***** Official Houston Astros 2026 Season Thread *****

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Marvin
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In reply to Beat40 • 2:05p, 8/13/26
AG
Beat40 said:
I'm glad you brought this up - how are you feeling about the hitting coaches this year?


Have you heard me piss and moan about the overall strategy? Haha, seriously, runs per game are up despite batting average being down. The latter might coincide with a league-wide trend (how many .300 hitters in baseball this year?), but the Astros are on pace to walk more with the Ks remaining about the same. OPS, and maybe all stats across the board, is up thanks to a healthy Yordan. But, it's difficult to isolate the impact of having the best hitter on the planet.

And for my favorite hand-picked metric to prove my unassailable opinion, the Astros are actually LEAGUE AVERAGE in pitches seen per plate appearance this year- a stat they have finished dead ass last in recent years.

So, all in all and comparatively speaking, I think they are improved. I certainly don't miss Alex Cintron. Do you?
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EastCoastAgNc
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2:35p, 8/13/26
AG
Giants claimed Whitcomb
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Chef Elko
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In reply to EastCoastAgNc • 2:41p, 8/13/26
AG
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Mathguy64
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2:53p, 8/13/26
AG
One AAA wasted player down, 5 to go.

I still can't wait for Loperfido to get DFAed. That would be the ultimate Dana WTF move.
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CharleyKerfeld
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 2:56p, 8/13/26
Mathguy64 said:
One AAA wasted player down, 5 to go.

I still can't wait for Loperfido to get DFAed. That would be the ultimate Dana WTF move.

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linkdude
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2:59p, 8/13/26
AG
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tjack16
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3:14p, 8/13/26
AG
Remember how we couldn't call up Biggio and his .900 OPS because it would mean DFAing somebody like Whitcomb?
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Mathguy64
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In reply to linkdude • 3:21p, 8/13/26
AG
linkdude said:


And yet no one in the media wants to actually say what they think. They leave stats like this hanging but just don't want to finish the job.

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Dr. Doctor
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 3:25p, 8/13/26
AG
Mathguy64 said:
linkdude said:


And yet no one in the media wants to actually say what they think. They leave stats like this hanging but just don't want to finish the job.





~egon
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AustinCountyAg
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 3:30p, 8/13/26
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.
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ruxin98
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In reply to AustinCountyAg • 3:37p, 8/13/26
AustinCountyAg said:
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.

Yeah but that big HR number sure feels like some kind of anomaly, no? Something had to be going on there.

My guess is (without watching a lot of his games) is he's hitting a lot of "loud" fly balls that don't quite have the distance.
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3B Paul 97
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3:39p, 8/13/26
AG
Pale hose lose. Stros a game back of the AL 2 seed.
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AustinCountyAg
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In reply to ruxin98 • 3:49p, 8/13/26
ruxin98 said:
AustinCountyAg said:
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.

Yeah but that big HR number sure feels like some kind of anomaly, no? Something had to be going on there.

My guess is (without watching a lot of his games) is he's hitting a lot of "loud" fly balls that don't quite have the distance.
meh, sorta not really judging from this.
My best guess from looking at this and previous years stats is when he does hit, which isn't consistent, he normally squares it up. This year he just can't hit it at all.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/cal-raleigh-663728?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb
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Mathguy64
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In reply to AustinCountyAg • 3:50p, 8/13/26
AG
AustinCountyAg said:
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.


I'll wager decent $$ that he was taking something. Including but not limited to HGH.
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AustinCountyAg
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 4:01p, 8/13/26
I'm not disagreeing with you or saying he didn't. I'm just saying not counting this year but the previous 3 when he did hit he hit it hard. This year he can't hit it at all.
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AustinCountyAg
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4:03p, 8/13/26
Cal reminds me of what yanier could be and showed he possibly could be in his first year. Had some pop and made people think he could be a consistent home run threat. But we've also see/seen in yanier, like cal the ability to not hit himself out of a wet paper bag.
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CharleyKerfeld
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4:05p, 8/13/26
Off-days ...

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Mas89
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4:31p, 8/13/26
AG
Shewmake? I heard he's at Sugar Land now but I can't find any stats.
Hoping he gets another shot.
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linkdude
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In reply to Mas89 • 4:53p, 8/13/26
AG
Maybe if Tuve needs an IL break, but we'd still need to clear a 40 man spot for Shewmake. Not likely.
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Buck Compton
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In reply to 3B Paul 97 • 4:54p, 8/13/26
AG
3B Paul 97 said:
Pale hose lose. Stros a game back of the AL 2 seed.
This is an absolutely bizarre sentence if you think about our lineup, where we were in the first 1.5 months of the season, and our current record.
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Mas89
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In reply to linkdude • 5:15p, 8/13/26
AG
Ok. Bye to Nick Allen. Problem solved.
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linkdude
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In reply to Buck Compton • 5:23p, 8/13/26
AG
Buck Compton said:
3B Paul 97 said:
Pale hose lose. Stros a game back of the AL 2 seed.
This is an absolutely bizarre sentence if you think about our lineup, where we were in the first 1.5 months of the season, and our current record.
try a few days ago even
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RED AG 98
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6:02p, 8/13/26
AG
Every different version of 25 to 26 comparison is absolutely mind blowing.
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BTKAG97
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In reply to Mas89 • 6:13p, 8/13/26
AG
Mas89 said:
Ok. Bye to Nick Allen. Problem solved.
So people can say the Dubon trade was a complete failure even though it was nothing more than a salary dump. Don't think so.
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Heineken-Ashi
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 6:48p, 8/13/26
Mathguy64 said:
AustinCountyAg said:
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.


I'll wager decent $$ that he was taking something. Including but not limited to HGH.


My guess is he knew what pitch was coming.
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W
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7:12p, 8/13/26
AG
Tigers (60-61) move into 2nd place in the AL Central

charging hard for the last wildcard

Detroit owns the tiebreaker over the Rangers
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BCEDAg
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10:01p, 8/13/26
AG
Rangerettes losing to Angels 2-0. It's possible that we'll be 2 games ahead of those bums when we open the homestand Friday night.
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linkdude
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In reply to BCEDAg • 10:04p, 8/13/26
AG
deGrom left after 53 pitches in 2 innings, not sure if it was fatigue or injury...that might be a bigger issue than the game itself
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BCEDAg
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10:09p, 8/13/26
AG
I think that DeGrom has a lingering hip issue. Probably should be on the IL.
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Harry Dunne
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In reply to Mathguy64 • 10:19p, 8/13/26
Mathguy64 said:
AustinCountyAg said:
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.


I'll wager decent $$ that he was taking something. Including but not limited to HGH.

No doubt about it.

The "steroids don't help you hitting in general" argument doesn't hold water. Sure, they don't help you have the skills to put a major league pitch into play, but if you already have those, they make every ball you hit harder. A ground ball that might have been a routine out gets hit hard enough to get through the infield. A single becomes a double. A double becomes a triple. A fly ball that dies at the warning track carries over the outfielder's head. And a ball that would have been a routine fly out becomes a home run.

I don't want to write a dissertation about it, but I can give you plenty of examples of guys who went from league average type contact hitters to .300 guys after juicing...yes they hit a lot more bombs, but they were hitting a lot more SINGLES too. If increased strength allows you to hit the ball harder on every type of contact, then the effect should show up throughout the offensive line: more balls through the infield, more extra-base hits, more hits reaching the outfield, more runs and RBI, and, ultimately, more home runs. The home runs are just the most obvious part of the effect.
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AggiEE
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In reply to Harry Dunne • 10:35p, 8/13/26
Harry Dunne said:
Mathguy64 said:
AustinCountyAg said:
I'm not sure steroids is the reason. Taking steroids helps hit the ball further and faster. Does not help with timing pitching and hitting in general. A drop off this much just shows he's sucking. Steroids ain't helping or hurting when your swing is dog **** in general like it is for him right now. I mean he's a career .218 hitter. Not exactly a stud at the plate besides a few years of hitting home runs.


I'll wager decent $$ that he was taking something. Including but not limited to HGH.

No doubt about it.

The "steroids don't help you hitting in general" argument doesn't hold water. Sure, they don't help you have the skills to put a major league pitch into play, but if you already have those, they make every ball you hit harder. A ground ball that might have been a routine out gets hit hard enough to get through the infield. A single becomes a double. A double becomes a triple. A fly ball that dies at the warning track carries over the outfielder's head. And a ball that would have been a routine fly out becomes a home run.

I don't want to write a dissertation about it, but I can give you plenty of examples of guys who went from league average type contact hitters to .300 guys after juicing...yes they hit a lot more bombs, but they were hitting a lot more SINGLES too. If increased strength allows you to hit the ball harder on every type of contact, then the effect should show up throughout the offensive line: more balls through the infield, more extra-base hits, more hits reaching the outfield, more runs and RBI, and, ultimately, more home runs. The home runs are just the most obvious part of the effect.






Reminder that Luis Gonzales went from around 10 home runs a season with the Astros to a 57 home run season with Arizon
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AggiEE
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10:41p, 8/13/26
As for Cal Raleigh?





He likely hides it with a lot of fat, but make no mistake about it; he has grown the biggest ass in baseball both literally and figuratively

His lower body in general has become enormous, and he would likely give Tom Platz a run for his money if he shredded down
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linkdude
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10:50p, 8/13/26
AG
6-0 Anaheim in the fifth.
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AggieJ2002
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11:24p, 8/13/26
AG
Astros owe the Angels big time. We will allow Cam Smith the ability to use ABS challenges during one at bat next time we play them as a thank you
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CharleyKerfeld
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In reply to BCEDAg • 11:48p, 8/13/26
BCEDAg said:
I think that DeGrom has a lingering hip issue. Probably should be on the IL.

Then straight to the HOF according to at least one baseball board drum beater
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