The Astros will be without 25-year old righty starting pitcher Rudy Owens for the next 4-5 months due to surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot.  Owens has pitched in 4 games (3 starts) in AAA-ball for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-3 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP.  Owens has now pitched in 124 games (119 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 46-36 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  This is a big blow to Owens, as he was likely going to get his first shot in the majors at some point in 2013.  Owens has part of the return last summer for Wandy Rodriguez when they dealt him to Pittsburgh.

The Astros have placed 29-year old righty swinging CF Justin Maxwell on the 15-day disabled list due to a fractured left hand.  Maxwell has played in 20 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 18 for 77 (.234 avg, .679 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  23-year old switch-hitting outfielder Robbie Grossman has been called up and he will likely replace Maxwell in CF.  Grossman played in 19 games in AAA-ball this year for the Astros and he is 22 for 68 (.324 avg, .805 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 0 homers, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Grossman has now played in 530 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 533 for 1,980 (.269 avg, .770 OPS) with 391 runs scored, 32 homers, 201 RBIs and 90 stolen bases.  Grossman came into this season as the Astros’ #17 prospect according to Baseball America.

UPDATE:  (4/26/2013) - The Astros will be without Maxwell for the next 4-6 weeks.

The Astros have placed 25-year old righty swinging outfielder J.D. Martinez on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained right knee.  Martinez has played in 15 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 11 for 45 (.244 avg, .715 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The Astros called up 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Fernando Martinez to replace J.D. Martinez on the active roster.  Fernando Martinez played in 5 games in AAA-ball for the Astros this year and he was 2 for 18 (.111 avg, .325 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs.  He played in 41 games for the Astros last year and he was 28 for 118 (.237 avg, .766 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers and 14 RBIs.  Fernando Martinez played in the Astros’ 5-4 loss to the Indians earlier today and he was 1 for 2 with 1 run scored, a homer and 2 RBIs.

26-year old righty starter/reliever John Ely needs Tommy John surgery and he will miss the remainder of the 2013 season.  Ely pitched in 1 game (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year for the Astros and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  Ely has pitched in 25 games (19 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-13 with a 5.20 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.  This is a bad break for Ely, as he would have likely gotten to pitch for the Astros at some point in the 2013 season.

The Astros have placed 27-year old righty reliever Josh Fields on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 4th due to a right forearm strain.  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 called up 25-year old righty reliever/starter Paul Clemens to replace Fields in the bullpen.  Clemens pitched in 1 game (a start) in AAA-ball this year for the Astros and he was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  Clemens has now pitched in 129 games (62 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 32-30 with 7 saves, a 4.55 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

The Astros have placed 24-year old righty starting pitcher Alex White on the 60-day disabled list due to a right elbow injury.  White pitched in 23 games (20 starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 2-9 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.  White has now pitched in 33 games (30 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 5-13 with a 6.03 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP.  White had made the opening day pitching staff as a long reliever before he was injured.

UPDATE:  (4/4/2013) - Alex White needs Tommy John surgery and he will miss the entire 2013 season.

The Astros have placed 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Fernando Martinez on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27th, due to a strained oblique.  Martinez played in 41 games for the Astros last year and he was 28 for 118 (.237 avg, .766 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers and 14 RBIs.  Martinez has now played in 88 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 52 for 249 (.209 avg, .647 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 8 homers, 26 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  The Astros hope Martinez doesn’t miss too long.

The Houston Astros have lost 23-year old switch-hitting rookie infiedler Marwin Gonzalez for the rest of the 2012 season due to a torn ligament inn his left ankle. Gonzalez played in 75 games for the Astros this year and he was 47 of 201 (.234 avg, .609 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Gonzalez wasn’t too bad in 2012 when you consider that he was a Rule 5 Pick over the winter.

The Astros have placed 25-year old lefty swinging CF Jordan Schafer on the 15-day disabled list due to a shoulder injury. He has played in 96 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 66 of 305 (.216 avg, .606 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 4 homers, 23 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. The Astros have called up 26-year old righty swinging CF Brandon Barnes for his first shot at the show. He has played in 106 games in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he was 128 of 399 (.321 avg, .894 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 12 homers, 69 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He has now played in 765 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 739 of 2,805 (.263 avg, .772 OPS) with 423 runs scored, 95 homers, 399 RBIs and 72 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how Barnes does, because he wasn’t a highly thought of prospect coming into this year.

The Astros have placed 37-year old righty reliever Francisco Cordero on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 2nd due to toe inflammation. Cordero has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-3 with a 19.80 ERA and a 3.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 47 games (0 starts) overall this year for the Blue Jays and Astros in which he is 3-8 with 2 saves, a 7.55 ERA and a 2.01 WHIP. Cordero could use the next couple of weeks to get healthy and right in his mind.