26-year old righty starting pitcher Bud Norris has really improved as a pitcher this year for the Astros. He has pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 6-9 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Norris has only given up 166 hits in his first 176 1/3 innings so far this year, while whiffing 170 batters and walking only 67. Norris has now pitched in 67 games (66 starts) in his first three years with the Astros and he is 21-22 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Norris is going to be a key for the rebuilding Astros’ in the next few years, so they have to be really happy that he has improved his control and performance in 2011.

Despite the Astros really stinking up the joint this year, 32-year old lefty starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez continues to battle every night he starts. He has pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 10-10 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Rodriguez has now pitched in 202 games (193 starts) in his first seven years with the Astros and he is 72-74 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Astros tried to deal Rodriguez before the trade deadline and despite finding no takers, they will likely try to deal him over the winter. That would be a shame as Rodriguez has turned into a very solid starting pitcher for the Astros.

Sure, the Astros have sucked so far this year, as they are 38-79, but you can’t blame that on 32-year old lefty starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. In his last four starts, Rodriguez is 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP as he hasn’t let the recent trading off of Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn bother him on the mound. Rodriguez has now pitched in 21 games (all starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 8-8 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Don’t be shocked if Rodriguez is the next guy to go in a deal, but here’s to hoping the Astros keep him unless they get exactly what they want back.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Bud Norris is taking his game to a new, much higher level. Norris has started 4 games so far in June and he is 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has only given up 14 hits in 27 innings this month, which is downright amazing. Norris has now started 15 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 4-5 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Norris has only given up 79 hits in his first 94 innings this year and he has whiffed 95 batters! Norris has walked 35 batters this year, which is a tad too many, but it hasn’t gotten Norris into much trouble yet.

26-year old righty reliever Mark Melancon has taken over as the closer for the Astros. He took over the job from the injured Brandon Lyon and he’s running with it. Melancon has pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 4-1 with 5 saves, a 1.91 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has only given up 22 hits and walked 9 batters in 28 1/3 innings for the Astros this year while whiffing 24 batters. The Astros were really worried that maybe no one in the Astros’ bullpen would step up, but Melancon has relaxed those worries for now.