Astros Hit Bottom in July

The Astros picked up their first July win on July 3 and closed out the month with an 11-0 win over Baltimore on July 31.  However, they only won four games in between resulting in a 6-18 record for the month, the worst in the major leagues. The Astro finished the month with a record of 36-70, five games behind the Miami Marlins in the “race” for the worst record in baseball and the first pick in the 2014 draft.

Despite the overall poor performance, there were some bright spots.  Three of the prospects obtained in earlier trades achieved some success in the majors.  Pitcher, Jarred Cosart, one of the prospects in the Hunter Pence trade, was promoted in July and made 3 strong starts. (1-0, 0.86 ERA).  Pitcher, Brett Oberholtzer, obtained in the Michael Bourn trade, made his first start on July 31 in the 11-0 win over Baltimore.  Jonathan Villar, obtained in the Roy Oswalt trade, has become the regular shortstop since his promotion after the All-Star game, and has added some excitement with his defense and speed (5 stolen bases including a steal of home).

The Astros rank near the bottom in most offensive and defensive categories as shown below:

Offense	Astros	MLB Rank
Runs per game	3.82	26th
Batting Average	.236	29th
Slugging Pct.	.377	29th
Strikeouts	995	30th
Pitching
Runs per game	5.28	30th
ERA	4.89	30th
Defense
Fielding Pct.	.961	26th
Double Plays	122	1st

The numbers above suggest that the pitching has been worse than the hitting but not by much.  The Astros are not considered to be a strong defensive team but they rank first in turning double plays.  This is at least partially due to having so many runners on base.

The Astros picked up several more prospects by trading Bud Norris, Jose Veras and Justin Maxwell prior to the July 31 deadline.  While this trade could be helpful in the future, it will likely further weaken the team for this year with the loss of their best starting pitcher, their closer and a productive outfielder.

The Astros’ minor League teams continue to do well.  All four full-season teams are at least 13 games over .500 and the three short-season teams are also over .500.