Houston Astros: Three keys to winning the AL West pennant
By T.A. Mock
Get healthy, stay healthy, shake off the rust
It appears that this team is well on the road to accomplishing the first goal. If everything goes as planned tonight, Jose Altuve will be manning the bit of red clay between first base and second base. What a welcome sight it would be to have the reigning MVP back on the field, especially after George Springer and Carlos Correa have already rejoined the field.
The Houston Astros still need more than these three back healthy and in the lineup. Brian McCann has been out for two months but, he is rehabbing his way back in AAA. He should be back soon. Jake Marisnick appears to on track to be back sooner than expected.
Lance McCullers is still working his way back with a sore elbow. The Astros have been able to manipulate the rotation enough to where tonight (Tuesday night) will be the first time the team has had to use other guys besides the other four starters to fill the spot. It appears Hinch is set to have a bullpen game.
light. More. The team should target Andrew McCutchen
The second part, stay healthy, seems to be a bit more of a task. Springer missed Monday night’s game. Fortunately, it was for a sore quad and nothing new with his injured thumb. Unless, somehow, one can compensate for a sprained thumb by putting extra strain on their quad, I don’t think it’s related. He was available off the bench last night.
The Houston Astros have developed more versatility in the wake of all of the injuries. Players have been shifting all over the diamond to make up for the injuries. In order to keep all of these players healthy for the stretch run, Hinch should keep utilizing this newfound versatility to keep players healthy.
Lastly, as these guys return from injury, this roster needs a spark. The Houston Astros need these guys coming off of injury to shake the rust and fast. Correa has only reached seven times in 36 plate appearances since coming off the DL, that’s a lower than .100 average and lower than .200 OBP. This team needs their superstars to perform like superstars, if they don’t the playoff window in 2018 may very well close.