Houson Astros

The Houston Astros place catcher Humberto Quintero on the D.L.

chinmusic — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:47:34 +0000

The Astros have placed catcher Humberto Quintero on the 15-day disabled list due to a concussion. Quintero has played in 15 games for the Astros this season and he is 10 for 41 (.244 avg, .537 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. The Astros have recalled J.R. Towles from AAA ball and they will give him another chance to establish himself as a starting catcher at the major league level. He has played in 43 games for the Astros this season and he is 18 for 120 (.150 avg, .564 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 14 RBIs. Towles did seem to get it together in AAA ball so it will be interesting to see if he’s made any adjustments or not. Towles played in 19 games in AAA ball this season and he was 17 for 61 (.279 avg, .954 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 11 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Towles immediate future might be decided in the next few weeks as the Astros may pursue a veteran catcher next season either thru free agency or a trade if Towles doesn’t shape up.

The Houston Astros designate Oscar Villarreal for assignment

chinmusic — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:59:25 +0000

The Astros have designated righty reliever Oscar Villarreal for assignment. He has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The Astros have recalled righty reliever Dave Borkowski from AAA ball to replace Villarreal in the bullpen. Borkowski has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 0-2 with a 6.86 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. Don’t expect much out of Borkowski who has never been that good of a pitcher at the major league level.

Brian Moehler is doing a solid job for the Houston Astros

chinmusic — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:46:05 +0000

Every few seasons Brian Moehler decides that he doesn’t stink and this appears to be one of those years. Moehler has pitched in 15 games (10 starts) for the Astros this season and he is 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. With a lot of the Astros’ starting pitchers either getting injured or just flat out going into the tank…..Moehler has been a godsend for them. If the Astros decide to sell at the trading deadline and Moehler is still pitching good they might be able to get a prospect for him.

The Houston Astros call up Runelvys Hernandez

chinmusic — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:11:46 +0000

The Astros have recalled 30-year old righty starting pitcher Runelvys Hernandez to replace Shawn Chacon in the starting rotation. He started 15 games in AAA ball this season and he was 6-3 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He also has started 1 game for the Astros this season and he is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Hernandez was once one of the brightest prospects in the Royals’ minor league system but he is running out of time to establish himself in the major leagues. He has pitched in 79 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 25-34 with a 5.38 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

The Houston Astros suspend Shawn Chacon indefinately

chinmusic — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:48:44 +0000

No matter how bad a GM is talking about you it’s not smart to choke slam him like a pro wrestler but that’s exactly what Shawn Chacon did to Astros’ GM Ed Wade. Chacon will likely never pitch for the Astros again and he really doesn’t have any worth in the trade market because of this incident. Chacon has started 15 games for the Astros this season and he is 2-3 with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

UPDATE: The Astros have waived Shawn Chacon.

The Houston Astros place Kaz Matsui on the D.L.

chinmusic — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:46:15 +0000

The Astros have placed starting 2B Kaz Matsui on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Matsui has played in 57 games this season for the Astros and he is 61 for 225 (.271 avg, .678 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Mark Loretta will likely take over as the starting 2B until Matsui is ready to return to action. Loretta has played in 49 games this season for the Astros and he is 33 for 124 (.266 avg, .723 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. 34-year old lefty swinging David Newhan has been recalled to replace Matsui on the roster. Newhan has played in 2 games for the Astros this season and he is 0 for 1. He has also played in 60 games in AAA ball this season and he is 61 for 198 (.308 avg, .890 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 9 homers, 36 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.

Could the New York Yankees have their eyes on Roy Oswalt?

chinmusic — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:26:08 +0000

With Chien-Ming Wang down for the season the Yankees will be definately looking for a top of the rotation starting pitcher and they might be willing to give up some of the farm to get one. If the Astros continue to fall from the playoff race they will probably look to move some money and Oswalt is a pretty attractive piece for a contender to go after. If the Yankees were to give up righty pitchers Alan Horne, Ross Ohlendorf, catcher Jesus Montero and outfielder Jose Tabata the Astros would have to consider trading them Roy Oswalt and Darin Erstad. Oswalt would fill a huge hole in the Yankees’ rotation and Darin Erstad would give them some value off the bench in the outfield. Ross Ohlendorf would move right into the Astros’ bullpen. He has pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Alan Horne would give the Astros a starting pitcher with a nice upside. He has only started 4 games in AAA this season and he is 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. But, catcher Jesus Montero and outfielder Jose Tabata are the two players that would be in this trade that have huge upsides. Montero is only 18 years old right now and he’s playing in A-ball. The righty swinging Montero has played in 67 games in A-ball this year and he is 86 for 278 (.309 avg, .801 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 7 homers and 47 RBIs. Montero is a big guy at 6′4″, 225 pounds and he could fill a big need down the road for the Astros if he continues to improve. Jose Tabata is a 19-year old righty swinging outfielder who is having some troubles in AA but he’s still very highly thought of nonetheless. Tabata has played in 65 games in AA-ball this year and he is 57 for 241 (.237 avg, .596 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 27 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. I now that Roy Oswalt is a hero in Texas but the Astros might be getting close to waving the White Flag on this season and this offer would help them in rebuilding the franchise. Just something to think about.

J.R. House is hitting well in AAA for the Houston Astros

chinmusic — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:58:18 +0000

28-year old righty swinging J.R. House never gets a chance to prove himself in the majors. He has to feel pretty bad that the Astros passed him up for Humberto Quintero despite House playing much better than him in AAA. What does he have to do to get a legit chance to prove himself in the majors? He has nothing left to prove in the minors. House has played in 65 games in AAA this season and he is 70 for 227 (.308 avg, .831 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 5 homers and 28 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if House gets a call from the Astros before September when rosters can expand to 40.

The Houston Astros must be wondering….What is wrong with Roy Oswalt?

chinmusic — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:27:55 +0000

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 Houston Astros designate Jose Cruz for assignment

chinmusic — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:32:14 +0000

It’s shocking that it took so long for the Astros to figure out that Cruz can’t cut it anymore. Cruz played in 38 games for the Astros this season and he was 6 for 49 (.122 avg, .426 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 1 RBI. The Astros have called up 26-year old righty swinging Reggie Abercrombie to take Cruz’ place on the roster. Abercrombie has played in 56 games in AAA ball this season and he is 61 for 212 (.288 avg, .793 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 9 homers, 25 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Abercrombie has also whiffed an amazing 71 times in AAA ball this year. Abercrombie has played in 146 games in his major league career now and he is 69 for 331 (.208 avg, .593 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has also whiffed an astounding 100 times in his major league career. Don’t expect Abercrombie to be a huge improvement over Cruz.