Houston Astros News

Brice Matthews • 2B • Astros

Brice Matthews Hits First Triple-A Home Run

Houston Astros shortstop prospect Brice Matthews hit his first home run at the Triple-A level on Wednesday during their contest against Las Vegas. At the plate, he went 2-for-2 with a long ball and two walks. Through the first 15 games of the campaign, Matthews posted a .212/.379/.327 slash line with a double, a triple, and a home run. He has swiped eight bags during this stretch and held a 13:22 BB:K. Last summer, the former 28th overall pick spent most of the season with High-A and Double-A and held a strong .272/.388/.522 slash line before earning a small taste of Triple-A. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Matthews' progression with Triple-A as he could be in the mix for a late-season MLB debut if he continues to perform well.

10 hours ago

Yordan Alvarez • LF • Astros

Yordan Alvarez Getting A Rest Day Against Lefty

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez is not in the team's starting lineup with a left-hander on the mound in Wednesday's series finale versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Jose Altuve will serve as the DH while hitting leadoff, and Chas McCormick draws into left field while batting ninth against Cardinals southpaw Steven Matz. Alvarez hit his second home run of the season in Tuesday's win over St. Louis, but he's hitting an uncharacteristic .224 (13-for-58) with two doubles, 10 RBI, a steal, 11 walks and 15 strikeouts in his first 17 games. It's still way too early to panic with the three-time All-Star. Altuve, meanwhile, continues to hit .300 with three homers, seven RBI, 10 runs and three steals after moving permanently to left field. Both he and McCormick have homered in their careers off Matz, although McCormick is a lackluster DFS play in the nine-hole on Wednesday.

Yesterday

Pedro León • RF • Astros

Pedro Leon Targeting Late-April Return

Houston Astros outfield prospect Pedro Leon (knee) is continuing to progress well from his knee injury and is targeting a return to Triple-A in late-April. Leon suffered this injury during spring training and has missed the opening weeks of the regular season. He was able to appear in just one spring training game after suffering a Grade 1 MCL sprain. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his progression as he could begin a rehab assignment in the coming weeks. Last summer, the No. 22-ranked prospect in the Houston system made his MLB debut and tallied two hits across seven games. He spent most of the summer with Triple-A Sugar Land and held a .229/.372/.514 slash line with 25 doubles and 24 home runs. Fantasy managers should expect Leon to open the 2025 campaign with Sugar Land before pushing for a return to the majors.

Yesterday

Hunter Brown • SP • Astros

Hunter Brown's Quality-Start Streak Continues Tuesday

Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown continued his excellent string of starts in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Cardinals. Brown pitched six innings, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. The 26-year-old has turned in a quality start in each of his first four starts, going 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and an 8.25 K/9 rate over 24 IP. Brown put together a solid 2024 campaign after an erratic 2023 and seems to have taken another step forward to start 2025. He will look to continue his quality start streak in his next scheduled matchup, which will be a middling one against the Blue Jays.

Yesterday

Jeremy Peña • SS • Astros

Jeremy Pena Homers In St. Louis On Monday

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning of Monday night's 8-3 loss to the Cardinals. He finished the night 1-for-4 with the blast that came off relief pitcher Roddery Munoz, giving him three long balls on the season. Pena is hitting just .207 through 16 games but has increased his ISO with four of his 12 hits going for extra bases. His hard-hit rate and barrel rate are actually up this season as well, but his .200 BABIP has held back his overall production. His xwOBA of .371 stands in stark contrast to his .291 wOBA, so his metrics show he has actually been hitting the ball much better than his batting average reflects. Pena and his fantasy managers will hope that Monday's home run can jumpstart a turnaround in his average as the Astros continue their three-game set in St. Louis.

2 days ago

Framber Valdez • SP • Astros

Framber Valdez Allows 10 Hits In Monday Loss

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez turned in his second disappointing start of the season in Monday's 8-3 loss to the Cardinals. Valdez pitched four innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and a walk with three strikeouts. The 31-year-old has been uncharacteristically inconsistent in his first four starts of the season, allowing no combined runs in two of them and 11 combined earned runs in his other two. Overall, he is now 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA, a 9.82 K/9 rate, and a 3.27 BB/9 rate in 22 IP. Valdez's next matchup will be a tough one against the Padres. While fantasy managers may have drafted Valdez as high as their rotation ace, they may consider sitting him if they have other options, at least in roto leagues.

2 days ago

Mauricio Dubón • LF • Astros

Mauricio Dubon Steals Two Bases On Sunday

Houston Astros utility man Mauricio Dubon had a nice afternoon Sunday, going 1-for-2 with one RBI, two runs scored, one walk, and two stolen bases. The two stolen bases, RBI, and runs scored were all his season's firsts. For the season, Dubon is slashing a poor .105/.190/.158, which are well below his career averages of .259/.295/.375. Those rostering Dubon should consider looking elsewhere for production, as he is batting at the bottom of the Astros' order and not playing consistently in their lineup. Dubon will look to keep it going this week as Houston travels to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals on Monday for a three-game series.

3 days ago

Hayden Wesneski • SP • Astros

Hayden Wesneski Strikes Out 10

Houston Astros starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski shined on Sunday, punching out 10 in a 7-3 win over the Angels. He allowed three runs on five hits and no walks in six innings. His sweeper was his most effective pitch in the outing, inducing seven whiffs on 13 swings. This was his third straight good start to begin the year, as he's yet to give up more than three runs in a start. He has looked like a new pitcher since joining the Astros and is a solid option off of the waiver wire.

3 days ago

Isaac Paredes • 3B • Astros

Isaac Paredes Launches Another Homer

Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes homered for the third game in a row on Sunday, blasting a three-run shot in a 7-3 win over the Angels. He's now collected at least one hit in seven of his last eight games, with three being multi-hit performances. After a very slow start to the year, he's raised his slash line to .276/.382/.448. All three of his home runs have been pulled into the Crawford Boxes in left, and he's starting to show signs of the breakout that many were expecting.

3 days ago

Lance McCullers Jr. • SP • Astros

Lance McCullers Jr. Tosses Four Shutout Innings In Rehab Start

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (elbow) was impressive on the mound during his rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday. The right-hander struck over five batters over four shutout innings during this outing. McCullers allowed one hit and one walk, but was perfect outside of that. He threw 42 of his 61 pitches for strikes and appears to be headed in the right direction. The expectation is that McCullers will probably need to make at least one more rehab start. Hopefully, McCullers can get back on the big league mound by the end of April.

4 days ago

Brendan Rodgers • 2B • Astros

Brendan Rodgers Remains Out On Saturday

Houston Astros infielder Brendan Rodgers (hip) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Earlier on Saturday, Astros manager Joe Espada said Rodgers is dealing with left hip soreness. It's worth noting that Rodgers was able to field grounders ahead of Saturday's contest. It doesn't sound like Rodgers will require a trip to the injured list, but we'll wait and see how he feels on Sunday. In the meantime, Jose Altuve will cover second base while Zach Dezenzo takes over in left field against left-hander Tyler Anderson on Saturday.

5 days ago

Jacob Melton • CF • Astros

Jacob Melton Hits Two Home Runs On Friday

Houston Astros outfield prospect Jacob Melton went 2-for-4 with two home runs during their contest on Friday evening. Melton opened the Triple-A regular season on the injured list with a back injury but looks quite comfortable. Melton made his season debut on April 9 but did not tally a hit in that contest. The Oregon State product is considered the No. 3 prospect in the Houston system. Last summer, Melton split time between Double-A and Triple-A. Across 58 games with Double-A, the 24-year-old posted a solid .248/.306/.442 slash line with 10 home runs. During his first taste of Triple-A, Melton posted a .260/.314/.405 line across 47 contests. Fantasy managers should expect Melton to push for an early-season MLB debut if he continues to produce with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

5 days ago

Cam Smith • 3B • Astros

Cam Smith Hits First MLB Home Run

Houston Astros third base/outfield prospect Cam Smith went 2-for-4 with a home run during their victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday evening. Smith would knock an RBI single in the sixth inning. Later in the eighth inning, Smith would launch his first MLB long ball, which also scored outfielder Jake Meyers. In addition to his production at the plate this evening, Smith also swiped a bag. After tallying just two hits over his first six games of the season with a 2:9 BB:K, the top prospect has begun to turn the corner. Smith has tallied at least one hit in each of his past three games and two hits in each of his previous two games. The former 14th overall pick from last year's MLB Draft was able to earn a spot on the MLB roster during spring training. Given his recent surge, fantasy managers should expect him to continue to see opportunities in the starting nine.

5 days ago

Yainer Diaz • C • Astros

Yainer Diaz Snaps Out Of Slump With A Huge Game

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz was just 2-for-33 on the season coming into Friday's game against the Angels, but he broke through in a big way, going 3-for-5 with a double, his first home run of the season, and five RBI. His home run was a grand slam in the fifth inning off of relief pitcher Garrett McDaniels, and he added his RBI double in the sixth to help power the Astros to a 14-3 victory. Diaz is still hitting just .132 over his first 10 games of the season with a .199 wOBA, but hopefully, this is a sign that he's ready to snap out of his slump and go on a roll. Last year, he had 16 homers and a .329 wOBA with 84 RBI in 148 games, and his fantasy managers will hope this big game gets him back on track.

5 days ago

Patrick Halligan • RP • Astros

Astros Acquire Patrick Halligan

The Houston Astros have acquired right-handed pitcher Patrick Halligan from the Atlanta Braves. Halligan serves as the future consideration from the Rafael Montero trade earlier in April. Halligan has yet to make his MLB debut. Last season, the right-hander logged 50 2/3 innings in the minor leagues and held a 3.02 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP. He tallied 67 punchouts and served up 25 free passes. He spent most of his time with Double-A, but did receive a brief taste of Triple-A in the final weeks of the campaign. Through the early part of the 2025 season, Halligan has logged one inning of relief at the Double-A level and allowed one hit and two earned runs. Fantasy managers should expect the Pensacola State College to remain at Double-A in the Houston organization.

5 days ago

Cam Smith • 3B • Astros

Cam Smith Starting To Turn The Corner In The Majors

Houston Astros third base/outfield prospect Cam Smith is beginning to turn the corner in the majors. After tallying just two hits across his first six contests, Smith began to see his playing time decrease. However, Smith has tallied at least one hit in each of the previous two contests, including a triple on Tuesday. In addition, Smith has tallied at least one RBI in each contest. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his development in the majors as the Astros may continue to slightly limit his playing if he can't show consistency. Smith was the headliner piece in the Kyle Tucker trade in the offseason. The Cubs selected Smith with the 14th overall pick in last year's MLB Draft. Smith was able to make the MLB roster out of camp. Fantasy managers in deeper formats should continue to hold Smith on their roster.

7 days ago

Hunter Brown • SP • Astros

Hunter Brown Throws Six Scoreless Innings On Wednesday

Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown turned in a quality start in a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. Brown threw six shutout innings while striking out three, walking none, and scattering two hits in the contest. The veteran hurler unfortunately had to settle for a no-decision after handing a 4-0 lead to the Houston bullpen upon departing. Brown has been excellent for the Astros on the mound through three starts this season, posting a 1-1 record, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts over 18 innings of work. He will look to keep it going in his next start, which is slated for Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

7 days ago

Spencer Arrighetti • SP • Astros

Spencer Arrighetti Won't Need Surgery On His Thumb

Houston Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (thumb) won't need surgery on his fractured thumb, although manager Joe Espada said Arrighetti will be in a cast for "two or two and a half weeks." After that, he will undergo follow-up imaging to make sure everything is healing properly. It's good news for the 25-year-old, but the Astros still expect him to miss around six weeks after breaking his thumb in a freak incident during batting practice before Monday's game against the Seattle Mariners. Fantasy managers will want to stay patient and keep the young pitcher stashed in an IL spot while he recovers. The former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette had allowed six earned runs while walking five and striking out eight in 9 2/3 inning in his first two starts in 2025 before the injury. Stay tuned for who might replace Arrighetti in Houston's starting rotation.

Apr 9

Framber Valdez • SP • Astros

Framber Valdez Making The Start On Tuesday

Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (illness) will make his scheduled start on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park against the division-rival Seattle Mariners. It was unclear over the weekend whether Valdez would be able to make his start this week while he was dealing with fatigue and a sore throat, but the 31-year-old veteran southpaw will toe the rubber and should be started in single-year fantasy leagues. Valdez looked great on Opening Day on March 27 against the New York Mets, tossing seven scoreless innings in a win with two walks and four strikeouts. However, he gave up five earned runs while walking four and striking out nine in five innings for a loss against the San Francisco Giants his last time out on April 2. Fantasy managers will be hoping for an outing more along the lines of his season debut now that he's apparently feeling better.

Apr 8

Spencer Arrighetti • SP • Astros

Spencer Arrighetti Officially Lands On 15-Day Injured List

The Houston Astros officially placed right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (thumb) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a fractured right thumb and recalled reliever Luis Contreras from the minors in a corresponding move. In a freak incident, Arrighetti broke his thumb during batting practice before Monday's contest against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. It's a tough break for the 25-year-old, who will most likely miss at least a month of action. Even though Arrighetti has a 5.59 ERA (4.62 FIP) and 0.93 WHIP with eight strikeouts and five starts in his first two starts this year, fantasy managers in mixed leagues should be looking to stash him in an IL spot. The Astros haven't revealed their plans yet as to who will replace the second-year starter in the rotation.

Apr 8

Houston Astros News

LEGEND