HOUSTON -- The Astros will play their 81st game of the year in Thursday’s series finale against the Phillies, marking the midpoint of their regular-season schedule. They’ve overcome a rash of injuries and are in the driver’s seat once again in the American League West. Let’s look back at the best of the first half of the schedule. Best player: SS Jeremy Peña With two-time Astros MVP Yordan Alvarez limited to 100 at-bats and former team MVPs Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker playing elsewhere, others had to step up. Enter Peña, who’s blossomed into one of the game’s best shortstops in his fourth season in the Major Leagues. Peña already has American League Championship Series and World Series MVP Awards to his name, and he’s been the Astros’ best player in the first half. He was fifth in the Majors (through Tuesday) in batting average (.326) with 11 homers, 40 RBIs and 15 stolen bases while playing a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop. He is the only Astros player to appear in all 79 games so far. |
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Best pitcher: RHP Hunter Brown Brown’s ascension to the ace of Houston’s staff is complete following a first half in which he went 8-3 with a 1.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .178 batting average against with 109 strikeouts in 91 innings. He had 11 quality starts in his first 15 starts, including an eight-inning complete game, and the Astros have gone 11-4 in games he’s started. He’s second in the Majors behind Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes in ERA and batting average against. Best rookie: RF Cam Smith Smith came to Major League camp as a 21-year-old third base prospect who had a chance to impact the big league club at some point this year. He wound up making the Opening Day roster as the starting right fielder and has more than held his own at the plate while learning a new position. The athletic Smith, now 22, entered Wednesday slashing .266/.337/.401 with five homers and has crept up the batting order, hitting as high as fourth Sunday. He’s among AL leaders in outs above average in right field. |
Breakout player: CF Jake Meyers Astros general manager Dana Brown made it clear at the Winter Meetings in December that Meyers was going to be the team’s everyday center fielder. And now Meyers is on his way to being a Gold Glove finalist in center again this year while having his best offensive season at the plate. He’s hitting .307, including a May 3 game at the White Sox in which he went 4-for-4 with two homers, a triple, a double, seven RBIs and tied a club record with 13 total bases. Best comeback: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers returned to the mound June 4 in Chicago against the White Sox after missing nearly two-and-a-half years following major arm surgery. Despite giving up seven runs in one-third of an inning in his second start May 10, McCullers has posted a 4.91 ERA in seven starts, including 12 strikeouts May 28 against the A’s and six scoreless innings June 3 at the Pirates. He’s back on the IL, though, with a sprained right foot. |
Best storyline: Next man up The fact the Astros have a multiple-game lead in their division is remarkable considering they lost Bregman and Tucker in the offseason, Christian Walker has underperformed in his first season and Alvarez and multiple starting pitchers have been injured. Two starters that began the season in the rotation -- Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski -- underwent Tommy John surgery, and Spencer Arrighetti made two starts before he was lost for months with a broken right thumb. Houston currently has seven starting pitchers on the IL but somehow keeps pitching at an elite level. Best game: Christian Walker’s walk-off against Seattle Walker belted a walk-off two-run homer in the ninth inning to send the Astros to a 5-3 win over the Mariners on May 25, taking three of four games in the series to get them to within 1 1/2 games of first place. Best performance: Framber Valdez’s 83-pitch complete game Valdez tied Darryl Kile’s Sept. 8, 1993, no-hitter against the Mets in the Astrodome for the fewest pitches by an Astros pitcher in a complete game since pitch counts began being tracked in 1988 when he threw 83 pitches in nine innings against the Rays on May 30. Valdez appeared on his way to getting a no-decision before catcher Yainer Diaz hit a two-out walk-off homer in the ninth for a 2-1 win. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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ALTUVE BOBBLEHEAD GIVEAWAY |
The Astros are welcoming a pair of first-place clubs in the National League to Daikin Park this week with huge series against the Phillies and Cubs. This weekend’s series against Chicago is the return of Tucker and Ryan Pressly, who combined to pitch and catch the final out of the 2022 World Series against the Phillies. Both players will be honored prior to Friday’s game. That’s reason enough to come to the ballpark, but if you need a nudge: The first 10,000 fans Saturday will receive a Jose Altuve Silver Slugger Bobblehead. |
PEÑA, ALTUVE IN THIRD PLACE IN ALL-STAR VOTING |
In the latest voting totals for the 2025 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard released Monday, Peña ranked a distant third to second-place Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals in totals at shortstop. Peña had 608,345 votes, trailing Jacob Wilson of the A’s (1,120,791) and Witt Jr. (868,584) at shortstop. • VOTE NOW: 2025 PRO SPIRIT MLB All-Star Ballot Meanwhile, Altuve ranks third among AL second basemen with 795,123, trailing Gleyber Torres of the Tigers (1,133,888) and Jackson Holliday of the Orioles (806,133). Altuve is on the ballot at second base despite starting only 20 games at second (37 in left field). The top two finishers at each position and top six outfielders advance to Phase 2 of the voting, which begins Monday. |
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