We are approaching the final month of regular-season baseball

Astros roundup: September callups, closing in on 100 wins, and more

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After stomping the Angels to complete the weekend sweep, Houston now sits with an 85-47 record, which has them tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League, and just one game behind the Dodgers for the best overall record in the league. They will wrap up the month of August with arguably their toughest remaining series in the regular season; a three-game series with the Rays here in Houston.

They should be favored to win that series considering they will have the top three of their shiny, new rotation in Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and newly acquired Zack Greinke, who is 4-0 with Houston since his July 31st trade. With their current record, the Astros would need to simply split the remaining thirty games 15-15 to finish with their third-straight 100-win season. Considering how dominant they've been against their division, it would seem they are more in line for a new franchise record.

Besting the 2018 regular season

In 2018, Houston finished the regular season with a franchise-best 103-59 record. They did so with one Cy Young candidate in Justin Verlander and one MVP candidate in Alex Bregman. In 2019, they've expanded on that, pitting teammates Verlander and Gerrit Cole against each other with what can be considered a two-man race towards the prestigious pitcher's award, along with adding another MVP-caliber player to their roster in Michael Brantley.

First, let's talk about Cole and Verlander. The teammates currently sit first and second in AL ERA with a 2.75 and 2.77 respectively. While four NL pitchers sit ahead of them for the overall league-best ERA, if you look at strikeouts, it's a different story. The strikeouts between these two aces have been quite the show to watch, with Verlander currently ahead of Cole by one at 239 vs. 238, which is good for first and second-best in the entire league. Add to that the seventh-best ERA (2.83) and thirtieth-best strikeout total (150) with Zack Greinke, and that top three of the rotation is going to be a force to reckon with in the playoffs. Then, if you get past them, you still have Wade Miley who currently sits with a 3.13 ERA, 129 strikeouts, and 1.20 WHIP.

So, no question the Astros have gotten better in terms of starting pitcher this season. But that's not all; they've also gotten better in the batting order. A little less than a month ago, I broke down the possible awards Houston could be in line for before it was all said and done in 2019. One of those awards was a batting title for Michael Brantley. My thought then, and I quote was:

He could easily heat up and outpace the two in front of him before the end of the regular season, or stay consistent, and wait for them to fall below him.

It turns out both have happened with a little more than a month left on the regular-season calendar. Brantley extended his current hitting streak to 18 games in the series finale against the Angels, which has him up to a league-best .338 average. That's right, not only is he ahead of the AL (D.J. LeMahieu sits third with a .330 average), he's leading the entire MLB in batting average. Again, considering the schedule that awaits the Astros to finish off the season, Brantley could easily stay consistent and win a batting title for his new team.

The roster only gets better in September, with perhaps a return of Tucker

When the rosters expand in September, another thing that the Astros have in their favor is some guys with major-league experience. When asked about who Houston may bring up to contribute down the stretch, A.J. Hinch stated that it would likely be guys that have seen major-league action before. While there are a few bullpen arms that fit that bill, another notable player currently on the 40-man roster that could be added to the Astros' big-league lineup to try and contribute in the final month: Kyle Tucker.

Tucker has had a phenomenal year in AAA this season, showing that he could be ready to return to the majors and prove that his lackluster debut last year was simply a fluke. In any case, since he's already on the 40-man roster and will require no penalty to be brought up, the Astros might as well throw him in the lineup to give guys like Michael Brantley and George Springer some rest days in the final month.

Beyond the expanded roster, we are once again awaiting a return of some key players from injury with Aledmys Diaz and Carlos Correa. Both are not expected to miss significant time from their recent injuries, with Diaz potentially returning on Tuesday of this week and Correa nearing a return sometime in September. That would mean, barring any truly unfortunate injuries in the coming weeks, that the Astros are basically at full strength heading into October.

If they can bring up some of the triple-A talents to fill a position in some of these easily-winnable remaining games, the Astros going into the playoffs healthy and firing on all cylinders could mean that everyone else is playing for second place, both in the ALCS and in the World Series.

Let's take a look at potential playoff matchups

Speaking of the ALCS, let's take a look at what the Astros have to gain by finishing the last 30-some days on top of the American League. As mentioned, as of Sunday night with the Yankees beating the Dodgers to win that entertaining series 2-1, that puts Houston and New York tied at 84-47 each.

Now, while there are still plenty of games to be played, I find it necessary to note that should the two teams finish tied, the Astros would get the advantage thanks to a 4-3 win in the series matchup between the two. So, let's assume that New York and Houston are locks for the playoffs as division winners. Considering that both are leading their respective divisions by 9-plus games, that seems likely. That leaves the Al-Central as the other division winner, which currently had a tight race between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians. If the loser of that division takes one of the wild-card spots along with either the Rays or the A's, then they are playing for a chance to play in New York or Houston, where they will be underdogs to continue their season.

That's where home-field advantage becomes paramount for the Astros. Should they finish with a worse record than the Yankees and have home-field advantage for an ALDS matchup with the Indians or Twins, I would give Houston the advantage. However, if they have to play four out of seven in New York, it gets much more tricky for the Astros.

If you remember back in 2017 in the ALCS against New York, the home team won every game in that series, which, thanks to Houston's home-field advantage, made them 4-3 winners. If you look at the seven-game regular-season matchup between the two teams this season, there was a similar trend. The Astros won all three games in Houston, then managed to salvage just one of four in New York. Those games took place in the first half of the season, but it doesn't make it any less daunting to try and face this season's Yankees team on the road.

With both the Yankees and Astros playing similar schedules to finish the year, it will be hard for Houston not to get pre-occupied with the standings. But, if they can stay on top of their game and take care of business against the team on the field with them through September 29th, they should come out ahead.

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Nick Caserio's history of drafting injury prone players has become a problem. Composite Getty Image.

Nick Caserio was hired to serve as the general manager (GM) of the Texans on January 7, 2021. Some saw it as another nod to the organization's obsession with the Patriots. Others saw it as the team finally getting their guy after pursuing him previously. They were even hit with a tampering charge while trying to talk to him about the job. Since he's been on the job, there have been highs and lows.

Recently, the news about Kenyon Green and Derek Stingley Jr put a stain on his tenure. Green was placed on season-ending injured reserve (IR) and Stingley Jr is expected to be placed on IR, likely missing six to eight weeks, per Aaron Wilson. Both guys were Caserio's 2022 first rounders. Both guys are starting to look like busts and have fans a little more than just upset.

Green's case was curious because he was said to have needed surgery before he tore his labrum during the Saints preseason game. He had knee surgery this past offseason. There were knee injury concerns when he was coming out of A&M. Adding to his injuries, Green has played poorly. To make matters worse, the Chargers drafted fellow guard Zion Johnson two picks later. Johnson played all 17 games last season as a rookie at right guard and has moved to left guard this season. The pick used to draft Green was part of a trade back with the Eagles. They used the 13th overall pick to take Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a guy at a position this team could desperately use.

Stingley Jr was a highly touted recruit coming into LSU as a freshman. He played as well as any corner in the country that year. Oh, and they won a national title with arguably one of the best teams in college football history. His net two years in Baton Rouge were marred with injuries. Some believed his junior year was more him holding back to stay healthy for the draft. It worked because he was taken third overall, one spot ahead of Sauce Gardner. Gardner went on to be an All Pro as a rookie. While he's surrounded by more talent on the Jets' defense, people will forever link them because Stingley Jr hasn't lived up to expectations. He missed six games last season and is set to miss at least that many this season. When he has played, he's looked okay. “Okay” isn't what you want from a guy drafted third overall ahead of the other guy who was widely considered better than him.

For the 2021 draft, Caserio was handcuffed. He had no first or second rounders, and made a few trades that lessened his draft pool from eight to five picks. Of the five guys drafted that year, only Nico Collins seems to be a player. The 2022 draft was more productive. Although Green and Stingley Jr were the headliners and haven't played up to the hype, the others are carrying the load. Jalen Pitre and Dameon PIerce alone make that draft class dope. This past draft was seen as the one to save the franchise so to speak. Getting C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr got the team a franchise quarterback and edge rusher with picks two and three overall. The price paid to move back up to three was hefty and puts more scrutiny on Anderson Jr. They appear, so far, to have also found a couple other nice players. Tank Dell being the hidden gem of this class.

While people can't, and shouldn't, base Caserio's performance strictly off of the guys he's drafted, one must call it into question. The '21 draft was a wash. The '22 draft looks suspect, but has some redeeming qualities. The '23 draft will most likely be his saving grace. But should it? Former Texans GM Rick Smith nailed almost every first rounder he drafted. Even he was almost run out of town because folks didn't like what he did. Why should Caserio be any different? So what if he cleaned up the mess by the previous regime! That's what he was hired to do!

“Keep that same energy!” That phrase is used when people try to hold others to different standards. Where's that energy everyone had for Bill O'Brien, Jack Easterby, Rick Smith, Gary Kubiak, David Culley, and Lovie Smith? When others weren't performing well, their heads were called for. I see some people holding Caserio accountable. For the most part, it appears as if he's getting a bit of a pass. I'll be interested to see if this continues should the team has another subpar season. If that pick they traded to the Cardinals is another top 10 pick and the Browns pick the Texans own isn't...if Green can't come back and/or Stingley Jr doesn't show any signs of being a lockdown corner...then what? Let's hope none of this comes to fruition. If it does, we'll have to revisit this conversation.

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