Over at The Launch Angle, we've got a new Batting Around article up, where everyone takes a swing at the big questions facing the Astros now that we're a quarter of the way into the season. I was of course one of the participants; you should head over there to check out where everyone stands, but I'll be posting my answers here for posterity as well:
1. Is this season salvageable.
Yes, of course it is. It’s by no means guaranteed, but I don’t see any reason to be writing things off completely in the middle of May. Especially when there are only two teams in the AL more than 2 games above .500, neither of whom play in the same division as the Astros. I’ve suspected that the further expansion of Wild Cards has introduced even more uncertainty than we realize into the playoff race process, as evidenced by the number of unusual occurrences we’ve seen in the short time since it happened (like the 84-win Diamondbacks winning the pennant in 2023, or the Mets and Astros’ both missing last year after strong starts). But even leaving that aside, this is a team that’s only 3.0 games out of a playoff spot and 5.5 games out of the division lead with 120+ games to go, including plenty of head-to-head match-ups remaining against the teams ahead of them, all of whom are just as flawed in their own ways.
2. Would you fire Espada and/or Brown? Is there any way either are retained after this season.
I actually think Joe Espada has done a decent job holding things together the last two years in the face of injuries. Taking last year’s decimated roster to one game shy of the postseason feels almost miraculous in retrospect, and I think the team’s strong offense this year is also impressive. Juggling all the moving parts and working around the injury gaps is no small feat. The pitching side looks does look rougher in comparison, but second-guessing there feels less useful because of how often the alternatives to Espada’s choices have also struggled. Everyone on the pitching staff looks rough right now, and I’m not sure there are obvious good options there that he hasn’t been taking.
Which does bring us to the roster construction. I do feel bad for Dana Brown, because he’s clearly had to do a lot to work around Jim Crane and his advisors’ decisions. We also haven’t really had time to see his prospect evaluation pay off, which was supposed to be his strength. The roster does feel rather snakebitten by injuries the last two years, and he’s done a decent job patching holes as they arise on basically no notice and with few options.
That said, coming off a season as injury-filled as 2025 and running into the same issue in 2026 does make it feel like there might be underlying process issues here. There probably should have been a little more depth there given what we saw last year, especially on the pitching side. I don’t think I’d axe either of them yet, but if someone is on the hot seat, it feels silly to blame Espada for cycling through a myriad of suboptimal bullpen and rotation options rather than the guy who handed him all of those suboptimal options.
3. What should the Astros path be going forward for the rest of the 2026 season?.
“The season is salvageable” is obviously not a guarantee of anything. If things don’t improve by the midway point, the most immediate plan is still to start listening on guys like Christian Walker, Isaac Paredes, and Christian Vázquez. But until that point, keep running with your best roster and hope it gels. Hopefully the pitching staff firms up as Mike Burrows and Spencer Arrighetti find their footing and the injuries start to return; there are enough names and talent there that some of them should stick. And I think that a more stable rotation will also help the bullpen substantially, since I think a big part of their struggles was being overtaxed at the start of the year thanks to an abundance of short starts.
4. What are you watching for in the Astros in the rest of the 2026 season?
Obviously Yordan Alvarez, since he looks like a serious MVP contender regardless of how the rest of the team does. But it’s been exciting to watch the young outfielders during their flashes of brilliance, and I hope at least a few of them get more consistent, it could turn things into a great year; Cam Smith primarily, but also Brice Matthews, Zach Cole, and Zach Dezenzo. And I hope Tatsuya Imai can put it together and come back strong, that start against the A’s was fun and the team could desperately use more of that. I’m rooting for him.
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