Astros July Review

Record: 15-9 (69-36) 16 games up

Average: Jose Altuve (.485)

Doubles: Alex Bregman (11)

Triples: Jose Altuve (1)

Home Runs: Marwin Gonzalez, Evan Gattis (6)

Runs Batted In: Jose Altuve (21)

Stolen Bases: Jose Altuve (8)

Walks: Alex Bregman (11)

Strikeouts: Marwin Gonzalez (21)

On Base Percentage: Jose Altuve (.523)

Slugging Percentage: Jose Altuve (.727)

On Base Plus Slugging: Jose Altuve (1.251)

Wins: Brad Peacock, Charlie Morton (4)

Losses: Lance McCullers (2)

Earned Run Average: Brad Peacock (2.42)

Saves: Ken Giles (4)

Innings Pitched: Charlie Morton (30.2)

Hits: Lance McCullers (32)

Earned Runs: Lance McCullers (20)

Home Runs: Charlie Morton (4)

Walks: Brad Peacock, Lance McCullers, Charlie Morton (11)

Strikeouts: Charlie Morton (32)

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched: Charlie Morton (0.946)

July: a month of injuries and Altuve.

Dallas Keuchel, of course, missed all of the month until a (brief) start on the final Friday.  Collin McHugh finally returned and made his first two starts of the year.  Will Harris missed a good chunk of the month.  But now, entering August, the pitching staff is more or less complete.  I had hoped that they would make an upgrade to the bullpen at the trade deadline.  I’m afraid Francisco Liriano won’t be enough, though at least they did not give up much to get him (and by losing Aoki created space for Fisher).  Sure, they've been overtaxed and that can explain some of their struggles, but they also are not quite good enough to go far in the playoffs, I fear.  We will see.

The most significant injury occurred on July 4.  Carlos Correa made an ill-advised slide into home, jamming his thumb on the catcher's leg.  He tried to play through it, including the All-Star Game, and even hit during .320 with three home runs in seven games during that time, but he eventually realized he needed to have it looked at.  Of course, this meant surgery, and perhaps two months out.  Thankfully the Astros are as deep as they have ever been, and some combination of Marwin Gonzalez and others will fill in (Colin Moran looked good in two games before he hurt himself and had to go on the DL).

Then most recently George Springer injured his leg running down a ball in the outfield.  He should only miss the minimum time.  As he said, it's better to miss 6 games now than 6 weeks later.

And through it all, the team has kept on chugging for the most part.  A large part of this is the monster month by Jose Altuve.  He had a month that few people have ever seen.  He has also cemented himself, or at least he should, at the top of the MVP list.

August outlook:  A homestand against the Rays and Blue Jays is followed by an eight game road trip to Chicago (where I will finally see them in person), Texas, and Arizona.  Then Arizona returns the favor with two games in Houston followed by three each against the A's and Nationals.  A quick trip to Anaheim and a three game stand hosting the Rangers finish the month.  Most of these matchups are winnable, though of course the Rays, Diamondbacks, and Nationals are all in playoff contention.  I will hope for a 16-12 month, though this might be the worst of the year.  Oh, and for those keeping score, I nailed last month’s prediction.

Overall Grade: B+