Houston

Astros

Alvarez finally got the Astros on the board in the fifth inning of this one, smacking an RBI single that pulled them to within five runs at 6-1. He has looked good at the plate this spring, hitting .296 (8-for27) with a homer, five RBI and a 7/1 K/BB ratio. Most importantly, he appears to be fully healthy heading into the 2026 season.

The 28-year-old hurler walked one batter on the night while striking out one. He had allowed just one run through his first three innings — a sacrifice fly by Marcus Semien in the second — but Lambert returned to start the fourth inning and ultimately gave up another pair. Lambert got six whiffs on 54 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 28 percent. He has had a decent spring overall, posting a 2.92 ERA and an 8/5 K/BB ratio over 12 1/3 innings, though his 1.70 WHIP leaves a lot to be desired. He’ll find out soon if it’s enough to crack the Astros’ Opening Day roster.

Sousa figured to be a left-handed option for the Astros if he made the roster after allowing a run in three innings of Grapefruit League action. He had a 2.84 ERA for the Astros in 50 2/3 innings last year and should be quickly back on the roster after his rehab as long as this injury isn’t more serious than it sounds.

He also struck out four and walked none while registering a 26 percent whiff rate and throwing 75 percent strikes overall. France was waived and remained with the Astros, so he will start the season in Triple-A and give them an option should injuries crop up during the year.

Dezenzo will be able to DH, and an MRI showed “everything fully intact structurally,” so this doesn’t seem to be a major issue; however, it could hurt the 25-year-old’s chances of making the Opening Day roster.

The 28-year-old fractured the ring finger on his throwing hand during the first week of March, so it’s a good sign that he’s already throwing. If his finger is able to withstand the force of hitting off live pitching, there is a chance that he could be ready for Opening Day. If not, it doesn’t appear that he will miss too much time.

Loperfido now has seven walks to just six strikeouts this spring, which is certainly something to note from a player with a 4.6 percent career MLB walk rate and 33.3 percent career MLB strikeout rate. He also has two steals this spring while hitting .355/.474/.484 in 14 games. He will start against all right-handed pitching and could be worth a flyer late in drafts in case this plate discipline carries over.

McCullers had an impressive 36 percent whiff rate, but he also only threw 53 percent of his pitches for strikes on the day. Hes trigged to get ahead in the count with his four-seamer and had to go to his changeup often to begin at-bats. However, his changeup looked good, and his sinker took some pressure off his four-seamer and allowed a fair amount of weak contact. McCullers threw 58 pitches in this one and could be up to around 75 pitches in his first start of the season, which keeps him on the fringe of fantasy relevance.

An encouraging day for Javier, who was pulled in the second inning of his previous start. He was back up to 92.3 mph with his fastball today, which is right between the 91.7 mph he averaged six days ago and his 2025 average of 92.9 mph. He gave up only two hard-hit balls, and he ended up with a 38 percent CSW.

Cole busted out in the minors last year and continue to thrive in 15 major league games at the end of the season, but strikeouts still could be his undoing. He’s fanned 14 times while hitting .172 in his 33 plate appearances this spring. Last year, he struck out 35 percent of the time in the minors and 38 [percent of the time in his Astros audition. Cam Smith currently has nearly 300 points of OPS on him (.871 to .582), so barring a strong finish in the Grapefruit League, he might be sent back to Triple-A.