Dallas Keuchel getting back to work

By: Joshua Reese

The road back to the Cy Young - or at least somewhere near - for Dallas Keuchel begins a few days before the new year.

Tuesday, Keuchel shared a video of him back on a mound throwing.

Greatest gift this holiday season to me? .... the gift of a pain free 1st throwing session. ✅. Throwing routine has officially started! pic.twitter.com/JKuSwvjR7t

— Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) December 27, 2016

Seeing the lefty back at work is a welcome sight after his 2016 season. Not only was Keuchel not able to finish the year, he also had a down year considering the two years he had before being shutdown.

Per the former Cy Young winner, It was the first day he's been able to throw without pain.

Earlier in the month Keuchel told the Houston Chronicle he had been cleared to throw again. But seems like Tuesday was the official start of Keuchel ramping up for the new season.

With Spring training a little over a month away, having the lefty back in action will be a welcomed sight.

Time to return Jose Altuve back to lead off

By: Joshua Reese

Jose Altuve batting third last year lit up the major leagues and finished in the top three in the A.L. MVP race, but now it's time to return him back to his roots, he needs to leadoff for the Houston Astros in 2017.

In the Dark Knight detective Jim Gordon said it best when he was referring to Batman, "he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now."

Altuve was the hero the Astros needed last year. They needed offense, so he stepped up to the plate and belted out a career-high 24 homers and 96 RBI's but that's not what they need any more from him.

After the Astros massive offseason when they grabbed boppers, Josh Reddick, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, driving in runs doesn't have to fall solely on Altuve's shoulders anymore.

The bigger need for the team going into 2017 will be having baserunners on for all of the heavy hitters in the middle of the order.

George Springer did a fine job for the Astros last year leading off, but he's not a guarantee to get on base the way Altuve has been throughout his career.

Altuve gets on base 40% of the time and on top of that, more often than naught he's going to be on second or third base because of his ability to steal bases.

The Astros have a whole lot of options to bat third next season and while none are Altuve, they'd do just fine in his stead.

Having Altuve bat leadoff would not only serve as a big upgrade over Springer, but it's also somewhere he can have a pretty big impact.

Who should close in 2017?

By: Joshua Reese

One of the things the 2016 Houston Astros did well, was getting lots of different guys saves. Three "closers" had 10 or more saves last season, and while it's nice everyone had a chance to lock down the job, nobody did.

Luke Gregerson started off the season in the ninth but he faltered. Ace reliever Will Harris took over had some early success but like Gregerson, he also started to slip. Ken Giles the team's top offseason acquisition would get the final stretch, but despite his electric arm even he struggled.

As a team, the Astros converted 44 saves, even more than the season before when they went to the playoffs.

The problem is they had 20 blown saves, which is the 13th worst in the majors.

The Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Washinton Nationals, and the Chicago Cubs were the four teams with the fewest blown saves last season - spoiler alert all four made it to the postseason.

Blown saves are just a part of the game, your closer is going to have a rough game every once in a while. But lockdown closers just will have a lot less of them than others - see the 2016 Astros.

So the question is, who's closing on the Astros in 2017?

Unless the team goes out and lands a prime closer, which they still can. In spring training A.J. Hinch will likely have a few different guys to choose from.

Giles, Gregerson, and Harris are likely the favorites to land the job out of the gate. But there should be three more names added to this eventual competition.

Lance McCullers, Christopher Devenski, and Michael Feliz should also get a look at the job.

McCullers is pie in the sky and while he probably could be very effective in the role the Astros don't seem to have any interest in moving him out of a starting role despite arm concerns.

Devenski has earned a larger role on the team but the question is how large of a role. He was great last year and when the Astros needed an out he was the guy Hinch turned to.

While Devenski is consistent and solid, Feliz is more unpolished but he has a lot of electricity in his arm and showed a lot of flashes of being a great reliever.

With so much being invested in making the 2017 Houston Astros so much better, it's time to think beyond the retreads of Giles, Gregerson, and Harris.

Michael Feliz should be given the chance to spread his wings and prove that he's the next big thing in closing. Standing at 6'4, Feliz just looks like a closer on the mound.

His upper 90's fastball is hard to square up and his wicked slider is damn near unhittable as batters only were able to get a .163 batting average against it.

While Feliz may have just about the same electric stuff that Giles has (ended the season as closer), my trust goes to the bigger rightie.

Last year it was pretty easy to tell when Feliz was on or off, either he was throwing 98-99 and blowing people away or he was throwing 95-97 and getting hit.

Giles was more of a gamble and harder to figure out, consistently he was the same pitcher throwing the ball, just some days he'd get hit and you never really knew why. On top of that whenever someone would reach base for whatever reason, things just seemed to go downhill from there.

Feliz also had is problems but it seemed more manageable in terms of maybe he just needed more rest that day or something while for Giles it seems more random.

If you look through Feliz and Giles game log. You'll see that when Giles gave up a run, it usually meant a bad week for him,  Feliz on the other seemed to bounce back more often after bad outings.

Feliz like Devenski last year pitched in a lot of "dirty work" games, either when the team was trailing or in extra innings. He may have been a little less consistent than Devenski but it's easy to think Feliz will continue getting better.

Just because the Astros gave up a lot to get Giles does not mean he should just be given the spot.

The pressure of closing on a playoff team will their form you into a diamond or crush you into dust. I know for me I'd much rather see what Feliz can do in the ninth, then any other option that's currently on the team.

Now the Chris Sale is off the market, who else should the Astros target

The Houston Astros missed out on the Chris Sale sweepstakes as the Chicago White Sox traded him over to the Boston Red Sox.

With starting pitching still on the agenda, not landing Sale, doesn't mean the Astros are now out of options.

Sale might have been the goal for every team, but there are still plenty of top of the rotation starters still waiting for new homes.

Below are three "aces" general manager Jeff Luhnow and his staff should target.

1) Minnesota Twins right-hander Ervin Santana (33 years old)

Santana is still an above average pitcher plus he's under team control through 2019 making 14 million a year. When he's on his A-game he can lead a staff, but he's better off being a really good second or third starter.

Another good thing about Santana is that you certainly aren't giving up Lance McCullers or Alex Bregman. The Twins would probably return phone calls if you offered AAA outfielder Derek Fisher, right-hander Jandel Gustave and a player to be named later.

2) Oakland Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray (27 years old)

He had a down year last year, but since breaking into the majors he's been a stud, from 2013-2015 he had 2.88 ERA which was 10th best in baseball.

Gray is just now entering arbitration so he'll be under team control for a while so he's going to be costly. It won't cost you "untouchable" prospects, but major league middle infielder Tony Kemp and reliever Michael Feliz, plus A-ball outfielder Daz Cameron could be enough to make a deal.

3) Tampa Rays Chris Archer (28 years old)

Rumored to be moved this offseason, the only problem is reports say that the price tag for Archer is pretty high.

Archer has been a top pitcher in A.L., he's just been stuck on bad Rays team, in 2016 his ERA was just a touch over 4, but in years prior he's been on the cusp of being a dominant pitcher.

With Archer under control through the 2021 season, the Rays are probably holding out for a Sale like deal and If the Astros are to get involved this is where it might cost an "untouchable".

If you want Archer; Bregman or George Springer, AA third baseman J.D. Davis plus last years number one pick pitcher Forrest Whitley could be enough to start a dialog.

Options are out there for the Astros, it just depends on what is the price Luhnow is willing to pay, what is too high?

Hey, remember me?

General manager Jeff Luhnow Saturday afternoon added another piece to his 2017 ball club by bringing back, old friend, outfielder/DH Carlos Beltran on a reported one-year deal worth 16 million dollars.

Houston Astros' fans may have spent the last decade plus booing Beltran every time he came to the plate, but now none of that matters anymore. He came back and that's the only thing that counts.

At nearly 40 years old, Beltran has proven that he still has "it" hell last season he was an all-star for the ninth time in his career. While his days of stealing 20-30 bases are long gone, it's not out of the question that he could crank out 30 home runs in 2017 with an extra short porch in left field.

It's no telling what position Beltran will play when the roster and roles are set in spring training. But if the team uses him as their DH (which is likely), he'll easily become the best in the Astros short American League history.

Also by adding Beltran he's now the fifth player added by Luhnow this offseason with postseason experience - yes Charlie Morton has pitched in the playoffs - an Astros team with the right combination of young talent and big-time vets, it could lift the team from the fringe of the playoffs to a deep postseason run.

The Chicago Cubs gave Astros the blueprint, it was the additions of veterans Jon Lester and Dexter Flower mixing with their youth that put them over the top.

In 2004 Beltran nearly single handily carried the Astros to a world series appearance, but ultimately fell short. Now 12 years later and his career closer to the end than the beginning, Beltran will get a chance to finish what he started in Houston so many, many, years ago.

Chris Sale is the gem of the offseason and he'll be hard to snag

One of the biggest trade targets in baseball this offseason is White Sox ace Chris Sale.

In seven years with the Sox, he's been in the Cy Young conversation each of the last five years. He's truly considered one of the best not just in the American league but in all of baseball and he wants out of town. Last season Sale even went as far as cutting up his team's jersey before a start, just hours before the trade deadline. I mean if that's not a plea for "get me the hell out of here" I don't know what is.

The problem with landing the crazy good lefty is he's under team control for a few more seasons and since he won't be a free agent till 2020 the cost could be epic.

Everyone knows Sale's resume, he's a true ace. Since 2012 only Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and, David Price have a higher pitchers WAR than Sale.

Jeff Luhnow and his staff have pulled off plenty of deals before but those moves are Minnows compared to the Whale that is Sale.

Getting the lefty ace will no doubt have to be painful for the Astros.

A good reference for Luhnow and his staff to go by could be the deal the Rangers made for Cole Hamels a few years back.

However, there are a few key differences and they do not favor Astros.

The Phillies who traded Hamels and White Sox who will be trading Sale are in different positions. The Phillies were looking to add to the minors and rebuild their depth. The White Sox are pretty close to being in playoff contention and will want major league ready talent.

Plus the ages between the two are quite different, Hamels was 31 at the time of the trade while Sale will only be 27 if/when he gets moved.

Hamels netted four prospects included the 3rd, 5th, and 13th best prospects from the Rangers farm.

The Astros cost could be a little higher and likely to include starting pitcher Lance McCullers or third basemen Alex Bregman just to get the White Sox brass to even return their phone calls.

This is a package that could get the White Sox attention. Pitcher Francis Martes (#1), outfielder Derek Fisher (#5), third basemen Colin Moran (#7) and, Bregman.

The Astros 1st, 5th, and 7th best prospects, plus Bregman would be enough to wow any general manager.

It might be a little steep but if you want to snag the prize of the offseason season going bold is the way to go.

Dodgers fire sale, Astros gain?

It's being reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers need to shed cash, with the highest payroll in baseball they need to cut around a 100 million in the next few years. 

The question is with the Dodgers many, many, massive contracts is there anyone the Houston Astros would be willing to pick up.

Of course, teams would want Cy Young regular Clayton Kershaw but that won't happen and no one is trading for outfielder Andre Ethier or veteran pitcher Brandon McCarthy.

So who else is left that the Astros would be interested in?

1) Right-hander - Kenta Maeda
The Astros originally made a run for him before the Dodgers signed him and he had a good rookie season. He wasn't perfect but he looked pretty good and he's under contract till 2023 with a very team friendly contract.

2) 1st/DH - Adrian Gonzalez
He's a good hitter and he's been one for a while. The real problem is he is making a lot of money but if the team is willing to take it all, maybe it would not cost them as much in terms of prospects.

3) Left-hander - Alex Wood
A very good pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, but his tenure with the Dodgers a little up and down. The Astros have a few left-handed starters already, but he could make a nice pick up if he returns to form.

Gonzalez might be a little tougher of a fit then Wood or Maeda, but for his bat, manager A.J. Hinch would find a way to put him in the lineup.

The Astros offseason has been great, but it could be better!

By: Joshua Reese

Since the end of the world series, Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and his staff wasted no time in making the Houston Astros a better team.

On the cusp of a playoff run in 2016, Luhnow swapped some of the inconsistent offensive weapons from that team and upgraded them, getting supercharged versions.

The catcher position was improved by swapping Jason Castro for New York Yankees power-hitting backstop Brian McCann.

Colby Rasmus was a postseason hero in 2015 but spent most of 2016 injured and was ineffective. The Astros went out and signed a carbon copy of Rasmus, but one that just doesn't strikeout as much in Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Josh Reddick.

The team even added a Nori Aoki a high-contact outfielder through a waiver claim and signed a starting pitcher in right-hander Charlie Morton.

By far this is the most aggressive the team has been in years.

After wondering for years, will the Astros spend when the time comes? We finally know, yes they will.

To date, the Astros have added roughly around 30 million to next season's roster.

The question is will the team try and land the crushing blow in the remainder of the offseason and snag themselves a top of the rotation ace and a top flight closer.

Morton is fine, but in his career, he's been just barely over a replacement level pitcher with a 7.6 WAR in nine-ish seasons of baseball.

The free agent pitching market is pretty weak this year and while Morton may have been one of the best, the trade market this time of year always starts to heat up.

Names like former Cy young winner Diamondbacks Zack Greinke has been rumored to be available, along with top pitchers in the Athletics Sonny Gray and WhiteSox Chris Sale.

Some deals might be harder to pull off than others, i.e. Greinke is owed 32 million until he's 38 years, and while I applaud the Astros willingness to spend, taking on that contract might be pure insanity.

Along with snagging a true ace, finally getting a closer would be very helpful in making the Astros a serious contender in 2017.

The Astros were the only team in the majors last season to have three relievers get 10 or more saves. Ken Giles, Luke Gregerson, and Will Harris all had a crack at one of baseball's most prestigious positions, but none could hold on to the job as each ended up faltering. Giles may have the stuff to be a closer but the Astros can't bank on him figuring it out.

The good news is, unlike the starting pitching market, there are plenty of free agent closers waiting for good homes.

Greg Holland, Mark Melancon, and Aroldis Chapman are all top-shelf closers and some of the many, many names out there waiting for the right team to come along and offer them a fat paycheck.

The offense is pretty set 1-9 with the additions of McCann and Reddick, but the pitching staff is still an area on the team the Astros can still improve on.

Just picture the Astros offseason ending with the additions of Holland and Sale or Chapman and Gray, can someone say, yes, please!

Dallas Keuchel wins 3rd straight gold glove

Houston Astros Dallas Keuchel kicked off baseball's award season by snagging his third straight gold glove. Keuchel got the win by beating out other top pitchers in Toronto Blue Jays R.A. Dickey and Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander.

Per FanGraphs, Keuchel had seven defensive runs saved which tied with New York Yankees Masahiro Tanaka for the most in the American League.

Keuchel was also one of only 11 pitchers in the A.L. who had 0 errors on the year (including teammate Collin McHugh).

One of the things Keuchel has been known for throughout his gold glove reign is the way he plays the position. He isn't just worried about making a great pitch, but if you chop the ball anywhere near him, more times than naught he'll be the one making the play on the ball.

With the win, Keuchel is the first three-time winner in either league since Chicago White Sox Mark Buehrle 2009-2011.

Michael Feliz being wasted

Michael Feliz is a swell pitcher. Hell, he's young up and coming, talented flame-thrower. Yet Feliz is relegated to middle relief bullpen work. He is getting more and more added to his plate in terms of high-pressure situations, but it's clear as day this young right-hander can have such a bigger impact on the Astros and help them out in so many other ways.

Before I get too carried away, Feliz did come into the game Monday and was not able to hold on to the lead.

Starting off the seventh inning he allowed back to back singles - one a super weak bouncer through the hole - putting runners on the corners. With no outs, Rougned Odor (of course) drove in a run with a deep sac fly. Feliz would recover and get back to back strikeouts to end the inning and his night, but not before the game getting tied up.

He finished his night tossing 1.2 innings, allowing two hits, a run and struck out two.

A couple of things off the bat before I get to my main point. Feliz was bound to give up a run or two at some point. He is great and amazing but as cliche as it sounds, it's baseball, a run will come across the plate sooner or later, it's not like he's Will Harris. Plus it's the Rangers if any team is bound to get score a run off of you, it's them, no one is safe. Anything and everything will happen when the Astros face the Rangers.

So now that we explained away Feliz not being able to hold the game by allowing a run. Let's revisit the Astros are wasting him, portion of this story.

Feliz is electric and if he doesn't have the best stuff on the team he certainly has the second best. So far this season he's striking out guys at a crazy high rate, 13.32 per nine innings, good enough to make him one of the most dangerous relievers in the major leagues.

Feliz rocks a great fastball, his changeup is improving a lot and his slider induces a lot of swings and misses or if someone does manage to make contact he gets weak hits off of it.

In his current role with the Astros, whenever a starter can't make it five/six/seven innings he's normally the first guy out of the pen. Of late he is entering in more games when the team has a lead so he is able to get the hold. His other role is getting the ball in extra innings and he's able to give the Astros a few innings because he can go long. That's pretty much it for the young right-handed flamethrower. So you have this amazing arm, who's blowing people away and he's a factor in the bullpen, but he's not the biggest factor back there...

So if he's not a big player out of the pen, he was a starter in the minor leagues, he's conditioned to go plenty of innings. Feliz could help the Astros as a starter if asked, Mike Fiers who's has been hit and miss this year and would be a prime candidate to get swapped. Let's be honest, Dallas Keuchel has not looked very hot this year, I'm not saying move him to the bullpen, I'm saying maybe he needs some time off. There are roles to be hand in the starting rotation if the Astros were so inclined.

But if you don't want to start Feliz because you think batters would start to figure him out after a second or third time seeing him. Ok, I'll buy that, but I'd still rather seem him get a chance, you can't grow if you aren't given a chance.

If you are afraid and you want to keep him in the bullpen, fine. But there is almost no reason you can't have him closing games. Asking him to get three outs, would be almost too easy, like a slicing butter with a hot knife. Who's going to stop him, he's tossing a 96-98 mph fastball and then has an 87 mph slider that dips out of the strike zone, you'd get saves for days.

Feliz ever since re-joining the Astros after getting sent down to the minors has come back to light the world on fire. Last season and the early part of this year before getting sent down, Feliz was a different pitcher, but since coming back he found his fastball life, and he's been dominate.

In April: 5.1 innings, 10 runs, 3 home runs, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts
In May/June: 21.1 innings, 2 runs, 0 home runs, 2 walks, 33 strikeouts

Feliz is a different man since he's cut loose, and the Astros haven't really capitalized on him. For a while maybe they weren't sure if he would revert back to his old self, but 21 innings of top notch work is nothing to sneeze at.

The Astros going forward look like they are going to go closer by committee, and if you want Harris to continue closing games I won't argue with you. He's earned a shot, Harris has been one of the most consistent bullpen arms in baseball since last year. Ken Giles might also get a shot at the job every so often depending on matchups and I think that would be wrong. He's been better since his awful April, but he's still not in the same solar system that Feliz is in.

Feliz has earned the shot at having a bigger impact on games, he's proved he can be very effective out of the pen. In the minors, he proved he can be effective as a starter becoming one of the Astros top prospects after being signed as a 16-year-old amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic.

Right now there are a lot more uses you can use Feliz in he's your swiss army knife. He's better than just giving you a sixth/seventh inning here or there or pitching in extra innings.

I understand the middle relief and extra inning roles are very important and if you don't have him doing it someone is going to have too. The bigger point is he can have a higher impact than just "holding" the game.

He can win it for you by starting a game and going five-six-seven innings giving you good pitching. Or he can pitch in the ninth and help you save games.

It's clear he's handled his current role on the Astros. It's time they start taking the leash off of him and trusting him more and in bigger spots. If it's starting great, if it's saving games even better, if it's the eighth inning ok fine (at least it's about as high leverage as you can get).

He's better than what he's been given so far, let him go out and prove it.

Three takeaways from the Diamondbacks series

Two games in Arizona and two games in Houston, it may not exactly be a "series" but it should be considered one. So after snagging three wins against the Diamondbacks the Astros have won three series in a row after the poor home sweep against the Rangers a couple weeks back.

The Astros are playing much better, and while they aren't getting near the top of the A.L. West it's certainly good to see, small steps baby!

Here are a few takeaways from the four games with the Diamondbacks.

George Springer really likes batting first 

After the Astros win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, I told George Springer the stats say he likes batting leadoff, then I asked him if there is there a reason for it? Without having the exact quote he pretty much said, now it's his job to get on base for Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa.

This season Springer is batting .409 leading off and .260 batting second. It may just be a hot streak but for whatever reason he's proven over the past two years leading off batting .297 that it suits him.

Springer batting lead off is a big reason the Astros are doing so well of late. His offense is finally starting to catch up to his amazing defensive game.

Time for a new closer

During the four-game series, Luke Gregerson only blew one game and the Astros still ended up winning the game. The series isn't alone a reason to call it quits on the Gregerson project, but it's time to seriously start thinking of a plan B.

The Astros have a couple of good relievers in the bullpen. Will Harris has been the Astros most solid relief pitcher since last season and it's unlikely they would move him away from his seventh/eighth inning role. But there are still four other guys you can give the ball too and it not be completely crazy.  
1) Scott Feldman has done pretty well coming out of the bullpen, even found some extra speed on his fastball. If you must require a veteran to close games Feldman would fill that role.

2) Ken Giles was brought to Houston to be the closer, he's not perfect but is now the time to give him a shot?

3) Chris Devenski seems to profile more as a starter but they keep using him in the bullpen, he's very effective, why not give him a shot?

4) Michael Feliz has got the nastiest stuff on the team and while they are using him in bigger roles little by little he's still not in the prime seventh/eighth/ninth inning roles.

Finally two catchers

Evan Gattis since getting a shot at catching has done a great job behind the backstop. You know what you are getting in offense from Gattis, a .240-.250 batting average with 15-20 homers.

Jason Castros has also done a bang-up job on the offensive end in the month of May with an on-base percentage over .400 and a batting average .268 (148 points higher than April).

For so long, the Astros have had Castro and insert random name of a backup catcher. None have really been very exciting offensive options. Now with Castro seemingly retapping back into his 2013 form and Gattis showing he can catch, the Astros could have a really interesting one-two punch.

Would you rather have Max Stassi or Erik Kratz over Gattis? Ok, so that's not much of choice but feel free to tell me what backup catcher is better than Gattis, not sure you are going to find many.

Evan Gattis is balling behind the dish

Well if you worried about Evan Gattis's knee's from catching don't. The Astros might end up using him in three straight games, and in three straight days. Quite a long journey for a guy who took a year off from catching - not exactly his idea - and DH'd all of last season.

"He's done a tremendous at preparing, he really cares back there, he tries to get the absolute most out of every pitcher he catches," A.J. Hinch said of Gattis behind the plate, "it means a lot to the pitching staff, he's back there blocking, he's back there sweating like crazy trying to squeeze every ounce out of his pitcher, and everybody can feel that, so I love the fact that he's bouncing back."

In the five games, he's been able to catch this year his catcher's ERA is 3.06 and his career catcher's ERA of 3.20 (MLB average is 3.87).

Wednesday night, Gattis was able to nail two runners who tried to steal a bag off of him, Jean Segura (a speedy guy) and Yasmany Tomas (who probably shouldn't be trying to steal bags). Mike Fiers did have two wild pitches and one looked like Gattis probably should have been able to get it. The only run Fiers allowed came off from a wild pitch.

"He's very smart behind there, he knows these hitters, he studies them, he does a lot of work of the field where he's in the video room looking at these guys, and it shows out there," Mike Fiers said of having Gattis behind the plate for him for the first time, "I didn't really have to shake him off too much, it was spots here and there but he's great at blocking the ball, throwing the ball, just doing everything a catcher suppose to do."

Gattis over the past few games has done a great job behind the plate. He's blocked lots of pitches in the dirt, he's pulled a few for strikes and by all accounts he calls a pretty good game.

In five games behind the plate, Gattis has snagged four batters (small sample size I know), but it's more than Jason Castro has thrown out in 43 games. Maybe teams are trying to run on Gattis to check out his arm but for whatever the reason, he's showing teams that it's not very wise to try and run on him.

Gattis with a 1.95 pop time. 85.5 MPH arm strength on the throw. https://t.co/wlufKa0xRU

— Daren Willman (@darenw) May 29, 2016

Castro has done a good job late batting .268 to go with an on-base percentage of over .400 in the month of May. While that's so much better for him than how he started the season and how last year went. If Gattis catching game can stay trending upwards, we all know he can hit and hit for power, he might need to start playing more.

You might not want to overuse Gattis, but right now he's a pretty great dual threat behind the plate. Gattis career offensive WAR is

Cliff Johnson holds the title for the highest offensive WAR (55.7) for a catcher in Astros history - if you can guess when he played for the team, bonus points for you - but Gattis manning the backstop could eventually make him the best ever for the team.

Astros, on the right train tracks!

Most the time when you are about to hear of someone going streaking. It can usually be followed by stories about that person ripping off their clothes, dancing across some sort event only to end up being tased by police officers. Well, the Astros are streaking and it won't end in a tasing, but rather high fives and at-a-boys.

In the past 10 games, the Astros have went seven and three and they are winners of four in row for the first time all season. The mood and the feeling is the team is finally back on the right track.

This has been one of the few times all year the Astros have mixed everything together and got great results. The starting pitching has been solid (minus one start) the bullpen has kept improving and the offense is finally pulling their weight.

Since moving George Springer to leadoff, he's batted nearly .500, Jose Altuve is getting on base like he's normal self. But the offense is better not just because those two guys, while that's great and helpful, the rest of the lineup is starting to come through. Luis Valbuena who bats in the bottom half of the lineup is batting .400, and even Jake Marisnick who has been absent batting wise all year has started to turn it on.

For a while, I myself have asked, begged even, for the Astros to do some major shaking up to the lineup. While flip-flopping Altuve and Springer isn't exactly what I pictured, it's worked. The Astros have been "lit" as the young kids say, going seven and one since moving the two. Springer has just been unreal!

"He's taking some singles up the middle, he's hitting some homers, bullet doubles to start the game," A.J. Hinch said, "his job as a leadoff hitter is to be a good hitter first, and what comes with that is a better hitter."

Springer early on in the year batting second had been a little up and down but he has seemed to find a home at the head of the Astros attack.

"Whether it's mental or physical I don't really care," Hinch said trying to give reasons to why his new leadoff hitter is going bananas, "I like the look of it, and I think he's made a conscious adjustment to set the table for Altuve (and) Correa."

The pitching has also been bang up as well, outside of a Mike Fiers hiccup (7 runs in 3.2 innings), the starters have been fantastic. They have given you what you have needed to win games with each guy giving up three runs or less. With the offense doing well, only allowing three runs is a winning combo.

The bullpen has also kept stepping up, getting strong performances from all over the place. Michael Feliz is nails, hasn't allowed a run since the year 1965. Ken Giles is still a little hit or miss but the rest of the relievers have been great.

Last year the Astros had a 10 game win streak and it helped power them all the way to the playoffs at the end of the season. Right now the Astros are playing their best baseball of the season, they haven't had a 10 game win streak but seven wins in their last eight games is nothing to sneeze at.

"It's nice to see us play consistently, we could have even had a better month if it had not of been for some one-run losses, I think six of them this month, our team has played well for going on four weeks," Hinch said via MLB.com's Brian McTaggart, "we can pretend it's May tomorrow or we can move to June and continue the momentum into another good month, we've got to play consistently for month to month to month to get to where we want to get."

The Astros had a really poor April winning only seven games, but so far May has shined on them as they have more than doubled up the wins, winning 16 games. If not for such a poor start, you could be looking at the Astros being frontrunners in the A.L. West.

Three Astros takeaways from the WhiteSox series

The Astros end the road trip with a loss, but who cares. They managed to pick up their first road series of the year getting two wins off the WhiteSox. They had a small chance to pick up the sweep in game three but Chris Sale was dealing as he pitched a complete game only allowing one run to the Astros.

All and the WhiteSox series was a sign of better baseball, will see what they can do against the Rangers on Thursday.

Below are three takeaways from the WhiteSox series

Heading back to Houston, better, but not great

The Astros aren't on fire, but they are at a slow simmer. They are pretty much in the same position they were in before they left on the road trip, still seven games back of the AL West leading Mariners.

The good news is they didn't lose any more ground, so there's that. Over the past few games, the team has put together much better games. The offense pulled their weight, the pitching is hanging in there, and if not for closer Luke Gregerson losing his mind over the last week you could be looking at the road trip in a whole new light.

"Were playing well, were playing good baseball, it's just a matter of putting everything together, we said it before, we just (need to) play complete games, pitch the ball, catch the ball, get timely hits and we did that really well the first couple of games," Collin McHugh said via Root Sports after the team's 2-1 loss to the WhiteSox, "just ran into a buzz saw today (Thursday), just got to tip your hat, and move on to the next series at home, we got a big couple of series coming up, got some game we want to go there and win, just a matter of continuing to be consistent and put together complete ball games."

So now there are two good catchers?

Jason Castro, and now Evan Gattis. It's the 1-2 punch the team has been waiting for. Gattis last season's DH spent a little over a week in double-A getting back into the swing of things at catcher.

He caught his very first game in over two years on Thursday, and he did not look to bad. He framed a few pitches, he blocked a hell of a lot of balls in the dirt and called a good game. He didn't have a chance to show off his arm but by all accounts, he had more than adequate night.

"The story today is Evan Gattis, he did a really good job behind the dish I know a lot of people haven't had a chance to see him it's been a couple years since he's been back there, but he's solid, he's a big league catcher, everybody needs to understand that and recognize that," McHugh said, "he did a really phenomenal job tonight both calling the game and blocking, I didn't really give him much of a chance on a couple of stolen bases, but he can do it, he's a big league backstop back there, obviously we know what he can do what the bat, but he had a great game today."

Now that Gattis can catch, the team has some good offensive options at catcher. Gattis is what he is, a DH who will hit 20 home runs and bat .240 and that's about a million times better than any other backup catcher you will find. Castro is starting to come around too, over the past 10 games he's batting .353.

Whoever the Astros have behind the dish going forward you feel pretty comfortable with them catching and hitting.

A.J. Hinch = J.B. Bickerstaff

There is something to be said about playing to the matchups, at the same time there is something to be said about playing who's hot. Tyler White goes banana's in the first game of the series, sits out in game two and gets the start again in game three and is cold as ice (facing Chris Sale). The Astros call up Colin Moran who they consider to future and he plays one game.

The Rockets had the same problems this season, J.B. Bickerstaff would get a nice game from blank and then blank was buried on the bench in the next game. Sometimes Bickerstaff would also ride people too long because they are veterans. The Astros are starting to share in this same trend.

Is there a reason why Jake Marisnick started in two of these games? I can understand Marisnick the defensive replacement but as a starter... That dog just won't hunt.

If Carlos Correa is struggling it's not like you you are going to take him out, and that's understandable. The Astros only have a few guys like that. So if White/Marwin Gonzalez/Luis Valbuena is going bananas ride them till the wheels fall off, just stop interchanging them in and out of the lineup.

Let a player carry his momentum into the following game if he has a good game.

Bottom of the order big reason for 5-3 win over WhiteSox

The Astros winning ways continue with a 5-3 win over the WhiteSox. The Astros had a big night offensively getting 13 hits, and four hits from the back end of the lineup.

The 8-9 spots for the Astros came up big time and they were a big reason they were able to pull out their very first road series win.

Eight hitter Jason Castro in the second inning reached base with a one-out single. Nine hitter Tony Kemp would follow with his first major league hit, a double, moving Castro to third. Jose Altuve would drive in Castro with a ground out, and George Springer would end the inning with a hot liner to right field but not before the Astros took a 2-1 lead over the WhiteSox.

In the fourth inning, the bottom of the lineup came through big for the Astros again. Castro would draw a four-pitch walk, and Kemp would follow with his second hit of the night a one-out single. Altuve would drive in Castro again with a single to left giving the Astros a 3-1 lead. WhiteSox starter Matt Latos would regroup and get out of the inning putting away the next two guys in order.

The last run for the Astros would come in the sixth inning. Clearly feeling it Castro took the first pitch he saw from Latos and took it to deep right field for a solo shot putting them up 5-1.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kemp drew a leadoff walk and Altuve followed with another walk. It started to look like they would come through again and score a few more runs. Springer would turn on the first pitch we saw and rocket a ball to Todd Frazier at third base and the WhiteSox would end up turning a triple-play.

"We can hit, we have a dangerous team, people underestimate a little bit of the quality at-bats we can put up there when we're right," Manager A.J. Hinch said via Root Sports, "we certainly have our struggles at times, but consistency is hard to find in this league."

The 8-9 hole (Castro and Kemp) for the Astros did its job with four hits, two walks, and three runs scored.

"Kemp had a good night at the bottom of the order sparking the top of he order," Hinch said, "Altuve had another good night which is commonplace, for the most part when we string together good at-bats and tonight we did it without the benefit of a crooked number in an inning, I like our offense."

Aside from the near miss at more runs in the eighth, the Astros would end up scoring one run in five different innings Wednesday night.

The pitching would do just enough to make the runs the offense gave them hold up. Starter Doug Fister gave the team six and a third innings only allowing three earned runs. He allowed nine hits, but when he was in a jam he was either able to get the strikeout he needed or the defense would make a nice play and pick him up.

"He throws quality strikes it moves in different directions there's not a lot of complaints when it comes to his time in the rotation," Hinch said of Fister's night, "you feel like your going to get 5-6-7 innings of good healthy hard work that gives you a good chance to win."

The Bullpen would come in and close the door on the WhiteSox. Luke Gregerson who has been a little shaky of late, blowing three of his last four save chances. On Wednesday Gregerson was back to his normal self sitting down the WhiteSox in order.

All and all a nice game by the Astros, one of the few nights this year they have been able to put it all together getting good pitching and good offense. When they are able to do that, they'll win more games than naught.

The Great White Returned In 6-5 Over WhiteSox

Tyler White of late has been one of the much-maligned Astros players. Now with Carlos Gomez on the DL and Preston Tucker back in the minors, the spotlight is squarely on him. It's not something spoken but with the team's recent moves, the writing is on the wall, produce, or we can't play you anymore.

In the midst of a May that has seen White bat .194, the great white (Tyler White) not only showed up, but he was a big cog in the Astros 6-5 win over the WhiteSox Monday night. He finished the night 3-4 with 2 home runs (first career multi-homer game) and he was responsible for three of the team's six runs.

In the top of the fourth, after a seven pitch battle with starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, White took the eighth pitch over the left center wall for a solo shot. White fouled off two straight 97 MPH fastballs till he was able to square one up.

White again facing Rodon in the top of the sixth blasted another solo shot. White had to reach for this one, Rodon had this fastball off the plate, but he was still able to extend and poked this one in almost the same place as his first homer.



To cap off his night, White in the eighth inning gave the team a leadoff double down the line which they would end up scoring on. Astros manager A.J. Hinch would lift White for pinch runner Tony Kemp and he would come around to score on a Jose Altuve sac-fly.

"He had a great night, it's nice him get some hits two-strike home runs were important, the leadoff double was very key for us," A.J. Hinch, "it's nice to see him not try to do too much he got rewarded with some extra base hits but he wasn't over swinging the entire time and really coming out of his swing, hopefully that's a sign of things to come."

The past couple of weeks White has looked like he was starting to put things together. He no longer was trying to make things happen and swing at bad pitches, striking out over and over. He started drawing walks and when putting the ball in play, he was squaring up the ball, it was just landing in defenders gloves.

White spoke to me a couple weeks back and he was happy with the swings he was putting on the baseball. He understood that the if he kept doing what he was doing that the line drives would start falling for hits.

White has been looking better of late, the hits might not have been there but he's looks miles better over the past couple of weeks. If Monday is a sign of what is about to come, watch out MLB.

Wait... The offense can score now?

Momentum lost! The Astros played well against the RedSox and had leads in two of the three games they lost, they just couldn't get it done. The Astros got blown out in the first game but had a chance to win three straight to close out the series.

The missed a prime chance to pick up a road series win and against a good team, this might haunt them in games to come.

Below are three takeaways from the RedSox series.

Wait, they can score now? 

In game one the Astros only scored one run, and you began to think, ok this is going to be a really rough series. They did redeem themselves, scoring on average seven runs a game.

Production came from just about everywhere, in each game someone different took the spotlight.

Game Two - Jose Altuve and George Springer did most the damage with 6 hits and 5 RBI's between them.

Game Three - Springer again came through with 4 RBI's and Carlos Correa and Colby Rasmus pitched in 2 hits a piece.

Game Four - Luis Valbuena had himself a day with 2 hits and 5 RBI's

If this is a sign of things to come, maybe things might be able to turn it around. The biggest problem for the Astros has been the offense, and if that comes around maybe, the darkness is starting to fade and the sun might be about to raise.

Will the real Dallas please stand up?

Dallas Keuchel has not looked like his old self, there are flashes but on the whole, he's been bad. So far this year his ERA is just a shade under 6, a mighty far cry from the Cy-Young year he had just months before.

A part of me wants to say that, Keuchel just ran into a buzz saw that was the rolling RedSox who were scoring 10 plus runs a game. The other part looks at his advanced stats and notices maybe something has changed.

Keuchel is getting plenty of swinging strikes, so he's still getting movement. One of the problems this year is his velocity is down across the board. His fastball is the slowest since breaking into the league (2016, 88.4 MPH, 2012, 88.1 MPH). Another even bigger differance this season, 20% of his pitches had been cutters, the past two seasons he threw around 5-6%.

Some games it feels like he is having a hard time trying to find himself. Others it feels like the umpires are squeezing him.

Whatever the problem, please come back to us Dallas Keuchel.

Tucker had his chance

After the final game of the series, the Astros made a few moves. Evan Gattis has been recalled and will replace Eric Kratz on the roster, they also moved Preston Tucker to AAA.

When they sent Gattis down to the minors to get in work at catcher, the guy primed to take his place at DH was Tucker. The problem was he wasn't able to take advantage.

Tucker in the month of May bat .147, while he didn't strikeout at a crazy high rate, he also didn't walk very much. The bottom of the lineup has not been very productive, Carlos Gomez and Tucker have been the prime culprits. There's nothing you can do with Gomez, so Tucker is the guy that has to go.

It's getting tough to watch Carlos Gomez, but is that his fault?

If you have ever watched an old school Mike Tyson fight, somewhere within the first or second round you start to really feel bad for the guy he's fighting. This poor guy is taking body blow after body blow, please god someone stop the fight, throw in the towel, I can't watch this anymore!!

I am starting to feel that same way about Carlos Gomez, it's tough seeing him swing and miss. I love Gomez, he's a nice guy, he's a fun guy and he's hella entertaining. in 2015 when the Astros traded for him, he brought some flare and some juice to the team. When he's on and you see him playing the game you can see the energy he provides the team.

This year, it has all just went off the train tracks. When looking at all the advanced stats and anything else that can be tracked, Gomez is having pretty much the same year as he always has, except in one place. Gomez is swinging and missing at an alarmingly high rate, a career high for him and among the worst in baseball.

Per FanGraphs his K% of 34.9 is the third worst in baseball this season. Before now the last person to have a higher K% in the majors was former Astros first basemen Chris Carter, in his 2013 year here he had a K% of 36.2.

Gomez's BABIP (Batting average on balls in play) is over .300 so it tells you when he can actually connect with a ball, he's an average hitter this year. Again the problem is he isn't connecting often enough.

How many times have you seen him swing out of his shoes getting fooled on a breaking pitch? How many times have you seen Gomez swing as hard as he can to try and catch up with a fastball only to miss? The answer to both of those is way too many to count.

It's getting worse too, in 24 games during April, Gomez had a .213 batting average with 24 strikeouts. 11 games into May and he's batting .132 with already 21 strikeouts. On the season, he has a little more than double the number of strikeouts as he does hits.

Below is a graph from Brooksbaseball and you can see how Gomez is doing against all types of pitches this season.

Gomez is having a very tough time at the plate, you can tell it's eating him up inside. A few games back after a strikeout he broke a bat over his thigh. During the last homestand, he was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes (that might not have been 100 percent on him, it was an awful game).

This is a guy who's been part of the 20-30 club (20+ homers, 30+ stolen bases) for almost three straight seasons. You may be booing him in the stands but you can bet no one is more upset about his job at the plate than Gomez.

At the moment, there are not very many things you can do with Gomez. You aren't going to DFA him, you aren't going to trade him, you could have him bat in the order higher to see more fastballs (he's batting about .350 on four seem fastballs this year), but they don't seem willing to break up the 1-2-3-4 of Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Colby Rasmus.

Another option is to have Gomez ride the bench for a while so he can try and find himself. If not you are kind of doing a disservice to him and the rest of the team. Leaving him and letting him work through his problems is like letting a starter who's already given up seven earned runs in the second inning, keep on working. The team is counting on the bottom of the order to drive in runs and get on base for the top of the order. Right now, not having normal Gomez is one of many reasons the team has had problems driving in runs.

"He's had a tough go, that's been documented," A.J. Hinch said of Gomez via MLB.com's Brian McTaggart before the game Saturday, "I feel him cause he's working his tail off to make it better, he's putting in a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of energy, he cares a lot, things aren't going his way and he hasn't really gotten any luck along the way."

On Saturday, the Astros did bench/rest him because Clay Buchholz was on the mound, and he's normally a pretty tough pitcher. In the eighth inning, they did call on him to enter the game to pinch run. When the game went to extra innings, he did get an at bat, and he struck out.

You want to Gomez to do well, his energy in one of a kind. I mean how many players say they play sexy? Zero, just Gomez.

I understand the position Hinch is in. Look you got to play someone out there, but no one is really producing so why not just let Gomez keep playing? Who's better? It's not like Jake Marisnick is batting .300, .200 or even .150 (he's batting .100 as of 5-15), but he's another problem for another day.

Hinch uses the ingredient's that he has in the pantry, he isn't the one going to the story and getting what he needs. So if he doesn't have sugar, it's his job to still try and make a cake without sugar. Astros G.M. Jeff Luhnow is the guy that is shopping for the ingredients. Hinch might tell Luhnow, he needs sugar, but it's up to Luhnow whether or not he wants to go get it.

You can't be upset at Gomez, he's trying, he's working. You can't really be upset with Hinch, what else is he going to do, his hands are tied. For now, maybe the best thing is to keep running him out there, either he gets better and finds his swing, or maybe Luhnow finally decides it's time to head to the store and start shopping for sugar.

It's time for a major tweak

After the good vibes from a 16 inning walk-off win on Wednesday. The Astros followed that up scoring one run, off the RedSox losing 11-1 less than 24 hours later.

One of the big problems the Astros have had since the season started, played a big part in the loss again Thursday. Leaving men on base was an issue against David Price (who has given up his fair share of runs), the Astros got guys on base, but again could not get them in. This has been a problem for a while and even in wins it's an issue that keeps popping back up.

It's about time for the Astros to start taking a look at ways to manipulate their way to more runs. It's pretty clear drastic methods like calling a bunch of guys up or making trades is out of the question, for now at least.

What the Astros can do, is start moving the lineup around. They can start spreading some of that top of the lineup hitting wealth, to the rest of the batting order.

The Astros only have one player batting over .300, Jose Altuve's batting .326. Aside from him they only have two guys that are batting over .250, Carlos Correa batting .269 and George Springer batting .255. That's the 1-2-3 of your lineup. The rest of the batting order is .235 or lower and a few guys are even below .200.

When a Cowboy wants to take down a bunch of Outlaws, he's going to have a tough time, if he only has three bullets in his gun. He better hope the bad guys are having off days if his going to be able to come out on top.

That's a lot like the Astros now, they are winning games because the pitching most nights are doing enough to keep them close, and then when the timing is right they can put one or two guys across the plate. Some nights that is enough for a win, most nights it's not.

The Astros as a team are batting .229, only better than the Braves, the Phillies, and the Rays. All but one of the four is below .500 (Phillies are just playing out of their mind).

The Astros are getting production from four guys, Colby Rasmus, Altuve, Springer, and Correa. The rest of the lineup is hit and miss. To help get guys more fastballs and help kickstart them into gear, the Astros need to consider breaking up that four.

Spread the four throughout the order and mix in Carlos Gomez, Tyler White, and Preston Tucker higher in the lineup. I am not saying this will be the magic potion that will cure all the lineup woah's but it's worth a shot.

New lineup
1st - George Springer
2nd - Preston Tucker
3rd - Carlos Gomez
4th - Jose Altuve
5th - Carlos Correa
6th - Colby Rasmus
7th - Marwin Gonzalez
8th - Jason Castro
9th - Tyler White

The short seconded basemen is the team's best batter, you get someone on base for him you have faith he can get the run/runs home. Just think about how long innings can go with Correa and Rasmus right behind him.

Of course, that's the same thinking with them in the top of the order. The problem is the guys behind them aren't doing anything, so if you move Tucker and Rasmus in front of them they get fatter fastballs. You hope that they will be able to shake free the rust from the bats and start producing.

This would be a shake up and right now maybe that's what the bats need. The Astros have seen what this lineup has been able to do this season with minor tweaks here or there, but maybe it's time for a major tweak.

Don't look now, but Michael Feliz is on fire!

So the Astros might have found some new found money in Michael Feliz. Coming into the season, Feliz was let's be honest, an extra guy.

He has been the 25th guy and has been bounced back and forth between the minors a few times this season.

But with his recent play, the next time the Astros have a move to make, it might be a much tougher decision than in the past.

In the past eight innings, Feliz has looked outstanding, allowing only one hit while striking out 13 batters. He has looked downright nasty.

The young righty, up until Wednesday had yet to pitch in a game of major importance. Normally he's come into games and mopping up the last few innings, and to his credit, he was tearing through batters.

Wednesday left with few options in the Astros 16 inning game, A.J. Hinch turned to the 22-year-old flamethrower and he answered the call, big time. He was able to give them three innings of one-hit ball while striking out five.

"I joked with (bench coach) Trey (Hillman), what took me so long, I should have brought him in earlier," A.J. Hinch said of Feliz's night, "he's gaining confidence more and more, that's one of the first leverage roles that he's had in his career and he stepped up admirably."

Feliz who normally has been around 94-96 MPH, was able to dial up a little more heat. Wednesday he not only hit 98 MPH but was able to consistently throw it.

"We watched him grow in front of our eyes today, a little bit more, a little bit more and a little bit more," A.J. Hinch said, "there's no tentative approach to him it's 96 to 98 miles an hour, he's raring back and blowing it by a very contact driven lineup."

Having that heat has really helped him step up his game.

"Once you start throwing 98 and then getting control of the slider and  the changeup, I've felt a lot better in the last couple of innings," Michael Feliz said of his recent stretch.


Feliz with his first career win under his belt, just might have earned himself some innings where he can be more of a factor in wins. The Astros have been searching for a flamethrower who can get swings and misses, maybe they had him all along.

Pitching has been legit as ish!

Not even Frank the Tank from "Old School" could say it better. The Astros are going streaking!!! Through the quad and through the gymnasium... They are now winners of two of their last three series.

The final game of the homestand lasted 16 innings and ended with a Marwin Gonzalez two-run home run.

"What a great atmosphere for us," A.J. Hinch said of the game-ending two-run home run, "you go from having minimal energy to an adrenalin rush that can only come at home when you get a walk-off against a really good team, a really good pitcher, a really good pitching staff and we walk out of here feeling a little better about ourselves."

The Astros seem to be a whole lot closer to last season than any other point this season.

Below are three takeaways from the Indians series.

Pitching is legit!

Quality start after quality start, that's the hallmark of your week old baby brother's Astros team. It doesn't matter who goes back there, that pitcher is going to give the team enough to hang in and have a chance at winning the game.

Game three - Doug Fister, 7 innings, 2 earned runs.
Game two - Chris Devenski, 6.2 innings, 2 earned runs.
Game one - Mike Fiers, 7 innings, 1 earned run.

"Each guy is doing his best, and his assignment every fifth day, to go out there and get the job done," Doug Fister said of the team's pitching of late, "that's what happens when you have a starting staff that pulls for one another, we got a bunch of great guys here."

Over the past seven starts, the starters have allowed an ERA around 2.00.

Astros on the come up

Don't look now but that awful April is completely behind them. May, for the most part, has been pretty kind to them, posting a 7-4 record in the month.

What has spurred this solid play? Being at home helps a lot. But the team has also raised its game. The pitching has been there, the defense has been there and they haven't shot themselves in the foot (errors and bad base running).

"The defense has been there, the pitching has been there," Carlos Correa said of the way they have played of late, "hopefully the offense can keep going and score some runs and give them the run support need in order for us to win ball games."

In the month of May, the Astros are averaging about 4.9 runs a game.

If you take out that big 16 run game, the results look a little scarier, at 3.8 runs a game.

Whenever they finally they finally all meld together, hitting/defense/pitching, watch out world.

LOB base is still a problem 

So this has not really gone away, this is still a pretty big problem. The Astros of last year hung their hat on scoring five-six runs a game.

This team has not reached that level yet. During the three-game series with the Indians, they left a combined 54 guys on base. Yea, I consulted with math and baseball experts, they concur, it's a lot.

The pitching staff has been excellent, but if you aren't pushing those guys across the plate, you make them have to pitch perfect. While that is working now, it will end up working against them down the road if they continue.

"(A loss in game three) would have been deflating just giving the opportunities that we created for ourselves," Hinch said.

In the final game alone the Astros had the bases loaded in the first two innings but came away with nothing. When looking at the issue you can see a common theme, the middle to the back of the lineup just isn't carrying their weight so far.

Carlos Gomez, Preston Tucker, Luis Valbuena, and whichever catcher they decide to put back there just isn't getting it done. When the top of the order is rolling and then they are counting on five through nine to drive them in, they aren't.

How do you fix it? aside from bringing guys up you really can't (not that bringing guys up is a cure all). The Astros are at even more of an impass with Evan Gattis out learning how to catch in double-A. So it there isn't many other options aside from play Marwin Gonzalez a whole lot more. They could try and tweak the lineup some maybe moving Correa and George Springer around. Once you do that, though you are almost waving the "we are worried" flag.

Below is George Springer's thoughts on the walk-off win and the homestand. 

What happens when Lance McCullers gets activated

All signs point to Lance McCullers being activated either Friday or Saturday during the RedSox series. Which means there will be an odd man out of the rotation and it's likely going to be Mike Fiers or Chris Devenski.

So who will it be, which starter is going to go to the bullpen to make room for McCullers?

There are three ways it can go down, move Devenski to the bullpen, move Fiers to the bullpen or use a six-man rotation between the three.

It will take a little bit of time before McCullers will be back up to seven-plus innings and a 100 plus pitches. So there is really no reason to waste a perfectly fine spot in the rotation for a guy that might only be able to give you four-five innings for a while.

Using a modified six-man rotation would serve a couple different purposes, it would let the Astros work McCullers in slowly and help keep his innings down so they can ride him down the stretch. When Fiers or Devenski would get skipped in the rotation they would be able to provide some work out of the bullpen.

Fiers throws the ball pretty uniquely and he could do well if asked to get an out here or there. Devenski has already proved himself to be just fine out of the bullpen. So you would feel pretty confident in both guys working on days they aren't in the rotation.

Devenski has looked strong since being called up, in just a shade over 30 innings he's only allowing a 1.72 ERA. Fiers has been a little hit or miss this season but when he's on, he's on, in a little over 40 innings he has a 4.65 ERA.

Neither guy 100 percent deserves to be bounced out of the rotation permanently. Fiers last season had a no-hitter and a 3.32 ERA while with the Astros. Devenski this season has been pretty amazing and has seemingly come out of nowhere.

Keeping all three on would also delay A.J. Hinch's ultimate final decision on the rotation till McCullers is fully able to give them a whole game. There is no telling how long or slow the Astros will take in working him in, so it would be best to keep all three rather than keep bouncing someone in and out.

Below is Chris Devenski thoughts on his loss to the Indians, he also talks about his in-game adjustments.

Hey, don't look now but the Astros aren't looking too bad

Four games against the best team in the AL West can tell you a lot and word is, the Astros are slowly on the rise. A 2-2 split after how awful the team has been should be commended.

One of the good things with the Mariners leaving, no more Robinson Cano! Baseball's RBI leader in the four games hit .500 had three homers and seven RBI's and was a big reason the Astros lost two games. Good riddance. The Astros will not have to worry about Cano again till July.


Below are three takeaways from the Mariners series.


Pitching 

During the four-game homestand, the Astros had four quality starts. Who would take that on a game by game basis? Me... I'm raising my hand!!

The pitching has been hit and miss early on, Dallas Keuchel lost at home to the Twins, for godsakes. Anything could happen.

But the pitching by the starters is exactly what the team is looking for. Chris Devenski went six strong innings only allowing one run while striking out six, he's getting more and more comfortable as starter as well. Doug Fister is continuing to look well, Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh even had some get right games.

If starters give up three or fewer runs a game, those are games you will win more often than not.

The Great White is on his way

Tyler White has been lost for a little while at the plate, but it looks like he is finding his way back home. The past two games he had four hits and you could tell he is looking much better at the plate.

Earlier in the week, White had said he liked the swings he had been taking and that it was only a matter of time till they started to fall. Looks like he was right.

A "great white" would do wonders for the Astros lineup going forward.
He would really give the team more punch in the middle/back of the lineup.

Looking better

A 2-2 split doesn't exactly make people jump and skip all the way around the block, but it should. The Astros looked pretty good in the series and had they just been able to figure out how to get Robinson Cano they might have been able to sweep the Mariners. They had two late inning losses mainly because Cano killed them in big spots.

The Astros are playing pretty well and while that aren't 100 percent back yet. The signs on the wall point to it happing pretty soon. The defense is there, the pitching is there and as soon as the offense starts clicking this team will be like a snowball rolling down hill.

4-2 in their last six games, something is going right for the Astros, the homestand seems to suit them.

Dallas Keuchel back on the right track

Saturday night was a little strange for the Astros taking a 3-2 loss to the Mariners in 10 innings. The game featured, two ejections (A.J. Hinch, Carlos Gomez), the strike zone was very uneven (for both teams) and the umpires seemed to not really care about very much.

Dallas Keuchel was one of the lone bright spots in the game. Entering the with a 5.11 ERA and three straight games of giving up five or more runs, Saturday he took a step back in the right direction.

"I thought Dallas (Keuchel) was as good as he's been all season," A.J. Hinch said, "(He) responded by controlling some damage and controlling himself after some misfortune, it's a positive sign for him, I was really proud of him, he competed, he did everything that you'd expect him to do on a night he was pitching."

Ultimately the lefty did not factor in the decision - was on the hook for a loss till a ninth-inning homer by Luis Valbuena - but he kept the Astros within reach of the Mariners. He was able to give the team a quality start (only his third of the season in seven starts) tossing seven innings, allowing two earned runs (solo homers), eight hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.

It began to feel like one of those old Keuchel home starts of last season. He challenged lots of batters, made some nice plays coming off the mound, and made the Mariners put the ball on the ground getting nine groundouts (zero flyouts).

"I felt really good, the command and the stuff was there," Dallas Keuchel said, "(I) tightened up a few things up after the fourth and the fifth and just felt better as the innings rolled on, we'll try to take the best results into Boston in the next start."

The most noticeable of changes Keuchel made from his past few starts was the focus on getting strikes early in the count. He was able to get first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 30 batters he faced and only two batters were able to get on base after Keuchel went up in the count 1-0.

"I felt good with the changeup finally and the slider later in the game," Keuchel said, "that's encouraging cause those are two pitches I really haven't felt good with and if I can establish strike one and get ahead or manipulate the strike zone throwing in with the cutter too I feel like I have a couple out pitches there."

Keuchel like all pitchers are at their best when he doesn't have to serve up a meaty fastball to a hitter. Keuchel however, unlike his peers is a magician with the ball. When he's up 1-0 or 2-0 he's deadly because he can tease you with pitches that sometimes end up not even being near the strike zone cause the movement is so deadly.

When Keuchel has his breaking pitches working, it's going to be a long day for batters. Against the Twins, he said he felt that the book was out on him as a pitcher, but he just might have added a few more pages to it.

Below are some thoughts from Keuchel from the loss to the Mariners.

Evan Gattis heading to the minors, but just to catch.

Remember when A.J. Hinch said Evan Gattis might catch soon. He is, just not for the Astros, at least at the moment. Per reports after the Astros 6-3 win over the Mariners Friday night, Hinch opted to send Gattis down to build up his catching reps.

Gattis is slated to catch five to seven innings Saturday when Corpus Christi plays San Antonio. Hooks begin a 9-game homestand.

— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) May 7, 2016

Tony Sipp should be back off the paternity leave on Saturday so there is no need to call anyone up to replace Gattis on the roster. Hinch did not share when he would rejoin the team. He will likely be back before the end of the Astros homestand.

The Astros have had a few opportunities to use Gattis for an inning here or there in games with the score at of reach. Instead, they choose not use Gattis so they must not feel 100 percent comfortable yet. With Gattis actually going out and catching in live games, it should get him up to speed quickly. It's been two years since Gattis has caught in live game.

It may not be the most reliable stat in the world but Gattis has a 3.20 catchers ERA (2013-2014). The Astros everyday starting catcher Jason Castro has a 3.805 catchers ERA (2014-2015).

Tyler White "I feel like I'm putting good swings on the ball"

Tyler White, dubbed the "great white" by teammate Lance McCullers, after his hot start to the season, has had a bit of a rough go at the plate lately. In the past 14 days, he is batting .063 and in the past 7 days .059, the hits have just not been there dispte the way he filled up the stat sheet early in the season.

"I had about a week where I was a little bit in my own head, but since about the end of (the) Seattle (road series) and to Oakland (it's been) just tough luck," Tyler White said, "I've hit the ball hard, I've made a lot of contact since then, I haven't been striking out near as much as I was."

To his credit only two strikeouts in the past 7 days. White does like the looks he is getting, he feels he is connecting with the ball pretty good. The problem is the baseball is just running into fielders.

"I wouldn't say it's bad luck, right now I'm just hitting the ball where they are, I don't know if that's luck or just how it happens," White shared, "I'll probably get 10 hits in two weeks that are jam jobs here soon, it's just the way baseball goes, trying not to worry about it, trying to stay even keel."

While White did rip through minor league pitching and during spring training, he's not immune to struggles he's fought through slumps before.

"I had a struggle in double-A, I don't know how bad it was, I struggled a little bit there, then I went up to Fresno, the whole time I hit pretty well, I had a struggled in the Dominican (0-18 hitless streak), White said, "I know in low-A, I was doing kinda the same as here, started out the well in low-A, and then could not find a hit, then got really hot before I left."

The knowledge he's broken through slumps is keeping him going but he understands this is the dog days right now.

"It's mentally draining at times, I'm just trying to stay in my routine," White said, "I know I prepare every day, I prepare really well, I get myself ready for the game, I work hard, I've done it before and I can do it again, it will start falling for me."

The grind is daily and White is doing plenty of work behind the scenes to try and break out of this funk.

"I look at the swings and pitches every day," White said, "I've been swinging at good pitches and I've got pitches to hit and I've hit the ball on the barrel, right now it's up, down, right at second base."

He likes what he is doing at the plate and his track record shows it's only a matter of time before he starts raking again.

"I feel like I'm putting good swings on the ball, my timings there, the high fly balls will turn into line drives here soon and hit's will start coming," White said.

The franchise is back during the Twins series

Back to back wins, and a series win... It's almost too much to bear all at once. The Astros started off the Twins series with a loss in a game that     Dallas Keuchel pitched (at home no less), and you begin to think, oh no this is going to get really bad. They did manage to show out and take it to the Twins in the next two games.

Now that the positive vibes are flowing, below are three takeaways from the Twins series.

The franchise is back

No one wanted to talk about it, but Carlos Correa had been struggling big time over the past week or so. He hasn't had a long hitless streak but he hasn't been the dynamic player that he was last year (aside from the start of the year).

During the Twins series, he came back to form. In 11 at bats he had 4 hits, 2 walks and 4 RBI's. He is looking good, and when Correa is rollin so are the Astros.

The great white

A mainstay early in the season, he had only one start during this three-gamer. White ended up with 6 at bats during the series and went hitless. In the past seven games, he has one hit which is good enough for a .063 batting average.

Pitchers have adjusted to White after his crazy hot start, but he has yet to figure them out or get a new game plan.

If he doesn't start producing the next time the Astros need to send someone down to the minors. It just might be White.

Bullpen baby!

A starter can only go four innings? Who cares, the Astros have the bullpen to not only last the rest of the game but keep you in it. During the three-game series, the bullpen pitched 12 1/3 innings and only allowed one run. Let's be honest that's pretty damn good!

Michael Feliz ended up getting sent down after the last game but he gave them 4 hitless innings. Will Harris looks like the same rock star he was last year and even Ken Giles managed to pitch twice during the series and allowed no hits.

Scott Feldman has also seemed to excel in a relief role. The Astros pen aside from Giles and Josh Fields don't have guys that will blow it past you but they got a lot of quality "out getters."

Jake Marisnick rejoining the Astros

After the Astros 16-4 win over the Twins, A.J. Hinch shared with the media that they would be making a roster move. Michael Feliz who pitched two hitless innings to close out the team's Wednesday win would be optioned back to triple-A in favor for Jake Marisnick.

Hinch announces that Michael Feliz will be optioned to Triple-A. Jake Marisnick will be recalled.

— Houston Astros (@astros) May 5, 2016

The Houston chronicles Jake Kaplan reported that he will start in left field on Thursday in place of Colby Rasmus. So far this season Rasmus has played every game this year, so he will get a little bit of much-needed rest.

Marisnick was recently sent down in favor for Feliz on April 25th. In seven games at with the Grizzlies, he bat .185 in 27 at bats. With the major league club 12 games, he bat .100 in 10 at bats.

The Astros club the Twins, like a lot!

The first winning streak of the season comes by way of an Astros offensive explosion. The team was able to crank out three home runs to help them beat the Twins 16-4.

The Astros set the tone early in the game with Jose Altuve taking the fifth pitch he saw from Phil Hughes over the right field wall for a solo home run. They would get three more runs and send seven batters in total to the plate in the before the Twins finally were able to escape the inning with Astros up 3-0.

After chasing Hughes out of the game after the second inning, Casey Fien came in and fared a little better. Fien was able to get two quick outs but Luis Valbuena would reach on an infield single. With Jason Castro at the plate, he took a fastball left over the heart of the plate for a two-run blast over the right field wall putting them up 8-3.


Not to be out-done with Castro and Altuve getting long balls, Carlos Correa was also able to get his own blast. In the fourth inning with one out and the bases clear, Fien would leave another fastball on the plate and the Astros cleanup hitter sent the pitch over the left field wall to put them up 9-3.

The Astros offense was out in force scoring all but two, the sixth and seventh innings. On the night, Castro had two hits and drove in four runs and both Correa and Altuve had three hits and drove in three runs.

The only Astros batters on the night that were not able to join the 14 hit, 16 run party, was Tyler White - pitch run for Altuve in the seventh, popped out in the eighth - and Marwin Gonzalez (hitless but drew two walks and scored two runs).

Mike Fiers did get hit around and was not able to make it the full five innings to be in line for the win. In the fifth inning Fiers did battle but he could not get out of the inning. With one out and nearly 100 pitches thrown, Fiers walked Byung Ho Park and that was enough for A.J. Hinch as he opted to hand it to the bullpen.

Josh Fields came in and walked Oswaldo Arcia, with the bases loaded he was able to re-group and get John Ryan Murphy to fly out ending the Twins threat. Former starter Scott Feldman and Michael Feliz would each throw two hitless innings apiece to close out the rest of the game. Sealing the team's first win streak of the season.

Below are a few vines from the Astros big night!

Lance McCullers injury update, he's getting close!

It seems the return of Lance McCullers might be coming sometime soon. There is no return date set for the young righty, but A.J. Hinch did share with the media Tuesday afternoon that he will do a bullpen Wednesday and if all goes well a triple-A rehab start on Saturday.

Hinch said it's possible McCullers could make only one rehab start before joining Astros pic.twitter.com/Wbua26JjjY

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 3, 2016

McCullers has been out of action since being shut down during Spring training with a sore right shoulder (MRI was clear). He was placed on the 15 day DL at the start of the season and has been doing some work off and on.

The flame thrower per A.J. Hinch via MLB's Brian McTaggart shared "(He's) All systems go feeling real good." It seems his debut is right around the corner. Possibly sometime within the next week or two.

The Astros have made it know they wanted keep McCullers on some sort of innings limitations this season. This DL stint might have helped the team save his arm on the front part of the season so they can use him a little bit more heavily on the second part of the season.

When McCullers does come up, expect the Astros to work him back slowly. It might take a turn or two through the rotation till you see him get to a 100 pitches a game.

What's eating Dallas Keuchel?

It's the offseason right after Astros fell six outs of the American league championship series. You are walking around downtown, a Delorean appears out of nowhere Marty McFly hops and yells "In early May of next year the Astros will be healthy and be the worst team in baseball and Dallas Keuchel will have an ERA above 5." We'd all laugh and say sure McFly...

But oh my god he was right!

This season something is wrong with Astros, and something just might be wrong with their Cy Young pitcher Dallas Keuchel.

In 2015, he won 20 games with a 2.48 ERA. This season 2 wins with a 5.11 ERA.

Is it the Astros as a whole struggling and it's affecting everyone? Is it Keuchel declining slightly? Or after two seasons of dominating baseball, have batters started figuring him out?

Yes, maybe and per Keuchel yes.

"I guess the book on me is 40 something percent weren't strikes last year and I got a lot of chases out of the zone," Keuchel said "lot of that entails me filling up the zone early and then expanding on my own, instead of expanding early and then having to come to the plate late."

2014, it was all about the groundouts as batters would do everything they could do to lift the ball but ultimately it resulted in a groundball out. 2015 was the year of the strikeout for Keuchel. He still commanded plenty of respect with the groundball but now his movement went from good to great with batters hopeless flailing as a pitch dipped out of the strike zone and resulted in a punchout. The lefty finished ninth in baseball in strikeouts with 216 during his Cy Young season (70 strikeout improvement from 2014 to 2015).

This season Keuchel looks pretty much the same pitcher that he has been in years past but his speed across the board has slipped just a tiny bit.

Is it enough to be that big of a difference? Probably not. If you combine the loss in speed, with some sloppy play, trying to be a little bit to fine and batters being a little more patient with Keuchel, you now begin to understand why he has not looked the same as in years past.

"I got to rely on attacking the zone early and establishing the strike zone and making sure guys know I'm on the plate and they can't rely on the umpire to call balls," Keuchel said.

After two years of domination, you believe in Keuchel, you understand this is just a rough stretch. The game of baseball is all about adjustments the first few starts have left a lot to be desired, but he understands what he needs to do and how he needs to get there.

A fresh new start for the Stros!

The end of April was pretty awful for the Astros with tough back to back losses. But on Sunday, they started a new month and so far one game into May it's treated them quite well with a 2-1 win over the Athletics.

The pitching during the series has looked pretty good, but the bats and offense has continued to plague them. They were able to stave off a sweep thanks to a really great performance by Dough Fister.

Below are three takeaways from the Athletics series.


Carlos Gomez

Carlos Gomez absence from today's lineup not related to base running gaffe. Left rib cage soreness. Expected out a couple days.

— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) April 30, 2016

Regardless the case, it was clear Carlos Gomez needed a little time off. If anything just to clear his mind and maybe reset his brain. He's trying no doubt, but it also looked like he was trying to do way to much. Taking bad hacks at pitches, trying to snag extra bases, etc.

Because the Astros sent Jake Marisnick down about a week ago, he hasn't been allowed to be recalled. If Gomez ends up needing more time Marisnick might be recalled in a few days after the 10-day waiting period is over.

Starting pitching

Mike Fiers, Chris Devenski, and Doug Fister managed to pitch 18.2 innings only allowing 5 earned runs. You'll take that production every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Game one the Astros lost because the bullpen could not keep the lead Fiers gave them. Game two Devenski did a hell of a job and so did Scott Feldman they just got zero offense. Game three Fister pitched a great game and the bullpen was able to maintain the one-run lead as he handed it over to them.

"This is a tough ballpark for us to end games in recent history," A.J. Hinch said, "to be able to have the guys come in and do their job, Sipp comes in and gets two big outs over the course of two innings, and then Will Harris and then Luke Gregerson has a calm ninth, it was a well-pitched game all the way through."

A fresh start?

As you saw in the series the pitching is doing alright, the Astros should win every game where they only allow three runs. Ken Giles no longer pitching in the eighth inning might help the Astros bridge a lead into a win.

Expect to see Will Harris handle the bulk of the 8th-inning work for the Astros while Ken Giles works through his struggles.

— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) May 1, 2016

The offense does need to start kicking into gear and Sunday it was not a masterful showing but they got enough. The team does seem to be a little more patient of late but they need to start cashing in baserunners.

It's a brand new month, hopefully, the Astros can put the awful April behind them. May is the time they need to start to kick it into gear, a couple more bad weeks and they can kiss playoffs goodbye.

In April, the Astros went 7-17 and never won back to back games, so far in May, 1-0 baby! The Twins face the Astros at home and it could be a nice "get right" series.