Former prospect's hot streak will cause Astros fans to double down on trade outrage

Okay, so the Houston Astros' trade deadline acquisition of Yusei Kikuchi wasn't so bad, right? It's hard to argue with the results. The Astros are 5-0 in Kikuchi's five starts since the left-hander was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 30th.

Kikuchi has pitched into the sixth inning in every one of his starts thus far and owns a 2.89 ERA and 3.60 FIP with 35 punchouts in 28 innings of work. During a year in which the Astros needed as much pitching depth as they could muster, adding Kikuchi was a slick move on the part of general manager Dana Brown.

But two things can be true at once; Kikuchi has been a fine addition to the Houston rotation, but the Astros still overpaid. The Astros sent three top prospect to the Blue Jays in exchange for Kikuchi, and one of those young players is thriving in Toronto.

Former Astros prospect Joey Loperfido is on quite the hot streak with the Blue Jays

Loperfido was one of three prospects to be shipped north of the border. The Blue Jays were able to pry away right-hander Jake Bloss and infielder Will Wagner as well. At the time, that was seen as quite the steep price for what will amount to two-plus months of Kikuchi.

Loperfido's recent hot-streak will only make the cries from the Houston faithful even louder. In his last 10 games entering Monday's doubleheader, Loperfido was hitting .387/.441/.807 with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs. His 0-for-5 in the nightcap in Boston has blunted those numbers somewhat, but he's still been on an absurd heater. The Blue Jays have won six straight games, and Loperfido has a 1.355 OPS during the winning streak.

Throw in the fact that Houston has been struggling to find help in the outfield with Kyle Tucker out of the lineup, and you can see why Astros fans are still steaming about the exceedingly high price tag Toronto placed on Kikuchi's services. Things have gotten so bad in the Astros outfield that Chas McCormick still has a job and Houston submitted a claim for journeyman Ben Gamel.

The trade package looks even worse when you compare it to what the Los Angeles Dodgers gave up to acquire Jack Fleherty from the Detroit Tigers. Flaherty is 3-0 with a 3.22 ERA in four starts for LA since the trade deadline.

Brown and the Astros front office had better hope that Kikuchi helps to bring another World Series trophy back Houston. That might be the only thing that will quell the outrage from the Astros fanbase, especially if Loperfido goes on to become a star for the Blue Jays.

More Houston Astros News and Rumors