The Astros got only one player onto the 2026 American League All-Star team, and Yordan Alvarez was the easy call. The designated hitter has been one of baseball’s best this season, so his selection never really felt in doubt.
Josh Hader, though, is a different story.
Houston’s closer didn’t miss the All-Star cut because he wasn’t pitching well enough. He missed it because he spent too much time on the injured list, and that early-season absence proved impossible to erase when the votes were counted.
Hader was sidelined for the first two months with left biceps tendinitis, and by the time he was back on the mound June 2, a lot of the American League’s top closers had already built up the kind of volume that matters in All-Star consideration. Workload and save totals carry real weight, and Hader simply didn’t have enough innings in the bank to catch up.
That’s the frustrating part for Houston. Since returning, Hader has looked exactly like the weapon the Astros expected when they got him back.
In 15 appearances, he has put up a 0.60 ERA and saved all nine of his chances. Opponents have managed just two hits against him all year, good for a .043 batting average. He has struck out 24, allowed only one earned run, and posted a 0.60 WHIP.
Those are the kinds of numbers that usually force a pitcher into the All-Star conversation. In Hader’s case, they arrived too late and over too small a stretch to overcome the time he lost at the start of the season.
Still, there’s a bigger picture here for Houston. The Astros would probably trade any individual honor for a healthy Hader in October, and that’s the kind of value an All-Star nod can’t match.
With Houston sitting at 45-47, the club is 2 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West and one game behind the Texas Rangers for the final Wild Card spot. The push now is about climbing back into the race, and Hader is going to be central to that effort.
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The bigger concern for opponents is how complete the threat has become. Wood leads the majors in runs scored and is tracking toward a rare power-speed season for a player his age, the kind of profile that can change an inning before a lineup has fully settled in. Against Houston, he added to a stretch that has already made him hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]