MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION
These thought-provoking answers could kick-start Astros rally
May 4, 2023, 5:30 pm
We're not willing to go there. Composite Getty Image.
Here’s the good news for the Astros so far this 2023 season.
Things can’t get any worse.
Has there ever been a defending World Series champion so beleaguered with injuries to important players?
But let’s keep calm and carry on. The Astros, despite injuries and roster shakeup from last year, still have their heads above water at 16-15. And while fans are wringing their hands, Las Vegas doesn’t seem worried. The Astros still are 11-2 betting favorites to win the 2023 World Series. The Braves are second at 13-2 odds, followed by the Yankees (15-2) and Dodgers (17-2).
Next time you’re singing the Astros blues, think of the Seattle Mariners. They were picked to challenge the Astros for the American League West title. The Mariners are sucking at 13-16 with most of their team intact – at least not as devastated as the Astros.
Yes, things sure have changed from last season. In 2022 the Astros’ starting pitchers were best in the American League with a 2.95 earned run average. That was then.
Framber Valdez was the 2022 Opening Day starter. Yuli Gurriel was the first baseman. La Pina is gone. Chas McCormick played center field and got two hits. He’s on the injured list (back pain).
Jake Odorizzi started Game 2 of the 2022 season. Odorizzi is gone. Jose Altuve led off the game with a home run. He’s currently on the injured list (fractured thumb during the World Baseball Classic) and hasn’t played a single game this season. Aledmys Diaz homered in the 4th inning. He’s gone. Michael Brantley hit a double in the 7th driving in Jose Siri. Uncle Mike is on the injured list (shoulder surgery), rehabbing in Sugar Land. Hey, Siri is gone.
Justin Verlander pitched Game 3. JV is gone.
Jose Urquidy started the Astros fourth game of 2022. He’s on the injured list (shoulder inflammation).
Luis Garcia started Game 5 of the 2022 season. He’s on the injured list (elbow discomfort).
Let’s go to the tote board. Eighty percent of the pitchers who started the first week of Astros games last year are either gone or currently on the injured list.
Lance McCullers began the 2022 season sidelined with a flexor tendon strain. He rejoined the team in August and went 4-2 the rest of the way. He’s currently on the injured list (right arm muscle strain). It’s pretty incredible that the Astros have a winning record – though barely.
What to do? Oh what to do?
The Astros will dip into their minor league system for Band-Aid pitchers until Garcia, Urquidy and McCullers are ready to return. The Astros may consider signing a free agent veteran. Madison Bumgarner recently was released by the Diamondbacks and is available.
Fans on talk radio were fretting so much about the Astros dilemma that some raised the thought of signing notorious MLB exile Trevor Bauer, who is pitching for the Yokohama DeNa BayStars in Japan.
Bauer was accused of allegedly assaulting a woman in 2021. MLB placed him on administrative leave. The Dodgers removed all his merchandise from the team store and 86’d his bobblehead night. During MLB’s investigation, other women came forward accusing Bauer of violent behavior. MLB announced that Bauer would be suspended for 324 games, which was later reduced to 194 games. Although no criminal charges were filed, publicity about the case was so lurid and sordid that the Dodgers released him last January.
Bauer is considered the most talented available free agent. He is allowed back in MLB but it appears that no team is willing to go near him. Earlier this week, the former National League Cy Young winner (2020) made his pitching debut for the BayStars and beat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, 4-1. Japanese teams have amazing names.
Given his salacious reputation it is doubtful that the Astros would have any interest, but perhaps not for the reasons some fans suggested on talk radio. Fans said, “Oh, the Astros are like a family of good guys, outstanding citizens and fine family men. They wouldn’t stand for someone like Bauer with his horrible reputation.”
A more likely reason would be the torrent of bad blood that’s existed for years between Bauer and the Astros. After details of the Astros sign stealing scandal broke, Bauer, more than any other MLB player (except maybe Cody Bellinger) shot his mouth off with comments like, “I’m not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they’ve stolen from a lot of people and the game itself.”
He said that the Astros scandal was equal to the 1919 Chicago Black Sox who threw the World Series in exchange for money.
Bauer added “You can be contrite about it, speak honestly about it, but even now we don’t have a freakin’ apology that means anything from any of them.”
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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