Happier times on this date in Astros history

07/17 2018: Tenth-inning solo homers by Alex Bregman and George Springer carry the American League All-Stars to an 8-6 win over the National League. A record ten bombs were hit. Only two Astros had homered in All-Star competition up to this time. Jose Altuve singles for his first All-Star hit. Bregman is awarded the game's M.V.P. award afterwards.

Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

MaxPower said:

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Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

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I think the line is 5.5, so I pretty much agree.

texasaggie2015 said:

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The org is actually higher on Alvarez than Neyens.

Alvarez is 18 and playing his first full year of pro baseball. It's okay if he doesn't light the world on fire. Very few kids do.

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I feel like Neyens is going to end up the stereotypical corner INF with lots of pop, a big arm, average speed, and some swing and miss in the bat. While Alvarez has true 5 tool potential in CF. Not overwhelming power, but decent enough, good contact, good speed, good arm, everything plus.

MaxPower said:

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Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

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I doubt Crane would allow for a hard sell at this point, no matter the deficit. I think we'd be talking about Abreu, maybe Walker. No return that would substantially add to the farm system.

He might green-light something between the end of the season and the CBA deadline, though. That may be an interesting time.

Marvin said:

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MaxPower said:

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Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

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I doubt Crane would allow for a hard sell at this point, no matter the deficit. I think we'd be talking about Abreu, maybe Walker. No return that would substantially add to the farm system.

He might green-light something between the end of the season and the CBA deadline, though. That may be an interesting time.

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This unfortunately. I think we add a couple of meaningless pieces at the deadline and hope to "catch fire" and somehow make the playoffs. Big trades over offseason maybe.

Damn, Philly's RHH looking worse than Schwarber's bunt attempt against Bryan Abreu!

I don't think they'll do it, because I think they have made it clear they're buyers, but there's a great case for Houston to jumpstart the next wave by making Christian Walker, Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Peña available here.

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 17, 2026

Keep in mind Walker has a limited no trade clause

Wabs said:

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Marvin said:

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MaxPower said:

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Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

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I doubt Crane would allow for a hard sell at this point, no matter the deficit. I think we'd be talking about Abreu, maybe Walker. No return that would substantially add to the farm system.

He might green-light something between the end of the season and the CBA deadline, though. That may be an interesting time.

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This unfortunately. I think we add a couple of meaningless pieces at the deadline and hope to "catch fire" and somehow make the playoffs. Big trades over offseason maybe.

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Nobody is going to be doing big trades this offseason until they know what the new CBA is going to look like.

txags92 said:

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Wabs said:

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Marvin said:

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MaxPower said:

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Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

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I doubt Crane would allow for a hard sell at this point, no matter the deficit. I think we'd be talking about Abreu, maybe Walker. No return that would substantially add to the farm system.

He might green-light something between the end of the season and the CBA deadline, though. That may be an interesting time.

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This unfortunately. I think we add a couple of meaningless pieces at the deadline and hope to "catch fire" and somehow make the playoffs. Big trades over offseason maybe.

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Nobody is going to be doing big trades this offseason until they know what the new CBA is going to look like.

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Exactly…which is why Pena needs to be traded at the deadline. If not, Crane needs to bite the bullet and pay whatever Boras and Pena are demanding after the new CBA is finalized. You can't have Pena walk for nothing…we got lucky when Correa walked for nothing and we had Pena to backfill. We won't get that a 2nd time.

txags92 said:

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Wabs said:

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Marvin said:

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MaxPower said:

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Question of the day. How many games back of the last playoff spot do you think the Astros have to be in 2 weeks to flip from buyers to sellers? I'm going with 6, which is feasible but unlikely

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I doubt Crane would allow for a hard sell at this point, no matter the deficit. I think we'd be talking about Abreu, maybe Walker. No return that would substantially add to the farm system.

He might green-light something between the end of the season and the CBA deadline, though. That may be an interesting time.

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This unfortunately. I think we add a couple of meaningless pieces at the deadline and hope to "catch fire" and somehow make the playoffs. Big trades over offseason maybe.

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Nobody is going to be doing big trades this offseason until they know what the new CBA is going to look like.

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If teams aren't going to be doing big trades this offseason, why would they value Pena for his 1.5 years remaining at the deadline? It sounds like we'd be selling off a huge asset for pennies on the dollar.

I think it depends on how badly they want him this year and how much they feel like gambling on next year's outcome. If we tell them up front we will not listen to offers for him, we will never know what we could get for him.

texasaggie2015 said:

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The org is actually higher on Alvarez than Neyens.

Alvarez is 18 and playing his first full year of pro baseball. It's okay if he doesn't light the world on fire. Very few kids do.

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Interesting. Thanks for letting me know. It's good to have legit prospects to talk about at any rate.

tjack16 said:

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W said:

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the Astros need to celebrate Altuve's 2,500th in a big way

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I was at 2,000 and it was a pretty fun celebration. Of course he got thrown out going to 2nd so it was more of a curtain call

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An Astros tradition…exact same thing happened on Biggio's 3000th. Bagwell came out to give him a big bear hug.

I had the good fortune to see that one in person. It was the first game of a 4-game weekend series against the Rockies and the only one that had any tickets available. He needed 3 hits that night to get there and ended up with 5. That game was probably the peak of an otherwise forgettable 2007 season…Carlos Lee hit a walk-off grand slam to win it.

Hard to believe that'll be 20 years ago next year.

ETA: There's no way in hell I'd have believed it if someone had said that night that the Rockies would go on to play in the World Series that October.

Carlos Lee - 04/22/2012 pic.twitter.com/5xuK44oHrE

— Random Homers (@DailyRandomHR) July 17, 2026

Look at how beautiful it is open roof during the day. Almost didn't recognize it was a home game for a few seconds

Deadline OF Scouting

JJ Bleday
Pros:

• .365 wOBA vs. 368 xwOBA (no luck either day)
• Low K%, High BB%
• High Air Pull Rate (plays at the icebox even without Crawford in RF)
• Can play CF
• Bat Speed is up
• 2.5 Years of control
• Cheap payroll (1.400 M)

Cons

• No track record to support this moving forward
• Mediocre Fielder

Mickey Moniak
Pros

• Dominates RHP (.973 OPS)
• 1.5 Years of control
• Should be very cheap to acquire
• Cheap payroll (4.000 M)

Cons

• .380 wOBA vs .312 xwOBA (regression incoming)
• Can only play vs RHP (.558 LHP vs .973 RHP)
• The Coors effect scares me (1.079 OPS at home)
• Has a chase / K problem
• Mediocre Fielder

Jake McCarthy
Pros

• Elite Speed
• More of a true CFer
• Doesn't strike out
• Doesn't have extreme splits (could play vs LHP on occasion)
• 2.5 Years of control
• Cheap payroll (1.525 M)

Cons

• .369 wOBA vs xwOBA .314 (regression incoming)
• Mediocre Fielder
• Doesn't draw walks
• The Coors effect scares me (.943 OPS at home)

Taylor Ward
Pros

• .341 wOBA vs xwOBA.348 (no luck either day)
• Became elite at drawing walks this year (17.1%)
• Should be very cheap to acquire (higher salary, poor defense)

Cons

• Not sure if Pro or Con - changed approach at the plate where he doesn't swing as hard or swing hard as often. The new approach led to awesome walking ability.
• Slow - below average baserunner
• Below average Fielder - LF only.
• Expensive payroll (12.175 M)

Jo Adell
Pros

• .301 wOBA vs. 324 xwOBA (could see favorable regression)
• Breakout 2025 Season - can it be found again?
• Elite Batspeed
• Career low K% (21.8%)
• 1.5 Years of control
• Middle of the Pack payroll (5.200 M)

Cons

• Only a .324 xwOBA - 2nd worst of the guys I looked at.
• Poor defense, even with cool robberies.
• Does not draw walks (Yainer level)
• Not left-handed

Daulton Varsho
Pros

• .305 wOBA vs .294 xwOBA (no luck either day)
• True CF, plus defense
• Career low K% (19.8%)
• Breakout 2025 Season - can it be found again?
• Good Air Pull Rate was even better in '25 and '24.
• Should be cheap to acquire.

Cons

• Only a .294 xwOBA - THE worst of the guys I looked at.
• Noodle arm
• Expensive payroll (10.750 M)
• Only a rental

It surprises me that JJ seems like the best option. If not him, Ward seems like the safest pick. The rest all seem more risky.

i wonder if taylor ward would be antsy about playing left field at daikin full time

texasaggie2015 said:

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B-Rabbit said:

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Here's what known insider Bonda has to say.

Astros top priority is a left handed OF bat.

Players being targeted: Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy & Luis Arraez.
(Give me Arraez hitting AFTER Yordan, PLEASE.) ((He can also play OF))

Astros CURRENTLY have the best offer for Skubal (that WILL change)

— Bonda (@BenOndaTop) July 16, 2026

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It's been 5 years since Arraez played a single inning in the outfield.

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To be fair, Altuve had never played in the outfield before last season (at least, that I know of). At least Arraez has some experience.

texasaggie2015 said:

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The org is actually higher on Alvarez than Neyens.

Alvarez is 18 and playing his first full year of pro baseball. It's okay if he doesn't light the world on fire. Very few kids do.

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Love this intel, 2015. Can't say I agree with the Alvarez>Neyens sentiment, but it's a very interesting nugget. Are either viewed as expendable for trades? Neyens is the first player in a long time for this org that it would be painful to see traded. I felt slightly bad about including Clifford in the Verlander trade in 2023 but his OBP wasn't nearly as juicy as Neyens is so far.

I also forget how much I hate the All-Star break. Sure, we'll probably lose 9-0 tonight but I really miss baseball when it's not around.

Let's get some hits and get some HOFA going tonight!

It's telling we aren't really even mentioned, which basically translates to this team should sell but won't sell and doesn't have the ammo to do anything meaningful so they'll probably do close to nothing

Twelve pressing questions that will define the trade deadline. Unlocked and free to read: https://t.co/z7HlehG93P

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 17, 2026

MaxPower said:

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It's telling we aren't really even mentioned, which basically translates to this team should sell but won't sell and doesn't have the ammo to do anything meaningful so they'll probably do close to nothing

Twelve pressing questions that will define the trade deadline. Unlocked and free to read: https://t.co/z7HlehG93P

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 17, 2026

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I had the same thought when I read this article. Sucks being basically irrelevant by mid-season.

Good luck Lucas, hope you have a better start than Zach Dezenzo.

The Astros called up Lucas Spence and placed Brice Matthews on the IL with a left knee sprain

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 17, 2026

And he's starting in CF! Didn't see that coming

The Astros against Dean Kremer: Peña 6, Alvarez DH, Paredes 5, Walker 3, Altuve 4, Wade 7, Smith 9, Spence 8, Vázquez 2

Lambert RHP

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 17, 2026

linkdude said:

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Good luck Lucas, hope you have a better start than Zach Dezenzo.

The Astros called up Lucas Spence and placed Brice Matthews on the IL with a left knee sprain

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 17, 2026

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Is he the new Kennedy Corona?

Wait, what happened to Kennedy Corona? I was at his MLB debut last year.

I think he was DFA'd last year before they added Brice/Zach Cole. He played in three games in July, two during the Cleveland sweep at home that served as the cliff for the franchise, and then finished a game vs the Rangers that we won in a walkoff in the 11th inning. He only had four PA, walked twice and struck out once.

Kenedy is in the Yankees farm system this year.

linkdude said:

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I think he was DFA'd last year before they added Brice/Zach Cole. He played in three games in July, two during the Cleveland sweep at home that served as the cliff for the franchise, and then finished a game vs the Rangers that we won in a walkoff in the 11th inning. He only had four PA, walked twice and struck out once.

Kenedy is in the Yankees farm system this year.

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So you could say that I was there for all of his career highlights.

Called up Lucas Spence instead of Zach Cole. Man, Cole was at one time considered a decent prospect

I think they want to see who's overmatched at the big league level. I think this second half is going to be an organizational evaluation period. Not a bad idea, actually. Cole has already had his shot, Meyers has buried himself, and we'll see who else separates themselves ( in either direction ).

If they are going to be buyers at the deadline it would be odd for them to go through an organizational evaluation with only 65 games left. Have to win as many games as possible to get in the playoffs.

BCEDAg said:

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If they are going to be buyers at the deadline it would be odd for them to go through an organizational evaluation with only 65 games left. Have to win as many games as possible to get in the playoffs.

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Have you seen our front office under Dana Brown? Odd choices seem to be their specialty.

BCEDAg said:

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Called up Lucas Spence instead of Zach Cole. Man, Cole was at one time considered a decent prospect

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What you see with guys like Cole (and many others over the years that I've been watching the Astros) is they have massive holes in their games, which is why they aren't drafted high (or at all) but they get hot in the minors for a half or season or so and warrant a call up or a look at the major league level due to holes in the roster. They may even have a hot streak in the majors, but ultimately it turns out their peripherals and/or swing and miss issues were always going to be an issue, and they turn back into a pumpkin.

Baseball is hard.

ruxin98 said:

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BCEDAg said:

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Called up Lucas Spence instead of Zach Cole. Man, Cole was at one time considered a decent prospect

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What you see with guys like Cole (and many others over the years that I've been watching the Astros) is they have massive holes in their games, which is why they aren't drafted high (or at all) but they get hot in the minors for a half or season or so and warrant a call up or a look at the major league level due to holes in the roster. They may even have a hot streak in the majors, but ultimately it turns out their peripherals and/or swing and miss issues were always going to be an issue, and they turn back into a pumpkin.

Baseball is hard.

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Modern analytics also does a great job of telling opposing pitchers how to exploit those holes in their game. They may come up and have some initial success, but when the analytics machine figures out the way to get them out, they either adapt or fall back into mediocrity.

I believe Cole is hurt according to a recent Chandler Rome Q&A

EABC_AG said:

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I believe Cole is hurt according to a recent Chandler Rome Q&A

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That .158 batting average after 120 AB's is certainly hurting
While your #1 pick a couple of years ago is hitting .214 in AA. Brutal