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Can you call a player "injury-prone" if they're attacked by a virus?
No, wait. That's not what we need to talk about today. That's a complete overreaction to four games. There's every chance that Fowler will play another 150 games with no problem. There's also a chance that his tummy will hurt for the next two years and Houston will get absolutely no value out of him ever.
I may or may not be rational this morning.
In the first weekday businessman's special of the year, Houston takes on C.J. Wilson and the Angels. Houston is trying for the series split and to move a game above .500. The Astros will have to do so against the lefty Wilson, who threw over 200 innings for the fourth straight season in 2013 and was worth 3.3 fWAR after posting a 3.39 ERA.
Wilson has decent strikeout and walk rates, but has been very good at avoiding runs with a LOB rate that has hovered over 70 percent for the past five seasons. He features a two-seam fastball and a cut fastball along with a slider, a curve and a changeup. His fastballs usually sit around 90 mph while his change clocks in at 84 mph.
Jarred Cosart goes for Houston, trying to duplicate the success he had against the Yankees last week. Cosart's new delivery will be tested again, as he attempts to show more control, continue to generate ground balls and keep the Angels off-balance. He'll just be doing it this time against a much tougher Angels lineup than the one he faced against New York.
If there's a plus side for Houston's pitching staff this weekend, it's that the Astros have held Mike Trout in check. Trout is 3 for 13 in three games against the Astros with a home run, a walk, three strikeouts and two RBIs. After he rocked Lucas Harrell on Friday, going 2 for 4, Trout is 1 for 9 in two games.
The bad news is that Houston's lineup Monday doesn't offer much in the way of defense. Houston is starting Chris Carter again at first with Jesus Guzman in left and Robbie Grossman in center. Do you remember Saturday's game? Welp, the combo of Guzman in left and Hoes in right might scare you. Just like this ghost scared L.J. Hoes.
