The Astros have been waiting for some time for 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez to live up to his vast ability. The wait appears over as he has turned into a dominant starter. Part of the reason for that is that he’s starting to pitch better away from Houston where he dominates. Rodriguez has started 27 games this season for the Astros and he is 12-9 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. His strikeouts are also way up as he has 155 of them in 168 2/3 innings. The reason for that is because he’s attacking the strike zone with his fastball. There is no reason to think that Rodriguez won’t finish this season strong and possibly earn some Cy Young Award Votes (he has no chance of winning it).

I’ll admit it…..I didn’t think Michael Bourn would continue to hit well all season long after he got off to a hot start. But, he proved me wrong in a very big way and that’s a good thing for the Astros. Bourn has played in 126 games this season for the Astros and he is 142 for 485 (.293 avg, .772 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 3 homers, 31 RBIs and 48 stolen bases. He’s hitting so well that people are overlooking his defense which is also a good part of his game as he has the speed to outrun the baseball. It looks as if Bourn has a very bright future with the Astros.

The Astros have signed 36-year old righty reliever Armando Benitez to a minor league deal. Benitez last pitched in the majors during the 2008 season with the Blue Jays. Benitez has pitched in 762 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 40-47 with 289 saves, a 3.13 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. The Astros are giving Benitez a chance because he was once a dominating reliever as he has only allowed 545 hits in 779 innings in the majors while whiffing 946 batters. This was a good gamble by the Astros as Benitez still might have some bullets left in his right arm.

The Astros have traded 37-year old righty swinging catcher Ivan Rodriguez to the Rangers for 22-year old switch hitting 2B Jose Vallejo and 22-year old righty reliever Matt Nevarez. Rodriguez played in 93 games this season for the Astros this season and he was 82 for 327 (.251 avg, .662 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 8 homers and 34 RBIs. Despite Rodriguez not playing really well the Astros still got a solid return for him. Jose Vallejo was the Rangers’ #18 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He has played in 104 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he was 96 for 392 (.245 avg, .606 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 2 homers, 38 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Matt Nevarez has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in A-ball this season and he is 1-4 with 9 saves, a 2.83 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has only allowed 22 hits in 35 innings this season while whiffing 50 batters showing what kind of stuff he has.

The Astros have signed 29-year old righty reliever Roy Corcoran. Corcoran pitched in 16 games (0 starts) earlier this season for the Mariners and he was 2-0 with a 6.16 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 82 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-3 with 3 saves, a 4.17 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. The Astros will likely give Corcoran a chance but he will have to show some control to keep his job. He has walked 65 batters in 110 innings and that just won’t get it done.