The Astros had a very rough first half in 2013. They finished the first half of the season with a 33-61 (35.1%) record, which has them 22.5 games behind the A’s in the A.L. West. They are also 20.5 games behind the Rays and Rangers for the A.L. Wild Card. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts for the Astros in the first half of the 2013 season, in my opinion:
TEAM MVP: Jose Altuve - 23-year old righty swinging 2B Jose Altuve is a solid all-around player for the Astros. Altuve has played in 88 games for the Astros so far this year and he is 101 of 361 (.280 avg, .667 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 3 homers, 28 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Altuve leads the Astros in stolen bases (21) and he is #4 in runs scored (37) and #5 in RBIs (28) so far this year.
BIGGEST SURPRISE: Jose Cisnero - 24-year old righty rookie reliever Jose Cisnero is looking sharp in his first shot at the show in 2013. Cisnero has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has given up 38 hits and 16 walks while whiffing 37 batters in his first 37 2/3 innings this year, which are pretty impressive numbers. If Cisnero can improve his control a little bit, look out.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Philip Humber - 30-year old righty starting pitcher Philip Humber was supposed to give the Astros a veteran hand for the back end of the rotation. That just didn’t work out. Humber has pitched in 9 games (7 starts) for the Astros so far this year and he is 0-8 with a 9.59 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. He has given up 57 hits (7 homers) and he has walked 15 batters while whiffing 20 of them in 35 2/3 innings, as he has got hit hard.