Houston Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez remains sidelined, and it's starting to show as the team now sits 5.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West.
Forget the division; at this point and time, a Wild Card slot would be something to celebrate.
With the Astros continuing to play chutes and ladders this season, and more so on the slide-side of things, Álvarez's injury has definitely hurt this team.
But it also gives young players on the Astros an opportunity to shine in the spotlight -- as skipper Dusty Baker currently has plenty of wiggle room when it comes to setting daily rosters, especially at the designated hitter position.
Since Álvarez's injury on June 8, Baker has toyed with numerous players in the DH role: including catcher Yainer Díaz (10 times), outfielder Corey Julks (three times), first baseman José Abreu (two times) and rookie outfielder Bligh Madris (one time).
Over the last seven games, Díaz is slashing .333/.333/.600 with five RBI and two home runs.
Over the prior seven games for Julks, he is slashing .320/.393/.520 with four RBI and one home run.
Abreu, who remains cold as the season quickly progresses towards the MLB All Star break, is slashing just .241/.233/.379 with three RBI and one homer over the last seven games.
Madris, meanwhile, remains hitless in a MLB career that started on June 20, with the rookie slashing .000/.200/.000 this season for the Astros.
Only two of those players come close to those of Álvarez (at least over the past seven games) -- who is currently slashing .277/.388/.589 this year with 55 RBI and 17 long balls -- and that's Díaz and Julks.
However, with the Rangers gaining ground on a struggling Astros offense, something's got to give.
How that transpires has yet to be seen, but one thing is certain: Díaz and Julks have done everything in their power to keep the offense afloat in Álvarez's absence.
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