Lamonte Wade Jr. signed Thursday. Homered Saturday. Hit an RBI double Monday. Hobbled into second base and left the game. On the IL by Tuesday. That's not a tenure. That's a free trial.

Also Monday night in Anaheim: José Altuve scored the go-ahead run in the tenth by tagging up on a pop out to shallow center. Then Bryce Matthews, a rookie infielder playing left field on two hours notice, threw out Mike Trout at the plate to end the game. 149 feet. 93.2 miles per hour. One hop. Mike Trout. Out.

Also this week: Yordan Álvarez is named AL Player of the Week, leads the majors in OPS, and hits a grand slam off a 23-year-old making his MLB debut. The Astros go 4-3 despite everything.

Prospect Spotlight: Pascanel Ferreras — the 614th pick in the 2023 draft, drafted last, given up on by nobody including himself, now hitting .500 in his first week at Triple-A.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

The last person to do what Alimber Santa did Monday night was a man named Bumpus Jones in 1892. Grover Cleveland was president. There were 44 states. Until Monday night in Arlington, nobody had pitched in a no-hitter in their MLB debut since then.

Santa was called up Friday. He sat in the bullpen all weekend while the Astros swept the Cubs at Wrigley. Then Monday night he walked in from that bullpen with a no-hitter in progress, six batters to face, and history on the line. He retired all six. Two perfect innings. Done.

Also this week: the Astros win five straight including a sweep at Wrigley for the first time since 2013, Hunter Brown makes his first rehab start at Corpus Christi with five strikeouts in two innings, and Christian Walker hits four home runs in three games.

Prospect Spotlight: Yamal Encarnacion — the quietly overlooked switch-hitting second baseman leading the Corpus Christi Hooks in RBI and delivering walk-off hits.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

José Altuve hit a leadoff home run off Jacob deGrom in the first inning Saturday. Four batters later, Christian Walker hit another one. Yordan Álvarez hit another one. Zack Cole hit another one. Four solo shots off one of the best pitchers alive. Then Altuve took an awkward swing in the ninth, didn't run, and walked off the field. Grade two left oblique strain. No timeline. The universe giveth and taketh away, often in the same inning.

Also this week: Jeremy Peña comes off the IL the same day Altuve goes on, Jason Alexander throws six shutout innings when the rotation needed it most, and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers reel off five straight wins.

The highlight: Javier Perez, Single-A Fayetteville, eight scoreless innings on 67 pitches. Fewer than nine pitches per inning. One of the most efficient starts you will see at any level of baseball.

Prospect Spotlight: Anthony Huzo — the 20-year-old outfielder from Rancho Cucamonga who hit two home runs in the same game and could be in Houston by 2028.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

Carlos Correa took a swing in batting practice, heard a pop, and his 2026 season was over. Peroneus brevis tendon repair. Six to eight months. Done.

Also this week: Seattle beat Houston for the ninth consecutive time, setting a franchise record. Tatsuya Imai returned from the IL and posted a 9.24 ERA. Ethan Peco is at Sugar Land with a 1.04 ERA and nobody is talking about it. And René Cárdenas, the first Spanish-language broadcaster in Major League Baseball history, passed away at 96 right here in Houston.

On the farm, Jason Schiavone — the $150,000 eleventh round pick — now leads all of Minor League Baseball in home runs. And down in Fayetteville, Joey Dixon struck out 14 batters in his first 6.1 professional innings after two years in a training room.

Prospect Spotlight: Joey Dixon — the Stanford right-hander who pitched through a partially torn UCL in college, missed two years of professional baseball, and came back throwing 96 with 14 strikeouts in his first six innings.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

Batting practice. Not a game. Not a dive for a grounder. Batting practice put Carlos Correa and Yainer Diaz on the injured list in a 24-hour stretch. The Astros are 14-22 and held together with roster tape and spite.

Then Tuesday happened. Peter Lambert — released from his minor league deal in March, re-signed two days later, option number eight in a rotation that ran out of options — threw seven shutout innings against Shohei Ohtani and the defending champions. Brayden Shumake, only in the lineup because Correa got hurt warming up, hit Ohtani's first home run allowed all season. Final score 2-1. Best win of the year.

Also this week: Josh Hader pitches in a real game for the first time since August, Yordan Alvarez wins AL Player of the Month, and all four affiliates check in with developing prospects worth watching.

Prospect Spotlight: Jason Schiavone — the 11th round pick who cost $150,000 and leads the entire Astros organization with 11 home runs before May.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

Spencer Arrigetti walked into a Yankees series with a battered rotation behind him and delivered seven innings, eight strikeouts, and ended an eight-game New York winning streak. Three starts, three wins, 2.45 ERA. The AAA callup nobody was talking about in March is the most reliable arm on this staff.

Also this week: Kai-Wei Teng gets the first rotation start of his Astros career, Hunter Brown's return gets pushed to late May at the earliest, Bennett Sosa's comeback debut goes sideways in spectacular fashion, and Yordan Alvarez is leading the majors in hits, OBP, OPS, total bases, and extra base hits through 26 games.

On the farm, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers complete the first six-game sweep in franchise history with Kevin Alvarez delivering the walk-off single. The Corpus Christi Hooks watch Bryce Mayer strike out 15 batters in his last two starts combined.

Prospect Spotlight: Bryce Mayer — the 16th round pick who cost $175,000 and is currently the best pitching prospect in the Houston Astros system.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

Sixteen players on the injured list. A 9-16 record. A rotation ERA that is the worst in baseball. The Houston Astros are a MASH unit that also plays baseball right now, and somehow it's still a compelling watch.

This week: Spencer Arrigetti quietly becomes the most trustworthy arm in the rotation, Jose Altuve plays his 2000th career game and goes 0-for-5 in the same night, and the Yankees are coming to Daikin Park this weekend.

On the farm, Sugarland recorded three walk-off wins in one series and a 28-year-old Australian signed Saturday morning and threw five shutout innings the same afternoon. The Corpus Christi Hooks went 5-1 with two grand slams in the same game. And Ethan Peco struck out eight batters in three rehab innings at Fayetteville.

Prospect Spotlight: Caesar Hernandez — the 22-year-old Cuban outfielder hitting .452 at High-A Asheville with zero strikeouts through nine games.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse

This week the Astros Universe starts where it has to — with Phil Garner. Scrap Iron passed away Saturday at 76 after more than two years fighting pancreatic cancer. The man who managed Houston to its first World Series in 2005 deserved the first few minutes of this show.

Then the baseball happened. A 1-9 road trip. An eight game losing streak — the longest since 2013. Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, and Jeremy Peña all on the IL simultaneously. Colton Gordon making his MLB debut in the middle of a rotation fire drill.

There was good news. Josh Hader threw live batting practice Tuesday. Sugarland recorded three walk-off wins in a single series. And down in Fayetteville, Xavier Neyens hit his first professional home run at 116 miles per hour — a ball hit so hard it would rank among the hardest contact in Astros MLB history.

Prospect Spotlight: Xavier Neyens — the 19-year-old first round pick with 70-grade power and a swing that just announced itself to the entire organization.

The Astros Universe covers the full Houston Astros organization every Wednesday — Single-A to the Show. Follow us on X: @AstrosUniverse