting ejected in the process. Here are those calls: pic.twitter.com/XSd6c3CDXA

— Hunter Atkins (@HunterAtkins35) September 1, 2018

But because umpires get to live in a fantasy world where there are literally no consequences, nothing will change and nothing matters.

*Carlos Correa was 1x3 with a walk. Hunter Atkins writes that Hinch is going to give Correa all the time he needs. Hinch:
With all hitters that go through these ruts, there's always an element of being a little stiff in your actions. He's putting in a lot of work trying to get his timing and rhythm back. He's not going to come out of the lineup. I'm not going to move him. 

*Via Ben DuBose, Alex Bregman has reached base safely in 88 of his last 90 games.

*Framber Valdez impressed in another start: 5IP, 2H/1ER, 3K:3BB. In three appearances for the Astros, Valdez has thrown 14.1IP, 6H/2ER, 10K:7BB. Hinch:
He was really good again. His ball moves both directions. He's got a good breaking ball, he's got great poise. He's shown very well that he's pretty calm in the moment, he's got really good stuff, and he's got something to reach back to when he wants some extra velocity. Pretty impressive.

*Collin McHugh gave up a sac fly to Mike Trout and a 2-run home run to Andrelton Simmons. McHugh has allowed 15 total runs this season. Nine of them have come via the home run. After allowing just four solo home runs through August 19, McHugh has given up five runs on two homers since August 20.

*Andrelton Simmons, vs Houston, 2018 (50 PAs): .354/.380/.604, 3K:2BB, 14RBI.
Simmons at Minute Maid Park, 2018 (15 PAs): .600/.600/1.267, 1K:0BB, 10RBI.

*Ryan Pressly, since allowing a home run to Rougned Odor in his Astros debut: 12.2IP, 5H/1ER, 16K:0BB. Pressly has not allowed a base runner since August 20, a span of five appearances.

*Verlander, on what September means:
I've always believed you kind of chug along for a while, and September is when, if you need to turn it on, you turn it on. Not that you're not playing hard al year, but baseball's just a different game. You can't play in the playoffs as late as we did, into November, and then come in and be gung-ho so early and ride that wave all year long. You'll burn out. 

*Brian McCann, Jake Marisnick, and Cionel Perez will all be with the Astros tonight.

*Josh James will make his MLB debut tonight. Hinch:
He's just performed his way to the big leagues. He's punching out everybody in the Minors. [Ed. Note: This is alarming if true] The next test is going to be at this level. He's conquered everything else. He's the best available, and has outperformed a lot of pitchers along the way to climb his way to the top of the list.

James was the 34th Round pick in the 2014 draft. Between Corpus and Fresno, James has thrown 114.1IP, 79H/41ER, 171K:49BB, 3.23 ERA / 1.12 WHIP, 13.5 K/9.

James will be the seventh player picked by the Astros in the 2014 draft to play in the Majors, joining Derek Fisher, A.J. Reed, J.D. Davis, Daniel Mengden, Jacob Nix, and Ramon Laureano. Three of those made their MLB debut with other teams.

*Jeff Passan: The Astros were interested in Toronto's Josh Donaldson, but he ends up with the Indians.

*Mark Feinsand has an audio oral (aural?) history of the Verlander trade.

*A bunch of Astros showed up to Joe Smith and wife Allie LaForce's charity luncheon.

*Seth Beer went 3x6 with a 2-run homer and 3RBI in a 14-1 Buies Creek win over Carolina last night.

*Texas League president Tim Purpura announced that Corpus' Omar Lopez is the Texas League Manager of the Year. Troy Snitker is the 2018 Mike Coolbaugh Coach of the Year.

*The Astros extended their PDC with Tri-City through 2020.

*Congratulations to all of you College Murderball fans. My alma mater, THE University of Oklahoma, plays some directional team. ESPN: Kyler Murray wants it all.

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Dereck Rodriguez, the son of Former Astros Great Pudge Rodriguez and who definitely flat-irons his hair, shut the Astros down. The whole Giants pitching staff did until Will Smith (stand down, the jokes have already been made) allowed a three-run home run to Marwin with two outs in the top of the 9th. Astros win, 3-1. Houston is 72-42 and have a 4.5-game lead on Oakland.

*On the road, Houston is 40-18 with a +154 run differential. Two teams - the Orioles and the Royals (who were both in the ALCS in 2015!) - don't have 40 wins total this season. Their road run differential (322 road runs scored, 168 road runs against) by itself would be the 2nd-highest run differential in baseball.

*Houston has won five of their last six since losing five straight.

*When Correa and Altuve were both healthy and available, from the start of the season until June 25:
-Houston was 52-28, with a .771 team OPS, scoring 5.15 runs/game.

*Since Correa last played on June 25:
-Houston is 20-14, with a .732 team OPS, scoring 4.56 runs/game.

Since Correa and Altuve have both been out:
Houston is 5-5 with a .735 team OPS, scoring 4.2 runs/game.

*Hector Rondon:
I know that we miss those guys, but these guys who are here, they are good too. We come here every day trying to win the game.

*Marwin had two of the Astros' four hits. When recording four or fewer hits, the Astros are now 3-9. Four of those four-or-fewer-hit games have come since the All-Star Break.

*Giants SP Dereck Rodriguez threw a start with a 78 Game Score, the highest Game Score by an opposing pitcher in a game in which the Astros won all season, and the highest since the Astros beat Toronto 2-1 after Marcus Stroman had a 79 Game Score on August 1, 2016.

*Houston's Win Expectancy% when Josh Reddick flied out for the 2nd out in the 9th: 7.6%.

Marwin Gonzalez destroyed a ball in the ninth inning. pic.twitter.com/SBeGhL6fHk

— Christian Boutwell (@byCBoutwell) August 7, 2018

*Marwin's resurgence can be traced back to July 13. Over the 18 games since July 13, Marwin is hitting .298/.403/.561 with four home runs. He has three 2-hit games in his last five. Prior to July 13 Marwin was hitting .224/.302/.350. He had four home runs in his previous 60 games.

Marwin's home run was the first home run that Giants reliever Will Smith had allowed since July 30, 2016.

*Charlie Morton: 7IP, 3H/1ER, 8K:3BB. It's his 5th start of 7IP, 0-1ER this season. In his last three starts he's thrown 19IP, 13H/4ER, 21K:8BB. 16 of his 22 starts have been Quality.

Alex Bregman interrupted Charlie Morton's postgame interview.

Bregman: "You look great, Chuck."

Morton: "Aw, thanks pal, you too."

Bregman: "I'm talking physically. Handsome."

Morton: "OK"

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 7, 2018

*Roberto Osuna threw five pitches, and got the win. Osuna is now on pace to win every game in which he appears. Osuna:
Especially like being in such a great team with great teammates, it's easy to forget about the stuff that's going on off the field, and being able to play and help the team win is unbelievable. I really like my teammates. They've been treating me with a lot of respect, and I'm really comfortable.

Hinch:
It was a quick look obviously with five pitches. He's got a good arm. First game back is always important, it's the next step for him to get incorporated into our games, coming away with the win. A good first impression on the field.

*Hector Rondon has made 43 appearances this season, 21 at home and 22 on the road.
-Home: 19.1IP, 23H/10ER, 24K:8BB, .805 OPS-against, 4.66 ERA / 1.60 WHIP
-Away: 21.1IP, 10H/0ER, 27K:3BB, .340 OPS-against, 0.00 ERA / 0.61 WHIP

*Meat Wagon Update:
-George Springer sprained his thumb but did not sprain his UCL in his thumb, so he's expected to miss two weeks.
-Lance McCullers has a strained forearm muscle, and isn't expected back until September. But it's not Tommy John surgery!
-Carlos Correa took last night off and is expected to play full games for Corpus tonight and tomorrow.
-Altuve is scheduled for more baseball activities this weekend.
-Chris Devenski has begun a throwing program.
-McCann caught a Verlander bullpen session.

Whomever takes McCullers' spot in the rotation will be the 6th SP to start a game for the Astros this season. It's August. That's insane.

*From Our Boy Tyler Stafford: How Dallas Keuchel got his groove back.

*Check the Masked Marvel's Minor-League Recap.

*Seth Beer was named the Astros Minor-League Player of the Month. Framber Valdez is your Minor-League Pitcher of the Month.

*When the Astros swept Oakland on the road from June 12-14, Oakland was 34-36. Since then, however, Oakland is 33-10 and has the best record in baseball. And Oakland just traded for Mike F. Fiers.

*The Hardball Times' Stephanie Springer has an update on wearable technology in MLB, and the ethics that go with it.

*Will Leitch looks at the players who will be on the same team in 2025.

*Did Stephen King's son solve a 44-year old mystery?

Tuesday Morning Hot Links

Maybe instead of getting that new Pressly shirsey, you give the money to the Houston Area Women's Center. 

*The Astros lost 2-0 to James F. Paxton. It's their 5th loss in a row, breaking the 2018 season-high record for consecutive losses, set on Sunday, and tied the day before. The Astros are officially in a slump. They're 67-41, three games up on the Mariners.

*Evan Gattis had a three-run homer wrap just foul, pretty indicative of the last week and a half of Astros baseball.

*James Paxton threw 7IP, 3H/0ER, 8K:0BB...and did it in just 82 pitches. He improves to 6-3 with a 2.59 ERA / 1.06 WHIP in his career against Houston. Astros players have hit three home runs off of him in 66 innings. George Springer hit all three, two of those led off the game.

*Ryan Pressly bounced back, getting four outs in 14 pitches.

*Gerrit Cole threw 6.2IP, 4H/2ER, 8K:2BB. He has thrown 6+ IP and recorded two or fewer earned runs in 13 of his 22 starts. It's his 16th start of 8+ strikeouts.

*Gerrit Cole is 10-3. Cole, when taking the L: 19.2IP, 13H/5ER, 21K:7BB. The Astros have scored two runs when Cole's decision is a Loss.

*It's the 19th time Houston pitchers have held their opponents to four or fewer hits. They're now 16-3. In the three losses - two to Anaheim, one to Seattle - Houston scored a combined one run.

*Since the All-Star Break, Houston is 3-6 and hitting .190/.277/.325. They've been held to five or fewer hits in four of those nine games and are averaging 3.67 runs/game.

Astros' offense during 5-game losing streak: .150/.214./261, five doubles, four homers, 10 RBIs, 2-for-24 with RISP.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 31, 2018

*Of course the big story of the day was the Astros' acquisition of the currently-suspended-for-domestic-violence Roberto Osuna, formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros sent Ken Giles, Hector Perez, and David Paulino. I wrote about what we knew at approximately 5pm Central time yesterday regarding the Osuna case.

To put a footnote on it, I guess, I'd like to mention that you can't analyze this trade from a "purely baseball perspective," because without the information unrelated to baseball, there's no way this trade gets made. Toronto isn't trading Osuna from the vacuum of the baseball field. They're only trading him because of the domestic violence charge. Will his girlfriend drop the charges? Maybe! But that doesn't mean he didn't do whatever we don't know he did.

*Shoutout to Paul Gallant, here's why Canadian law makes it harder to find out what happened with Osuna.

*Toronto Sun: Osuna was ordered to stay "100 meters" away from the victim.

*Osuna will address the team in Los Angeles on Sunday.

*Check Brian McTaggart's piece on Osuna, with video from the clubhouse.

Hinch said he addressed the team today in a meeting regarding Osuna. He also called Osuna. pic.twitter.com/R4RcpgBVWk

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 31, 2018

*Jenny Dial Creech: About that "zero-tolerance" (as long as the first instance is with somebody else) policy...

*SI's Emma Baccielleri: "It's easier to assign a dollar value to optics than to morals." Good-ass relievers currently facing charges of domestic violence are the new market inefficiency.

*Buster Olney:
No matter what comes to light with Osuna's history, the Astros have forfeited the right to be "disappointed" or "shocked" or "surprised" or "angered" or any other euphemism that teams tend to use when a player does something appalling. Houston has surrendered the high ground, aggressively. 

*FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan with perhaps the Column of the Day:
As a baseball trade, there's enough here to be fascinating. But this isn't just a baseball trade...

...For the fans for whom it is more complicated, the Astros today have scored an own goal. They made a trade they didn't need to make for a player still looking ahead to a court date. The Astros know exactly what they're doing. That's kind of what makes this so difficult to stomach.

*Keith Law: Just because you throw baseballs good doesn't excuse domestic violence.

*Despite asking "several" members of the Astros for their thoughts on acquiring Osuna, we know that the Astros asked Altuve for his thoughts on acquiring Osuna. But Verlander, Correa, and McHugh said they weren't.

*The Astros tried to cut off questions after a positive baseball question regarding Osuna.

*Ken Rosenthal from 2016: Why do abusers get to play in the postseason and PED guys don't?

*The Ringer's Michael Baumann:
Using PEDs is a violation against the integrity of the game, of an entertainment concern. Striking a romantic partner, in addition to being a criminal offense, is a life-altering violation of trust for the third of American women and quarter of American men who have suffered intimate partner violence, and a violation unfathomable for those of us who have been fortunate enough not to have experienced it...Wanting to win so badly that you're willing to view a player's domestic violence suspension as a trade opportunity is a choice. 

*A.J. Hinch was thankful for Ken Giles last year. Hinch:
I don't know that we get to the World Series without him.

*The Masked Marvel wrote about how to improve the Astros, published shortly before the Osuna news. And has another post this morning.

*Carlos Correa, currently digging graves in Antarctica, is apparently headed on a rehab assignment soon! "Soon!" meaning 10 years after the earth crashes into the sun. Jake Kaplan says the absence of Correa AND Altuve leaves the Astros in uncharted territory.

*More Jake Kaplan! Jake Kaplan's history of the Randy Johnson trade.

*J.A. Tayler says the Ryan Pressly trade is sneaky good.

*J.B. Bukauskas and Seth Beer were promoted from Quad Cities to Buies Creek.

*2016 2nd Round pick Ronnie Dawson was promoted to Corpus.

*Recently DFA'd Tim Federowicz elected free agency over going back to Fresno.

*The Astros Foundation gave $75K to the Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation.

*Rustin Dodd on Brett Phillips' first 48 hours as a Royal.

*Sean Doolittle had a good thread.

*Now that they're on the cusp of their first playoff spot in 17 years, can the Mariners afford to give Felix the ball every five days?

*Yu Darvish clapped back at A-Rod.

*Lawson Craddock, Houston native, finished last in the 2018 Tour de France. Here's a fun story.