J.R. Towles had six months to save his Astros career and prove, in Jason Castro's absence, that he could produce at the major league level. After a spectacular start to the season in April, albeit over a very small sample size, his season has achieved meltdown, and now, with his demotion to AAA-Oklahoma City, terminus.
↵But you know I've been wrong before. In late February I said that Towles had nearly come to the end of the road with the franchise. A week later Castro got banged up and Towles got his lifeline.
↵His OPS was a robust 1.086 in April, but sunk to .367 in May where he went 0-33 during one stretch , rebounding to .432 in June. Since May 6th he's batted .109, and has accrued just 23 hits all season.
↵However, Carlos Corporan has hardly set the world on fire in his short spell, and it is likely Humberto Quintero will get the lions share of playing time, if he proves to be 100% healthy after coming off the disabled list. You have to feel a little bit sorry for Towles, who has not really had his fair share of luck in the major leagues, and had the lowest BABIP (.189) in the majors with anyone over 140 plate appearances this season.