Welcome to the All-Star break edition of the Crawfish Boil. We have a lot of Astros info to get through today.
First, the Astros roster moves and pending returning players:
The Burrows news is concerning, as this is the second time in the past month the Astros have optioned a player to Triple-A, only to unwind that option and place them on the IL. This also recently happened with P Kai-Wei Teng. It is somewhat disturbing that a team that has had the challenges the Astros have had when it comes to their medical staff has now effectively missed two separate injuries to pitchers. It does make you wonder how long this has gone on and how much impact it has had on Burrow’s effectiveness.
Santa’s demotion would indicate that a pitcher is scheduled to be reinstated from IL after the break. It is possible that pitcher is Bennett Sousa. The Astros transferred the rehab assignment for Sousa to the FCL Astros today, allowing him to continue working through the break.
Pitchers Lance McCullers Jr., Ronel Blanco, and Hayden Wesneski are all also soon to return to the major league roster.
Blanco started for Triple-A Sugar Land yesterday. He threw 68 pitches, 44 for strikes. He went 4.1IP scoreless, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, but did not strike out a batter. His velocities across the board are in line with his career norms. Outside of not striking out any batters, it was a solid outing for Blanco. My expectation at this time is he would have one more start at Sugar Land (75-80 pitch target) and then be reinstated.
Hayden Wesneski started for Sugar Land on Saturday, going 4.2IP and only allowing 1 run. He gave up 5 hits and struck out 7 without walking a batter. He threw 45 of his 61 pitches for strikes. Wesneski’s velocities are also in line with his career norms, and he flashed 95+ MPH on his 4 seam several times. If he can get to 75 pitches in his next appearance, he could also be ready for reinstatement to the major league roster after one more rehab start.
It’s a very positive sign for both Blanco and Wesneski that their velocities are in line with their pre-injury numbers, considering the notable drops from Lance McCullers, Cristian Javier, and Luis Garcia in the recent past.
It should also be noted that Ethan Pecko, the Astros #6 rated prospect and PCL Pitcher of the Month for June, has struggled badly in his last 3 appearances. Since June 30th, in 2 starts and one 3 inning relief appearance, Pecko gone 11IP, surrendered 13 ER on 14 H including 3 HR, and walked 4 while striking out 9. Pecko had a brilliant April, struggled badly in May, was terrific in June, and is now struggling again in July. That inconsistency is likely to prevent him from being called up anytime soon barring an emergency.
Joe Espada’s Hot Seat
It is no secret that manager Joe Espada’s job is on the line in Houston. He has no contract after this season, and owner Jim Crane has been mum on both his future and that of GM Dana Brown. Espada has had to deal with more injuries than his two predecessors (Dusty Baker and AJ Hinch) did, but the expectation in Houston doesn’t change. This team is expected to win.
Longtime MLB reporter/insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted this in his most recent column discussing managers on the hot seat:
Joe Espada: This is Espada’s third year with the Houston Astros. They have yet to win a postseason game, failing to make the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016. Simply, the Astros have to at least make the playoffs, if not play deep into October, for Espada to survive.
No Need to Ask About Hader
Also from Bob Nightengale on Sunday:
Remember Josh Hader? He’s back to being one of the finest closers in the game. Hader has appeared in 15 games for the Astros since debuting after opening the season on the IL, and he has given up just two hits and one run in 15 innings, striking out 24. He’s perfect in all nine of his save opportunities and generating a stunning 43.8% chase rate. Hader, who is in the third year of a five-year, $95 million contract, is not available in trade talks.
Change in the Trade Winds?
While GM Dana Brown has publicly stated his primary objective at the deadline is to find a LH hitting OF with power, perhaps that sentiment is changing.
It has previously been suggested by the author of this column that the team’s focus should be pitching, especially starting pitching.
According to Bob Nightengale, that may be the current case for the team as well:
The Astros, who have gone 26-19 since May 21, desperately want another starter. Their rotation is yielding a 5.29 ERA, second-worst in MLB.
The Astros are 4th in the AL in runs scored (despite an outfield that has produced little offensively), but they have allowed the third most runs. Pitching has been their Achilles heel all season. It has been the biggest reason why the team has been unable to get a true hot streak going and rattle off a significant winning streak/stretch. The pitching is simply not strong enough to sustain that kind of streak. It further stresses the impressive nature of the team’s resiliency that it has crawled back closer to .500 by grinding out series wins despite the erratic nature of it’s pitching.
