Star Performer of the Week April 22 – 28

The week looked promising when the Astros took two of three from the Mariners, especially with Wednesday’s 10-run outburst and the arrival of Robbie Grossman. The switch-hitting outfielder had two doubles in his major league debut, helping the Astros send the Mariners out of town licking their wounds.

But Grossman and the Astros would go ice cold in Boston, getting swept by the Red Sox in a four game series. Robbie went 0-17 at Fenway Park, although he did hit a couple of deep drives that were caught on the warning track. Grossman’s performance mirrored that of the team as they just couldn’t get on track in New England.

Lucas Harrell (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)

Needless to say, Grossman isn’t our Star Performer of the Week Award winner. That honor goes to Lucas Harrell. Lucas evened his record at 2-2 with a win in Wednesday’s series finale against the Mariners. Harrell pitched seven innings (which is almost like a complete game on this struggling staff) allowing one run on six hits and a pair of walks. He struck out five and threw 69 of his 105 pitches for strikes. Harrell goes for win number three  tomorrow in New York when the Astros open a 3-game series against the Yankees.

A couple of other players who had nice contributions last week are Brandon Barnes and Ronny Cedeno. The problem is; they didn’t get enough playing time to have much of an impact — especially Barnes. Cedeno had a big game on Wednesday with three hits, including a 3-run homer. That bought him a little more playing time. Ronny got the start at DH in the final two games of the Boston series and is slated to get the nod at shortstop tomorrow in New York.

Brandon Barnes saw action in only three games this week but helped contribute to both of the Astros wins. In nine plate appearances Barnes had four hits and a walk. His average for the season now stands at .375. If Grossman continues to struggle we could be seeing a lot more of Brandon.