Houston Astros Notes: Acquired pitchers impressive already - Shreveport Times

The Houston Astros are already benefitting from recent trades.

Pitchers Asher Wojciechowski, acquired in a 10-player deal with Toronto Blue Jays last Friday, and Matt Heidenreich, who came to Houston from the Chicago White Sox last Saturday, had impressive debuts.

Both pitchers play for the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros’ Double-A affiliate.
In his debut with the Hooks, Wojciechowski , a 23-year-old right-hander, pitched seven strong innings to lead the Hooks to a 4-1 win over the San Antonio Missions on Tuesday. He scattered three hits and one run over seven innings, while striking out six and walking three.

In his first game with Corpus Christi, the 21-year old Heidenreich, who’s also a righty, walked one and struck out seven batters in the Hooks’ 3-2 win over San Antonio on Thursday. Heidenreich carried a four-hit shutout into the ninth inning before he was replaced.

Wojciechowski and Heidenreich are components in the Astros’ massive rebuilding project, which is being led by Houston’s first-year general manager, Jeff Luhnow.
“We want to have a competitive team at the big-league level, but we want to have that year in and year out,” said Luhnow. “And the best way to do that is to invest in the future.”

Wait 'till Next Year

Only two years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates finished with a record of 57-105, the worst in Major League Baseball. Last season, the Astros ended the season with an MLB-worst 56-106 record.

This season, however, the Pirates are in quite a different position. The Astros aren’t; they’ve still got the worst record in MLB.

Entering Saturday’s game, Pittsburgh (57-42) was only two games behind the National League Central Division-leading Cincinnati Reds. The Astros were in last place in the Central, riding an 11-game losing streak, 26 games behind the Reds.

The Week Ahead

The Astros will conclude their four-game home series against the Pirates today, beginning at 1:05. On Monday (7:10), Tuesday (7:10) and Wednesday (1:10), the Astros will play the Milwaukee Brewers on the road. Houston will travel from Milwaukee to Atlanta to play the Braves on Friday (6:35), Saturday (6:10) and Sunday (12:35).