THE PALLILOG
Let's discuss 6 Astros that could be headed to All-Star Game
Jun 11, 2021, 11:21 am
The Astros' lineup is stacked. Photo by Getty Images.
Altuve's late homer helps lift Astros over Yankees in finale
Good news: for the second time in just over a week the Astros had a chance to complete a series sweep of the Boston Red Sox. Bad news: for the second time in just over a week the Astros failed to sweep. Earlier this season they had chances in three consecutive series to polish off sweeps only to lose the finale. The good news outpaces the bad on this, meaning the Astros won all those series. The A's lost Thursday as well so the Astros enter the weekend one game behind Oakland in the American League West, two and a half back of Boston for the top wild card spot.
The Astros spend the weekend in Minneapolis for a three game set with the Twin, who have been the biggest flop in Major League Baseball to this point in the season. After an off Monday the Astros are scheduled to play 20 consecutive days. That would be four full turns through a five man starting rotation. With Lance McCullers expected to rejoin the big club after a successful four inning recovery start for the Sugar Land Skeeters Thursday, how will the Astros play it? Zack Greinke lacks the consistent excellence of an ace but obviously has a secure spot in the rotation. Framber Valdez has been tremendous in his first three starts. Luis Garcia has won his last five starts, demoting him to the pen now would be stupid. Jose Urquidy seems on safe ground. That leaves Jake Odorizzi.
The MLB All Star Game is a month from Sunday. Fortunately the outcome no longer dictates homefield advantage for the World Series, so who makes it and how it goes really aren't a big deal other than the fun of debate and for players with All Star bonus clauses in their contracts. It will be interesting to see how Astros fare in the balloting, both among fans and by their peers in the player vote. More than half the Astros' lineup has good All Star cases, but no one who clearly deserves to start. At first base Yuli Gurriel is having a sensational bounce back season, but right now Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is clearly the guy who should start. At second Jose Altuve isn't the player he was in 2016 and 2017 but has been plenty good, but Marcus Semien has been as good if not a little better and played in 10 more games. At shortstop Carlos Correa has come on very strong the last month to make it a good battle with Xander Bogaerts. At third Alex Bregman has been very good though not up to his 2018 or 2019 standard, with Rafael Devers, Jose Ramirez, Yoan Moncada, and Joey Wendle all ahead of him in Wins Above Replacement. At designated hitter while not matching his extraordinary Rookie of the Year level Yordan Alvarez is still a force, but J.D. Martinez has been better. Among pitchers Ryan Pressly has a shot pending how many relievers get taken.
So the Texans canceled their minicamp scheduled for this coming week. They must have looked awesome at OTAs! Um, yeah. If the Texans cling to any hope of mending fences with Deshaun Watson, no minicamp means Watson can't be a no-show, which means the Texans can't fine him 95-thousand dollars and hence more gasoline on the fire. Of course, the relationship already seems burnt to a crisp, irrespective of whether Watson will be eligible to play come September 12 and the season opener vs. the Jaguars.
The more the merrier?
There was never any chance that the College Football Playoff would remain at four teams. Just follow the money trail. The proposed jump to 12 teams is too much for my taste. I'd go eight with no byes. If the 12 plan with the top four seeds getting byes to the quarterfinals is going through, I do like that the first round games matching 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs 9 would be home games for the higher seed. The idea that in December Florida could play at Penn State, Texas at Wisconsin, USC at Ohio St., among others, has appeal.
NBA playoffs
The NBA playoffs have been by and large lousy thus far, certainly relative to the NHL playoffs. Maybe Thursday night was a turning point, with Milwaukee rallying to get within two games to one of Brooklyn. Utah and Phoenix are on course for what would be an excellent Western Conference Finals matchup. The Suns have looked great, but Suns should be graded on a curve having dispatched the diminished Lakers and being up two-zip on the Jamal Murray-less Nuggets.
Buzzer Beaters:
1. If Hell is a thing, sounds like Bo Schembechler should be roommates with Joe Paterno.
2. Softball's Women's College World Series is a lot of fun to watch.
3. Desert island Mexican food items: Bronze-Tamales Silver-Fideo Gold-Fajitas
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Late fireworks flip the script in thrilling All-Star showdown
Jul 16, 2025, 10:57 am
The Houston Astros entered the 2025 MLB Draft with limited capital but a clear objective: find talent that can help sustain their winning ways without needing a full organizational reboot. With just under $7.2 million in bonus pool money and two forfeited picks, lost when they signed slugger Christian Walker, the Astros needed to be smart, aggressive, and a little bold. They were all three.
A swing on star power
With the 21st overall pick, Houston selected Xavier Neyens, a powerful left-handed high school bat from Mt. Vernon, Washington. At 6-foot-4, Neyens is raw but loaded with tools, a slugger with plus power and the kind of bat speed that turns heads.
He’s the Astros’ first high school position player taken in the first round in a decade.
If Neyens develops as expected, he could be the next cornerstone in the post-Altuve/Bregman era. Via: MLB.com:
It’s possible we’ll look back at this first round and realize that the Astros got the best power hitter in the class. At times, Neyens has looked like an elite hitter who’d easily get to that pop, and at times the swing-and-miss tendencies concerned scouts, which is why he didn’t end up closer to the top of the first round. He was announced as a shortstop, but his size (6-foot-4) and his arm will profile best at third base.
Their next big swing came in the third round with Ethan Frey, an outfielder/DH from LSU who was one of the most imposing college hitters in the country.
He blasted 13 home runs in the SEC and helped lead the Tigers to a championship.
Filling the middle
In the fourth round, the Astros grabbed Nick Monistere, an infielder/outfielder out of Southern Miss who won Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.
If Kendall likes the pick, I like the pick. https://t.co/NQKqEHFxtV
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) July 14, 2025
He doesn’t jump off the page with tools, but he rakes, hitting .323 with 21 home runs this past season, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
They followed that up with Nick Potter, a right-handed reliever from Wichita State. He projects as a fast-moving bullpen piece, already showing a mature approach and a “fastball that was regularly clocked in the upper-90s and touched 100 miles per hour.”
From there, Houston doubled down on pitching depth and versatility. They took Gabel Pentecost, a Division II flamethrower, Jase Mitchell, a high school catcher with upside, and a host of college arms, all in hopes of finding the next Spencer Arrighetti or Hunter Brown.
Strategy in motion
Missing multiple picks, Houston leaned into two things: ceiling and speed to the majors. Neyens brings the first, Frey and Monistere the second. And as they’ve shown in recent years, the Astros can develop arms with late-round pedigree into major league contributors.
The Astros didn’t walk away with flashy headlines, they weren’t drafting in the top 10. But they leave the 2025 draft with a clear direction: keep the farm alive with bats that can produce and arms that can fill in the gaps, especially with the club managing injuries and an aging core.
If Neyens becomes the slugger they hope, and if Frey or Monistere climbs fast, this draft could be another example of Houston turning limited resources into lasting impact.
You can see the full draft tracker here.
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