Astros Crawfish Boil: November 9, 2022

The Houston Astros are still the World Champions.

It’s the quiet before the storm. The free agent signing period begins on Thursday. That’s when we’ll see which teams are willing to open their checkbooks. How are the Astros primed to attempt a repeat? The rotation and bullpen both look good, even with the possible losses of Justin Verlander and Rafael Montero. Any significant addition is more likely to be on the offensive side of the ball. Is Houston going to be active in the pursuit of Aaron Judge?

Astros News

The Astros victory parade saw nearly 2 million fans and a Ted Cruz beer can incident, and it was also host to at least one fight.

James Click is still facing some uncertainty, despite some previous reports that he was getting extended.

The guy who rushed the field for a Jose Altuve selfie was at the parade, still trying to get a shot with the second baseman.

The Astros Victory Parade route is likely to take several days to clean up.

The New York Daily News is feeling reflective, and Dodgers fans are feeling underwhelmed.

MLB News

How are shift restrictions affecting player evaluation?

CBS speculates on possible trades.

How much is Aaron Judge going to get, and where is he going to get it? The Yankees are confident he’ll stay, and the Giants are going to try and change his mind.

Orix Buffalo Masataka Yoshida is set to hit the free agent market.

MLB.COM tries to pin down every team’s biggest need.

Oops! All Astros: Dawill Almonte

Dawill Almonte is a five-foot-nine, 168 lb. right-handed pitcher from Puerta Plata, DR. Born on October 19, 2001, Almonte signed with the Astros on April 9 of this year. On June 4, he was assigned to the DSL Astros Blue squad.

In Almonte’s second appearance, on June 16, he struck out three and allowed only an unearned run on one hit over three innings in a 5-1 win against the DSL Cleveland Red Guardians. On August 2, he went four innings and allowed no runs on no walks and three hits, striking out three batters in a 1-0 loss to the DSL Red Red Sox.

Over the course of 13 appearances, including five starts, Almonte posted a 2-0 record with a 2.68 ERA. He struck out 41 in 40 ¹⁄₃ innings, finishing with a 1.017 WHIP and a 9.1 K/9. Almonte also finished with only 10 walks, and held batters to a .210/.256/.318 slashline. Six-of-10 runners were successful in trying to steal a base.

Almonte just turned 21-years-old, and was plenty good enough to move up a level. I’d keep an eye out for him with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at the Low-A level to begin 2023.