31-year old lefty starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez looked like he was sleepwalking for the first three months of the baseball season. But in July and August he has been on fire. Rodriguez has started 10 games the last two months for the Astros and he is 5-2 with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP as he has 72 whiffs in only 67 1/3 innings. Rodriguez has now started 26 games on the season and he is 10-12 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Astros need him to continue pitching well down the stretch as the Astros new goal should be third place in the N.L. Central.

36-year old righty Nelson Figueroa will be joining the starting rotation this weekend for the Astros. Wesley Wright failed and was sent to the minors. Figueroa has pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Astros this year and he is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has only walked 2 batters while whiffing 13 in 11 1/3 innings as he has been very solid since joining the Astros. Figueroa is a journeyman type pitcher but he will likely give the Astros 5-6 solid innings per night.

26-year old righty swinging shortstop Angel Sanchez is off to a good start for the Houston Astros. Sanchez has played in 15 games for the Astros this year and he is 17 of 52 (.327 avg, .798 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 4 RBIs. The Astros are hoping that Sanchez keeps up the good work as SS has been a black hole for them this year. Tommy Manzella and Oswaldo Navarro don’t seem to be the answer at SS for the Astros.

26-year old righty reliever Wilton Lopez has been a pleasant surprise for the Houston Astros so far this season. Lopez has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this season and he is 3-0 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. His control has been flawless only walking 3 batters in 30 1/3 innings this season which has really led him to success. Lopez might have found a niche as the Astros’ new 7th inning man ahead of Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom. He looks much more comfortable than last season when he worked in 8 games (2 starts) for the Astros in which he was 0-2 with a 8.38 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP.

With the Astros sitting at 15-27 on the season you thought things couldn’t get worse by they are. 32-year old righty ace starting pitcher Roy Oswalt has requested to be traded from the Astros. Oswalt has started 9 games this season and he is 2-6 with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has only given up 49 hits and walked 16 batters in 61 innings pitched while whiffing 60 batters showing just how great he has pitched this year. His record should probably be reversed (6-2) or better based on how well he has pitched this year. Oswalt has not pitched in 292 games (280 starts) in his 10 years with the Astros and he is 139-76 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. If the Astros honor Oswalt’s request they need to get a haul similar to what the Padres got for Jake Peavy last season.