DETROIT -- Many view the seventh-inning stretch as a good time for a break in the action, but Justin Verlander wasn’t having any of that on Sunday afternoon. While players on both sides milled about in their respective dugouts, Verlander sprinted to the mound to prepare for the bottom of

The Statcast era of baseball research has reached another milestone: bat speed is live on Baseball Savant. You can check out this page for more thorough details on what bat speed entails and how it’s calculated. But in the meantime, we’re kicking things off by breaking down the best of

HOUSTON -- Miriam Espada always wanted her kids to follow whatever path they desired, but she admittedly wasn’t so sure that baseball held the best future for her son, Joe. She wanted him to be a lawyer or a doctor like most mothers probably would. “There’s no way I could

There is a new place to watch free baseball every Sunday this season. Catch your favorite MLB action with Roku MLB Sunday Leadoff, streaming free on The Roku Channel every Sunday morning.

Break out the caps and gowns. It’s time for a whole bunch of graduations and an updated Top 100 Prospects list. Young players who began the 2024 season on a Major League Opening Day roster with zero MLB service time exhausted their prospect status Sunday by way of the 45-day

DETROIT -- Cristian Javier trotted out a little of everything on Saturday night at Comerica Park. He unleashed four-seamers, changeups and sliders during his first start in almost a month, and even sprinkled in a few knuckle curves. It was a great exercise in making sure everything still worked the

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This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DETROIT -- The Astros certainly had opportunities on Friday night. Tigers starter Casey Mize was on the ropes in the first inning. Framber Valdez was in control. Hits were sprinkled throughout the lineup, the defense was sharp enough, and Houston was fresh off a power-packed win in the Bronx. What

NEW YORK -- Nobody could accuse the Astros of getting behind the eight-ball early against the Yankees. For the third consecutive game, Houston homered in the top of the first inning against New York, this time with a pair of Statcast-shattering and awe-inspiring blasts. But unlike the previous two evenings,

NEW YORK -- The Astros are used to facing a hostile environment when they enter Yankee Stadium. The thundering boos and chants directed at superstars like Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, rapturous and overzealous cheers at every sliver of success from the Bronx Bombers: It’s all become second nature for

Big league closers can come from all areas of the pitching world. Some are guys who have always been relievers, from college all the way up to the big leagues. Some were starters whose power stuff (and perhaps lack of command) were better suited for shorter stints coming out of

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. HOUSTON -- Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, a pair of Hall of Famers, are ranked first and second in many of the Astros’ all-time

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- As a young ballplayer, Waner Luciano spent months away from his home in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the chance to play baseball in the United States. And he did that for one main reason -- to make the dream he and his dad, Robinson, shared of

NEW YORK -- There’s been somewhat of an air of invincibility around Justin Verlander when he steps onto the mound against the Yankees while wearing an Astros uniform. Entering Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, the likely future Hall of Famer had only lost two games to New York in the

HOUSTON -- The Astros, as has been the case in a few games this year, had their bullpen lined up pretty much the way they wanted it Sunday afternoon. After taking the lead over the Mariners in the seventh inning, Houston had Bryan Abreu for the eighth inning and Josh

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. HOUSTON -- The Astros have cornered the market on finding hidden gems on the international pitching market, signing impact Major League arms Framber Valdez,

HOUSTON -- Nitpicking left-hander Framber Valdez's outing on Saturday night against the Mariners would be an exercise in futility, considering the Astros didn’t get a runner past second base and had no answer for Seattle pitcher Logan Gilbert. There wasn’t much Valdez could have done to save Houston on this

HOUSTON -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is showing no signs of slowing down. Literally. Altuve, who turns 34 years old in three days, displayed his elite speed during the Astros’ wild rally in the seventh inning on Friday night, during which they scored four times for a come-from-behind 5-3

You know it’s really Draft season when the first mock draft is out. Between now and July 14, when the 2024 Draft begins, Jim Callis and I will be providing prognostications of the first round on a fairly regular basis with the hope that our final mocks the night before

HOUSTON -- It was nearly 10 years ago that the Astros called top prospect Jon Singleton with the hope that he would be a cornerstone player when the team’s rebuild was complete. Singleton, Jose Altuve and George Springer, among others, represented the future of the offense in Houston. A decade-long

HOUSTON -- The third start of Justin Verlander’s season was undoubtedly his best yet, and in many ways it was vintage Verlander. He hit 97 mph with his fastball, got some big outs in key moments and needed only 97 pitches to polish off a season-high seven innings of work.

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.