24-year old righty starting pitcher Bud Norris was the Astros’ #2 rated prospect in the system coming into this season according to Baseball America. He pitched well enough in the minors to earn his chance with the Astros. He has pitched in 10 games (9 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 5-3 with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Norris has whiffed 51 batters in 49 2/3 innings so far for the Astros showing that he has the stuff to make it. A strong finish this season will likely help Norris all but lock up a spot in the starting rotation with the Astros in 2010.

It’s amazing that 37-year old righty starting pitcher Brian Moehler still has a job based on how he has pitched this season. He has started 11 games for the Astros this season and he is 4-4 with a 6.43 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Moehler has allowed a stunning 74 hits (12 of which are homers!) in only 56 innings this season for the Astros. The most amazing thing about the Astros’ pitching staff if that they don’t have anyone better than Moehler to replace him with.

37-year old righty starting pitcher Brian Moehler was lucky he was hurt or the Astros might have just sent him home. He has a grade one medial collateral ligament strain in his right knee. He has started 2 games for the Astros this season and he is 0-2 with a 27.00 ERA and a 4.25 WHIP. He has allowed a stunning 15 hits in only 4 innings this season for the Astros. They will likely tell him to take his time coming back as he won’t likely be missed by the Stros’.

Watching Roy Oswalt pitch makes me think he is hurting somewhere. He has started 14 games this season for the Astros and he is 5-6 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Oswalt has allowed 104 hits and 17 homers in only 89 innings this season which sends off signals that something just isn’t right with him. Oswalt has never had a season where his ERA has been above 3.49 at the end of the season so this is very odd. Maybe he’ll turn things around soon but I wouldn’t be surprised if something is wrong with him.

The Astros should find a way to just pitch lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez at home. At home, Rodriguez has started 15 games and he is 6-3 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. On the road however Rodriguez has been horrible. In 14 road starts, Rodriguez is 2-10 with a 7.31 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Overall, Rodriguez has started 29 games and he is 8-13 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. With baseball getting specialized so much the Astros should find a way to limit Rodriguez to starting home games. The Astros are still in last place in the National League Central with a 65-86 record which has them 13.5 games behind the Cubs & Brewers. The more important thing for right now is that the Astros are still 1 game behind the Pirates for fifth place.