Yep, Smith hitting 3 HR this close together is a fantastic sign. Guys I’m hoping get established this season: Smith as a star Loperfido as a quality platoon OF Matthews as a dynamic oft-used utility player Burrows as a playoff caliber SP Arrighetti as a reliable MLB SP Blubaugh as a quality leverage RP 4+ of those things happening would go a long way to improving Houston’s post-2028 outlook.
I’m not sure. I’m very very encouraged by Smith so far this season. Loperfido has had some good batted ball luck that is propping up his bat. His defense is excellent and he has value on the bases, but I’m worried his bat might just be average overall. Matthews has struck out in 53% of his pa so until he improves on that he’s unplayable. I still want him to get chances, since he’s a young dynamic player who is worth the risk, but for now he is not looking very good; it’s early so I am still optimistic.
Still early... blah, blah, blah. Enjoy the good times and hope it continues. If Cam pulls 110 OPS+, we're AHEAD in the game.
Don't know why I said 1, 2, and 3. Meant 1, 2, and 6. Yeah, I'm still not sold on Matthews, though I do love his potential.
I think Blubaugh is better off being stretched out and starting. I just don't think have 4 guys in the pen who throw multiple innings is sustainable. Let's assume Hunter is out for a month... Imai McCullers Burrow Arrighetti Javier Blubaugh
Once again with Cam its about getting the ball airborne to really be an impact hitter. After a slow start in that regard, he's starting to do it over the last week or so. He is walking significantly more in in the early going. I've been a believer pretty much all along, but I'm gonna need to see the good launch angle stabilize before I really feel good about him hitting the next level. Everything else looks great, particularly the bat speed and foot speed which continues to be top of the line.
Seems like Dana Brown absolutely was sold on Cam Smith, and that was even before the draft. The way the Astros pounced on the trade for their MVP candidate in Kyle Tucker was eye catching… Most clubs will try and scrape one more year with an MVP candidate than pivot away; heck teams give up budding prospect just for a chance to win, for a rental even if only a few months of a season. It’s a good thing the Cubs hesitated about Cam Smith and swung for the fences to acquire an MVP candidate in Kyle Tucker. It was a foregone conclusion the Astros were out of the running to resign Tucker after the contracts dished out that offseason. But Cam Smith is looking like he has all those tools that make MLB superstars. Though he just has to keep steady, and learn that MLB is a game of never ending adjustments. Because the opposing teams will dissect every aspect of your game and exploit weaknesses. Up’s and Downs are normal in baseball, you just have to stay professional and don’t lose your heads when things are going great or you are in a slump.
Is the cam smith trade and breakout enough to get Dana an extension? Lots of things going wrong, but is Cam enough? Star level talent is the most difficult to find/develop.
The ONLY reason Houston isn’t winning their division is the pitching. Let’s break it down: Is Hunter Brown getting hurt Dana Brown’s fault? Is Josh Hader getting hurt Dana Brown’s fault? Is Bryan Abreu sucking Dana Brown’s fault? Are the defensive lapses that wildly exacerbated poor pitching outcomes Dana Brown’s fault? Without those 4 things I think Houston probably has 3-4 more wins. Burrows, Imai, and Javier(‘s extension) are on Brown, but I think it’s probably too early for a verdict on Imai and Burrows. Let’s give it thru May before making a call there. Javier’s deal is probably the main ding on Brown’s tenure so far that is materially negatively impacting their 2026 record so far. Houston’s era is 2 runs higher than their xFIP. They’ve been bad but luck has made them brutally awful.
I mean, he is responsible for the pitching staff. He isn't just the offensive coordinator. Agree it's too early to make big judgements on the staff, but he did choose to gamble on a lot of unknown quantities after Hunter Brown and the early returns are bad almost across the board. The fact that the one "known" quantity got hurt is certainly terrible luck.
What would you have had him do? He was very limited financially. What other SP signed for <$60M that would have been guaranteed to be better than Imai? What SP were traded or that we know were available for prospects like Melton/Brito who would have been better than Burrows? ETA: Go review the early returns on free agent pitching signings, it’s ridiculous how many of them are hurt or have been terrible. Should he have relegated McCullers and Javier (whose contracts were guaranteed and who were ostensibly healthy) to the bullpen? Should he have traded Bryan Abreu? Going into the offseason the bullpen looked stacked. Hader, Abreu, Okert, Sousa, and King were all nails last season and projected to be healthy. Javier and McCullers had spots locked up as long as they were healthy. With Brown that means 8 spots were locked up. For the other 5 he went with Imai, Burrows, Weiss, Pearson, and kept one spot for an optionable arm. If we are going to criticize Dana Brown then we have to offer an alternative to what he did with the same resources he had. The Astros had a bad farm and 5-6 underwater contracts. That really limited how much he could do to improve the pitching staff. To me there is FAR more room for criticism of Espada. Letting Brown throw 102 pitches opening day. Running Abreu out as the closer after he’s **** the bed multiple times. Misusing Blubaugh.
I don't think Brown gets a total pass for these things. He's had three drafts. How many of those guys are contributing to the major league club? He picked many pitchers, college pitchers, in the first few rounds in 2023, 2024, and 2025. They aren't helping the MLB roster, yet, and our farm system is still considered among the worst. He is responsible for the Javier contract, which is one of the biggest underwater deals. I think the Astros neglected signing innings-eater types and have built a starting rotation that throws too many pitches, walking too many hitters, to be effective. Replacing a horse like Framber and all those innings seemed like a known priority. He spent prospect capital on Mike Burrows and wrote him into the rotation - Burrows is a guy who made 19 starts last year and went as many as 6IP twice. That move is on Dana. And while I appreciate the bullpen was good last year and the Abreu thing seems out of nowhere, in general a bullpen that gets overtaxed gets exposed. A rotation that requires this many bullpen innings leads to bad performances out of the pen. Names? Zach Littell signed for 1 year, $7m and pitched 186 innings last year. Career ERA below 4. Merrill Kelly signed for 2yr, $40m and is a Houston native. Giolito is still out there. I think there were midrange guys available to pick up.
