How Astros can open roster opportunities with some unconventional tweaks
ROSTER SHUFFLE
25 July 2023
Throughout the course of the season, Dusty Baker hasn't been given his full complement of players to manage, with the Astros bitten so hard by the injury bug.
Much has been made of Baker's sometimes head-scratching lineup decisions. But how fair is the criticism, considering the team is 13 games above .500 and Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve have only played in 13 games together this season?
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, many are expecting the Astros to make a splash and upgrade the roster for the playoff push. However, considering Houston's lack of top-end talent in their minor league system to deal away, finding a trade partner could be a challenge.
Perhaps the best plan of action is for the Astros to promote a player or two from Triple-A and see how they perform. Pedro Leon is a name Astros fans have been hearing about for quite a while. Should general manager Dana Brown be looking for some minor league players that can outperform the likes of Jake Meyers, David Hensley, and Bligh Madris?
And does Dusty currently have the best players in the Astros system at his disposal on a daily basis?
Plus, it's worth noting that it's not Baker's fault that Jeremy Pena and Jose Abreu have not played up to expectations.
Be sure to watch the video above as we examine several possibilities to upgrade the roster without looking outside the organization.
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The Houston Texans head to Green Bay this weekend to play in one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season.
On offense, the Texans will look to maintain the boost Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce provided to the running game last week against the Patriots.
Despite Houston's success with the ground game against the Pats, there are some concerns. Most of the production came from two explosive runs. They ranked in the Bottom 5 in success rate (26.9%) and Top 10 in stuff rate (23.1%) amongst all teams in Week 6.
Despite the volume against New England, Houston's run game on Sunday:
Ranked Bottom 5 in success rate (26.9%) and Top 10 in stuff rate (23.1%) amongst all teams in Week 6.
Lots of inefficient runs with huge gains sprinkled in-between. Is that sustainable? #HTownMade
— John Crumpler (@JohnHCrumpler) October 15, 2024
Air it out
The passing game once again will go through Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs with Nico Collins sidelined. Dell received a large portion of the downfield work that Collins had been doing.
Tank posted the highest route win rate and average separation score for Houston in Week 6, per Jacob Gibbs, and Fantasy Points Data.
In what should be a high scoring game, expect Dell to be Stroud's main target downfield.
What about the defense?
The Texans defense is 30th in EPA against play action, so don't be surprised if that's how the Packers will try to get some big plays down field.
D'Angelo Ross stepped in at corner with Kamari Lassiter injured last week. He lined up at the left corner spot, where Packers receiver Christian Watson will likely run the majority of his routes this week.
With Derek Stingley lining up outside on the right, he'll be facing Romeo Doubs a majority of the time. We expect Doubs will have a quiet day and the Packers will target Watson against Ross, and Jayden Daniels in the slot versus Jalen Pitre.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has been dialing up the blitz more and more. And that looks like a good idea once again this week, as Love is 28th in QBR when blitzed this season.
What does Vegas think?
The Packers are favored by 2.5 points, with the total set at 47.5 points.
There are so many more angles to cover in this exciting matchup. Don't miss the video above as we break it all down! And head to the SportsMap Texans YouTube channel right after the game as we react live!
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