The Astros have traded 34-year old lefty reliever Stephen Randolph to the Phillies for a player to be named later. I don’t even know who the player will be but this is a good trade because no one wanted to see Randolph in a Astros’ uniform. After all, he has walked 136 batters in 155 career innings in the majors. Randolph pitched in 11 AAA games (0 starts) this season for the Phillies and he was 0-1 with 2 saves, a 1.23 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. But he has walked 11 batters in only 14.2 innings in AAA. He will not be missed.

23-year old righty starting pitcher Bud Norris is off to a good start in AA ball. He is the #5 rated prospect in the system of the Houston Astros according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. Norris has started 6 games in AA this season and he is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He also has whiffed 40 batters in only 30 innings this season which shows what kind of stuff he has. Norris could be on the fast track to the major leagues with the problems the Astros are having in the starting rotation.

Speedy center fielder Michael Bourn is as fast as hell but it won’t matter if he doesn’t start hitting the ball on the ground and take full advantage of his speed. Bourn has played in 28 games for the Astros so far this season and he is 21 for 104 (.202 avg, .605 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers, 5 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Bourn better get his bat going because veteran Darin Erstad has been swinging a hot bat so far this year. Erstad has played in 28 games for the Astros this season and he is 14 for 46 (.304 avg, .700 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. With the catchers on the Astros not hitting the ball they can’t afford to keep playing Bourn unless he earns his time by hitting the ball better.

The Astros need more offensive punch out of the catching position. Rookie J.R. Towles won the starting job out of spring training but he’s off to a very slow start with the bat. He has played in 25 games for the Astros this season and he is 12 for 68 (.176 avg, .706 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 4 homers and 10 RBIs. The Astros would be better served by Towles if he quit swinging for the fences so often and concentrated on hitting the ball hard up the middle. Veteran Brad Ausmus has never been much of an offensive threat and that’s the case this season also. Ausmus has played in 13 games this season for the Astros and he is 7 for 34 (.206 avg, .500 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. The Astros should have tried to find a way to keep Humberto Quintero around as he played in 1 game for the Astros and he was 2 for 4 with a double.

Miguel Tejada promised a young, sick boy that he would hit a homer tonight and he did bringing back memories of Lou Gehrig so long ago. Tejada has been awesome for the Astros this season despite all of the off season problems he had off the field. Tejada has played in 30 games this year for the Astros and he is 41 for 117 (.350 avg, .974 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. With the Astros lineup being so potent they will likely get on a hot streak if the pitching starts to come around soon.