It’s really been a remarkable season for the Houston Astros, who sit well atop the American League West right now, and who haven’t lost a series since the middle of May. Thirteen straight series have either been won by the Astros (eleven of those, to be exact), and they’ve split two others.
They’ve done it amidst a sea of injuries that even transcends the devastation they experienced last season, when multiple starting pitchers were done for the year by June. In fact, the upcoming All Star Game gives us a compelling barometer for exactly what manager Joe Espada has navigated this season.
The Astros had three players named to the All Star team, as reserves or part of the pitching staff. That’s not surprising, the team does have talent. What’s surprising is that none of them are named Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, or Framber Valdez, the three most decorated Astros on the roster. So they’re doing this without their big guns playing like big guns (except Valdez, but we will talk about that in a minute),
Instead of the old stand by star players, it will be closer Josh Hader, ace starter Hunter Brown, and shortstop Jeremy Pena headed to Atlanta next week, as announced by the team on Sunday afternoon on social media:
Here is a fun video of manager Joe Espada sharing the news with each guy:
Congrats to all are in order, so let’s dig into each of these with a few more thoughts:
Jeremy Pena at leadoff is an elite MLB player
This selection is the one that I am happiest about, because Pena is a guy who works as hard as anybody on his game, and he’s invested a ton of time in improving his swing the last couple years. Of course, we all remember Pena’s red hot October back in 2022 that netted him MVP honors in the ALCS and the World Series. Since then, the regular season version of Pena has not duplicated that, until now. Since moving to the leadoff spot, Pena is batting .354 with a .941 OPS. Add in the Gold Glove caliber defense, and Pena was putting an MVP caliber season together, before suffering a broken rib against the Cubs. Still, this honor resonates. Pena is elite.
Hunter Brown is the author of one of the most remarkable turnarounds in baseball history
On May 1 of the 2024 season, Hunter Brown sat with a 9.78 ERA, and was arguably the worst pitcher in all of baseball. Then, reportedly after some advice from Alex Bregman on pitch usage, a different version of Brown was unlocked, and since then, he’s been one of the best pitchers in the game. For the month of June 2025, he had a 1.19 ERA and was named AL Pitcher of the Month for the entire month. Brown should be one of the top candidates to start the All Star Game next week.
Josh Hader will get Cy Young votes at the end of the year
Haden’s first season in Houston, in 2024, was just okay. He saved 34 games, but had an ERA of nearly 4.00. He was fine, but the hammer the Astros hoped they were getting when they gave him a five year, $95 million deal. Well, that’s all changed. Hader, in 2025, has been everything the Astros signed up for and more. Hader leads the AL in saves with 25, and has not blown a save opportunity all season. His ERA is under 2.00. Hader, at this pace, will get some Cy Young consideration at the end of the season.
Framber Valdez is the big Astro snub
Valdez had made the last two All Star Games, and he has All Star caliber numbers in 2025, but he is probably missing the game for two reasons. First, the AL is loaded with high level starting pitchers. Second, Valdez got off to a slow start, in which he found himself with a nearly 5.00 ERA in April, and he’s been steadily digging out all season. Of late, he’s been awesome, having not lost a game since May 2. He might still find his way onto the team, if people bow out or get injured over the next week.
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