We’re 120 games into the 2026 season, here is where the Houston Astros rank in the AL following offensive categories:
| Stat | Value | HOU AL rank |
|---|---|---|
| BA | .223 | 15th |
| OBP | .301 | 15th |
| wOBA | .303 | 15th |
| Off | -8.4 | 15th |
| wRC+ | 94 | 14th |
| K% | 25.5 | 14th |
Miraculously, the Astros outfield is 9th in fWAR, but only because they rank 3rd in Def in the AL. Nonetheless, a dead last offensive outfield is not a recipe to win a division down the stretch.
But they’ve thrown everything they could find in the outfield this season, and little has worked.
| Name | PA | wOBA | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yordan Alvarez | 79 | .547 | 264 |
| LaMonte Wade, Jr. | 68 | .344 | 122 |
| Taylor Trammell | 169 | .341 | 120 |
| Cam Smith | 426 | .301 | 92 |
| Joey Loperfido | 109 | .280 | 78 |
| Jake Meyers | 145 | .279 | 77 |
| Zach Dezenzo | 68 | .275 | 74 |
| Dustin Harris | 35 | .266 | 68 |
| Daulton Varsho | 25 | .265 | 70 |
| Zach Cole | 50 | .248 | 55 |
| Brice Matthews | 160 | .247 | 54 |
| Daniel Johnson | 17 | .230 | 44 |
| Lucas Spence | 41 | .208 | 27 |
| Shay Whitcomb | 2 | .000 | -100 |
Look at those wRC+’s. If this were Forrest Gump, the Greenbow County Central School principal would be telling us about how our boys are… different, and they’re going to have to go to a “special” league.
In the Astros’ 14 years in the AL, they’ve ranked last or 2nd last in the AL only twice before: 2013 when they lost 111 games, and 2016, the only year in the 2015-2024 decade where they missed the postseason.
Dana Brown was with the Braves when they were middling and their outfield took a serious blow in potency when Ronald Acuna, Jr. suffered a season ending knee injury. Braves GM Alex Anthopolous made some Hail Mary trades to get himself an outfield at the deadline trading for Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler, and he was rewarded with a World Series championship.
I get the sense that Dana Brown was trying to do something similar for the 2026 Astros, but with more limited resources, so what he ended up with was Daulton Varsho at the trade deadline and Nelson Velazquez from the waiver wire.
Velazquez has a nice enough bat. Both his 2026 and career wRC+ is 98. He had a year with a 133 wRC+ with the Cubs and Royals before he registered a wRC+ of just 78 in 2024, resigning him to play in the Mexican Leagues in 2025. He projects just to platoon against LHP, against whom he carries a career .739 OPS, but he rates negatively defensively, so you have to wonder if the Astros didn’t just trade for a right-handed Jesus Sanchez.
42 games left. Anything can happen, and the AL West is like a box of chocolates…
Astros @ Giants Game Information and Gamethread Details
There’s reason to be optimistic for today’s game because the Astros’ ace Hunter Brown is starting. Unfortunately, according to MLB.com, the opposing starting pitcher is a “TBD” and man, “TBD” kills Houston.
Seriously though, Yahoo! MLB has the starter listed as Carson Whisenhunt, a second year right handed pitcher still in his rookie eligibility, who has started 5 games this season, and not well. He carries a 7.25 ERA with a 1.84 WHIP, and still somehow has a 2-3 record with those numbers. He’s struck out 20 and walked 15 in his 22.1 innings of work this season.
The game will be broadcast at 8:45 p.m. CT on SCHN with radio coverage on KBME 790 AM.
This post will be updated with starting lineup as they are made available.
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