Astros Report 6/1/03
June 01, 2003
ON THE REBOUND
After a torrid start followed by an awful slump the Houston Astros have settled down a bit and are playing fairly well. The Astros are 11-9 and following a win on Sunday against the Cubs. With the victory the Astros finished a set of 13 games against St Louis and Chicago. They went 7-6, 4-3 against the Cardinals and 3-3 against the Cubs. Houston is now 1 game back of the Cubs in the Central division, St Louis is 2 games back of Chicago. Based on early season results it is shaping up to be a tight race for the Central crown. Houston, Chicago, and St Louis have looked practically even so far this season.
SECOND BASE STUD
Jeff Kent is probably the biggest factor in helping Houston come out of its slump. Kent’s bat caught fire and he was by far the most productive hitter in the lineup for the month of May. Kent hit to the tune of a .340 batting average, a .989 OPS, 21 runs, and 23 RBI. Although he didn’t hit many homeruns for the month, only 4, he did have 12 doubles. He also showed a bit of speed and basepath wisdom in swiping 3 bases. So far it appears that Kent is worth the price the Astros paid to acquire him.
BACK TO NORMAL
Unfortunately while Kent has taken off Jeff Bagwell has fallen back to earth. Bagwell has not hit a homer since May 5th. He also only has 6 RBI and is batting .241 in the last month. Bagwell is traditionally a second half player and his homerun barrage to start the season was not typical. Expect him to come out of his slump this month and start tearing the cover off the ball.
ROTATION OF CHAOS
Due to everyday brilliance by the bullpen and a bit of a regeneration of the offense the Stros have managed to overcome the continuing woes of the starting rotation. The past month has seen the rotation in almost complete disarray. Wade Miller showed signs of his old self but often would follow up a good start with a complete meltdown. Hopefully these bad starts will fade away and he can get back on track. Roy Oswalt was showing signs of brilliance as well but was then forced onto the DL by a strained groin suffered while running the bases. In his absence the Astros were left without an ace and were forced to change up the starting rotation on what seemed like a daily basis.
FIC LOCAL SPIN
Most of the talk among Astros fans these days seems to center around the need for another starter. Some fans seem to support trying to sign Chuck Finley while others have suggested trades with Baltimore for Sidney Ponson or Jason Johnson. What all seem to agree on is the need to do something to im[rove the rotation.
Add
Lance Berkman – I seriously doubt you will find Berkman hanging out on any free agent lists but with his early season slump it may be possible to get him in a trade. He is showing signs of better hitting so if you want to get Berkman for less than he’s worth you are running out of time.
Wade Miller - In a similar situation to Berkman, Miller may be obtained for less than he is worth due to his less than stellar numbers so far. His 14 strikeout complete game performance will probably increase his value though and could be a sign of great things to come from the young right-hander. If you can get him cheap than do the deal.
Morgan Ensberg - If you are in desperate need of a 3rd baseman then Ensberg may be for you. Although he is currently in a platoon with Blum if he keeps swinging the bat like he has been he could end up the Astros starting 3rd baseman.
Hold
Richard Hidalgo - Hidalgo’s sudden sickness caught many by surprise may have scared some owners into dropping him. I would advise holding on to him as he should be able to come off the DL in perfect health and have an instant impact in a revived Houston lineup.
Jeff Bagwell - As stated above don’t be discouraged by Bagwell’s recent slump. Every player goes through them and Bagwell should be back to his normal slugging self in no time.
Drop
Adam Everett - In case you grabbed Everett now is when reality is setting in. Everetts numbers after his recent slump are about what you should expect and they aren’t numbers you want for your fantasy team.
