The Crawfish Boxes

The Astros have two teams in the Dominican Summer League and had some standout performances from the international prospects. Let’s take a look. The DSL Astros Orange put together a strong 2026 season improving on their 32-23 record in 2025 to a 33-20 record in 2026. Below are the team leaders and top performers.

Astros fans, buckle up. It’s going to be a long, cold winter. After another Wild Card Series sweep, the Astros enter an offseason filled with more questions than answers. And when you look at how this season ended, it’s difficult not to trace many of their problems back to issues that were staring this organization in the face from the very beginning. The roster was flawed. The outfield was never adequately fixed. The pitching staff was pushed to its limits.

The Houston Astros 2026 season ended much the way it existed all season long: unfulfilled promise, frustration, some excitement that ended in disappointment. The unfulfilling season capped off with an unfulfilling ending. So many issues that the Astros had to work through this season exposed their lack of major-league caliber depth. It unfortunately coincided with some older players losing their stare downs with Father Time.

Today, the Houston Astros announced that CF Daulton Varsho underwent left arthroscopic wrist surgery yesterday. This procedure will sideline him for the remainder of the 2026 season. Varsho is a free agent at the end of the season. Varsho’s time with the Astros was unremarkable. He batted only .172 in 41 games for Houston, spanning 151 AB. He hit 5 HR and drove in 14. He also posted a paltry .224 OBP and a “sub-Maldy” .535 OPS. At this point, it is unlikely Varsho is a member of the Astros in 2027.

WILD CARD SERIES, GAME 2: The Houston Astros (0-1) will host the Chicago White Sox (1-0) for a do-or-die Game 2 of the 2026 AL Wild Card Series today at Daikin Park. The Astros look to extend their season with their ace RHP Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19 ERA) on the mound opposite RHP Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA) and the White Sox. TODAY’S PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Hunter Brown is a perfect 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA (10ER/37.2IP) in six career starts against the White Sox, including two starts this season.

These are the days where legends are made. It’s one thing to win a random Tuesday night regular season contest during the month of May against the lowly Angels. It’s another thing to stave off elimination and extend a playoff series. That will be the task today for Hunter Brown, who will be opposed by Sean Burke. There have been plenty of memorable Game Two’s throughout Astros history. The 1980 NLCS was high drama.

Just like that, the Astros are on the brink of elimination. White Sox 6. Astros 3. What unfolded over the course of a late afternoon affair was a glaring contrast between the clubs going well beyond the final box score. Chicago’s core nucleus of young talent might be eventually as good as what Houston had back in 2015. The similarities of emerging from the doldrums are striking. Munetaka Murakami brought in the game’s first run with an RBI Sac Fly, scoring Sam Antonacci.

The Houston Astros have announced their AL Wild Card Roster for their series vs. the Chicago White Sox. The Astros Wild Card Series roster includes 12 pitchers and 14 position players. 13 players on the roster have no postseason playing experience, including five position players and eight pitchers. In addition to their active roster, the Astros will carry 16 players with them throughout the postseason on their Taxi Squad.

WILD CARD SERIES, GAME 1: The Houston Astros (81-81, AL West Champions) will host the Chicago White Sox (84-78, Third Wild Card) for Game 1 of the 2026 American League Wild Card Series today at Daikin Park. It’s an unorthodox pitching matchup today to open a playoff series between RHP AJ Blubugh (5-3, 3.66 ERA) and LHP Hagen Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA), who are both rookie relievers.

A new season is about to begin and, for the Astros, it’s a chance to prove they still belong at the postseason party after all these years. White Sox Radio PBP man Len Kasper joined us exclusively at The Crawfish Boxes to discuss this week’s Wild Card Matchup. Q) How awesome is this moment for the South Side for the White Sox to be in the postseason? A) It has been a truly magical summer. The Sox led the division for a big chunk of the season and played a brand of ball the fans really grabbed on to.