32-year old righty closer Jose Veras had a rough time earlier this year, but he is looking sharp so far in June.  Veras has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this month and he is 0-0 with 3 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  He has only given up 4 hits and 2 walks while whiffing 8 batters in his first 5 innings this month, as he has been electric lately.  Veras has now pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-4 with 12 saves, a 3.72 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  The Astros hope that Veras can keep up the good work moving forward.

The Astros were hoping that 35-year old lefty swinging 1B/DH Carlos Pena was going to give them a lot of power.  That hasn’t worked out quite yet.  Pena has played in 63 games so far this year and he is 50 for 212 (.236 avg, .728 OPS) with with 30 runs scored, 6 homers, 18 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Pena has walked 32 times (#1 on the Astros), but he has also whiffed 65 times (2nd on the team to Chris Carter) so far this year.  The Astros are in a rebuilding mode, so they shouldn’t be giving ABs to guys like Pena.  Look for them to try to deal him at some point in the near future.

The Astros have claimed 28-year old lefty starter/reliever Wade LeBlanc off waivers from the Miami Marlins.  LeBlanc pitched in 13 games (7 starts) for the Marlins this year and he was 1-5 with a 5.18 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 92 games (68 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 20-32 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.  This was a pretty solid move for the Astros, as it never hurts to take a chance on a lefty pitcher like LeBlanc.

23-year old righty swinging CF George Springer came into this season as the Astros’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America, and he’s showing why so far in 2013.  Springer has played in 56 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 64 of 207 (.309 avg, 1.047 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 17 homers, 47 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  He has whiffed 69 times while walking 33 times so far this year, so he does have some holes in his swing, but that comes with his power.  Springer has now played in 192 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 222 of 741 (.300 avg, .939 OPS) with 164 runs scored, 42 homers, 137 RBIs and 53 stolen bases.  Springer could be the Astros’ starting CF in late 2013.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Jordan Lyles has been locked in lately for the Houston Astros.  In his last 4 starts, Lyles is 2-0 with a 1.90 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  Lyles has now pitched in 7 games (all starts) so far this year and he is 3-1 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.  Lyles has now pitched in 52 games (47 starts) in his first three years with the Astros and he is 10-21 with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.  The Astros called Lyles up too early and he struggled in 2012 and 2011, but it is looking like the game has finally slowed down for him.  The Astros have high hopes for Lyles moving forward.

The Astros have placed 30-year old righty reliever Edgar Gonzalez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 26th due to a strained right shoulder.  Gonzalez has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.  The Astros have activated 27-year old righty reliever Josh Fields off the D.L. to replace Gonzalez in the bullpen.  Fields has pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.00 WHIP.

The Astros have sent 23-year old switch-hitting outfielder Robbie Grossman to AAA-ball.  He played in 28 games for the Astros this year and he was 22 for 111 (.198 avg, .553 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Grossman walked 16 times, but he also whiffed 31 times as he looked overmatched big time at the plate.  He also didn’t look too comfortable defensively in CF.  Grossman will need to play really well in AAA-ball before he gets another shot with the Astros.

23-year old righty swinging 2B Jose Altuve continues to rake, despite not having a lot of help in the lineup.  Altuve has played in 46 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 58 for 188 (.309 avg, .747 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers, 21 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Altuve has now played in 250 games in his first three years with the Astros and he is 286 of 985 (.290 avg, .722 OPS) with 126 runs scored, 11 homers, 70 RBIs and 45 stolen bases.  Altuve is only 5′5″, 175 pounds….but he stands tall on the baseball field for the Astros.  He is one of my favorite players to watch in all of baseball.

The Astros have had a lot of problems with the starting rotation this year, so the bullpen has been worked hard so far in 2013.  25-year old righty Paul Clemens has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  Clemens has had issues with the long ball, as he has given up 7 homers in his first 27 2/3 innings for the Astros.  But, he has only given up 24 hits and 8 walks while whiffing 20 batters in those 27 2/3 innings and that is semi impressive.  Cisnero has pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  He has given up 20 hits and he has walked 5 batters while whiffing 17 of them in his first 20 innings this year, which is pretty solid.  Clemens came into this season as the Astros’ #27 rated prospect and Cisnero came into this season as the Astros’ #15 prospect according to Baseball America.

Righty reliever/starter Danny Darwin was a pretty solid pitcher for the Houston Astros.  Darwin won the N.L. ERA title in 1990.  He pitched in 48 games (17 starts) for the Astros in 1990 and he was 11-4 with 2 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.  Darwin was also outstanding for the Astros in 1989.  He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Astros in 1989 and he was 11-4 with 7 saves, a 2.36 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.  Darwin pitched in 220 games (81 starts) in his six years with the Astros and he was 47-35 with 12 saves, a 3.21 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  Darwin is still #10 in ERA (3.21) and #7 in WHIP (1.16) in Astros’ history.