Houston was even less active than Seattle and Arizona at the July 31st trading deadline. The Astros were in third place in the NL Central, one game back of second, and five games out of first coming into August. Their position in the Wildcard race wasn't much better as they were 6 games out with four teams in front of them. Due to a soft early August schedule, Houston has won 6 out of 10 of their games this month, allowing them to move ahead of the Mets and close to five games out in the Wildcard running. The Astros have also closed to within three games of the Cardinals but remain third in the division, a game behind the Reds.

Currently, I feel the Wild Card will most likely come from the NL West. However, the Astros certainly have a team that could gain momentum and slide into the playoffs, particularly with the Cardinals still somewhat vulnerable in the Central.

Kirk Saarloos, the rookie pitcher who tore up AA earlier this season, prompting the Astros to promote him directly to the majors in mid-June, faltered in his first three major league starts, causing the Astros to send him down to AAA. Saarloos had made 2 starts in 4 appearances at AAA, compiling a 19:2 K:BB and allowing 12 H and 1 HR when Houston decided to once again test him against major league competition. His initial struggles now seem merely to have been the result of the overwhelming combination of getting married and jumped to the big leagues at the same time. Since his return to the majors, Saarloos has allowed 35 H and 3 HR with a 22:1 K:BB in 31.1 IP. The Astros need Saarloos to continue pitching well if they're going to remain in the running for the playoffs.

While Saarloos was in the minors, Jim Mann filled his roster spot. The Astros returned Mann to AAA when they recalled Saarloos, but Mann didn't stay there long as Houston recalled him to fill the roster spot of T.J. Mathews, whom they released at the end of July. Mann has worked quite effectively out of the Astros' bullpen this season.

Mathews missed two and a half months with a strained biceps and had only been back for a little over a week when the Astros cut him loose. While Houston GM Gerry Hunsicker never should have signed Mathews to a $1M deal, he's a relatively effective reliever and as long as they're going to pay him, there's no reason not to play him if he's healthy.

Houston placed Carlos Hernandez on the disabled list with an inflamed shoulder in early July. Hernandez has begun a rehab assignment and may be able to rejoin the team late in the week if his next rehab start goes well.

Nelson Cruz replaced Hernandez in the rotation but returned to the bullpen when the Astros activated Dave Mlicki from the DL in late July. In order to make room on the roster for Mlicki, the Astros sent Tim Redding to the minors. Redding had already been removed from the rotation in favor of Kirk Saarloos. The rest of the rotation currently consists of Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller, and Pete Munro, who entered the rotation to fill the opening left by Saarloos' demotion.

The Red Sox drafted Munro out of Florida's Okaloosa-Walton Community College in the 6th round of the 1993 draft. Due to injury, Munro didn't begin play until 1995 when Boston placed him at Utica in the Short-Season New York-Pennsylvania league. The Red Sox promoted Munro to A+ Sarasota in the Florida State League for the 1996 season and moved him up to AA Trenton in the Eastern League in 1997. At the 1998 trade deadline, Boston traded Munro and Jay Yennaco to Toronto for Mike Stanley. After the trade he moved from Boston's AAA International League team at Pawtucket to Toronto's affiliate at Syracuse. He made his major league debut in 1999, splitting the season between the majors and AAA. Texas grabbed him off waivers from the Blue Jays in 2000 and re-signed him last year. However, this year he signed with Houston as a minor league free agent.

Munro's struggled a bit with his control in the minors but has otherwise pitched well. While he's been quite effective with the Astros, allowing 39 H and 2 HR in 39 IP with a 22:12 K:BB over 6 starts in 9 appearances, he will still likely be sent down to make room for Hernandez's return.

Scott Linebrink has bounced between AAA and the majors a couple times in the last few months. Houston demoted him in order to make room for Munro at the end of June and then recalled him to fill Hernandez's roster spot five days later. Linebrink is currently back in the minors, as he was also the player the Astros demoted when they activated Mathews from the DL.

Houston's made limited changes to their offense in the past couple months. The Astros had to place Brian L. Hunter on the disabled list in mid-July following an appendectomy. Hunter recently revealed that he also had a hernia removed at the same time as the appendectomy, so his recovery time will likely extend well beyond original predictions, especially since some reports speculated he might be able to rejoin the team after a minimum stay on the DL. He may not return this season. Hunter has not yet been sent on a rehab assignment, but he is swinging a bat.

The Astros called up OF-R Barry Wesson to replace Hunter on the roster. Houston drafted Wesson out of high school in the 14th round of the 1995 draft. Following the draft, the Astros assigned him to their Rookie-level Gulf Coast League team and at the end of the season he received a brief AA call-up. Wesson spent 1996 and 1997 at Auburn in the New York-Penn League before advancing to A Quad City in the Midwest League in 1998. Houston promoted him to A+ Kissimmee in the Florida State League in 1999. He split 2000 between AA Round Rock in the Texas League and A+. After spending all of last year at AA, Wesson moved up to AAA New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League this year. The 25-year-old needs to work on his plate discipline, but he possesses developing power and speed. He has 96 H, 23 2B, 4 3B, and 9 HR with a 15:79 BB:K and 3/10 SB% in 323 AAA AB for a .297 BA, .335 OBP and .477 SLG.

However, Houston demoted Wesson last week and recalled Jason Lane. I suppose they wanted Wesson to receive more regular playing time as he'd only received 20 AB during his 23 days in the majors. While with the Astros, Wesson went 4-for-20 with a triple and a 1:5 BB:K. Unless his strike zone judgment suddenly improves, I don't see him as more than a reserve outfielder at best.