Houston Astros Star Rookie Has Role Reduced

The Houston Astros finish up their series against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday and then it's on to September. 26 games during the final month of the season will determine a lot about the Astros chances at repeating as World Series champions.

There is officially a three-way tie for first place in the AL West entering Wednesday's slate of games and projects to be a tight race until the end.

The good news for Houston is that their offense has shown up the past two weeks. They've scored five or more runs in eight of their last 10 games and have a four game winning streak.

In addition to their stars Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and now Yordan Alvarez swinging hot bats, the Astros also got a boost to their lineup when veteran Michael Brantley returned to the team from injury on Tuesday.

Brantley immediately started in left field and batted sixth in the lineup in his first major league action since June 2022. He's expected to rotate between his outfield position and designated hitter as he continues his return from shoulder surgery.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that manager Dusty Baker is planning to have the veteran play designated hitter for Wednesday's game and keep Jon Singleton at first base.

This squeezes second half rookie sensation Yainer Diaz out of the lineup which could be a sign of things to come for the rest of the season.

"Presuming Singleton continues to get playing time and the Astros maintain their commitment to Martín Maldonado at catcher, no player is more impacted by Brantley’s return than Diaz," writes Rome.

This comes when the rookie is performing well at the plate, hitting .302/.337/.558 with six home runs and 18 RBI in the month of August.

His reduction in playing time is dependent on how others perform, but it's clear right now that Baker prefers his veteran options to the young catcher. If Diaz does find himself back in the lineup, it's possible his hot hitting could be cooled down by not being an everyday player.

It's something to monitor down the stretch of the season as Houston battles for the AL West title.