Known for his very keen batting eye (he is one of the few players in MLB history to record more Walks than Hits in a full season), Morgan Ensberg had a breakout season in 2005, where he was an All-Star, A Silver Slugger and finished 4th in MVP voting.  He never replicated that campaign, however, but did make his mark in Houston with 551 Hits with 105 Home Runs.

Improving offensively with each passing year, Rusty Staub debuted with the then named Houston Colt .45’s and before he left for the Montreal Expos, he would make two All Star with the Astros.  Staub’s final three seasons in Houston saw him go over 150 Hits and in 1967 would lead the NL in Doubles while batting .333.  Had Staub just been an average defensive player his ranking would have been much higher.

With Houston, Staub would accrue 792 Hits and a .273 Batting Average.

Mike Hampton joined the Houston organization in late 1993 via a savvy trade with the Seattle Mariners, a deal that sent outfielder Eric Anthony to the Mariners in exchange for the young southpaw. A versatile athlete who would eventually become one of the greatest hitting pitchers of his era, he initially cut his teeth as a reliever before moving permanently into the rotation in 1995.

The ascent to Hampton’s peak in 1999 was a study in persistent, year-over-year refinement. After establishing himself as a reliable mid-rotation arm in the mid-nineties, he evolved into the tactical leader of the Houston staff during their run of three consecutive division titles. By 1997, he had officially seized a role as a frontline winner, recording 15 victories and maintaining an ERA under 4.00 for the fourth straight season. This period of steady growth served as the essential lead-in to his historic 1999 run, showing that when a pitcher aligns elite ground-ball induction with veteran-like poise, he can become a perennial Cy Young contender.

In 1999, he was among the most successful pitchers in baseball, recording a staggering 22-4 record and a 2.90 ERA.  He demonstrated a specialized ability to eat innings, leading the league in wins and finishing as the runner-up to Randy Johnson in the Cy Young voting. He showed the organization that he was a foundational winner by earning his first All-Star selection and the first of five consecutive Silver Slugger Awards, famously batting .311 during his final year in a Houston uniform.

Despite that monster year, Hampton only had one year left in his contract, and the Astros traded him to the New York Mets. Hampton compiled a 76-50 record, 715 strikeouts, and the 1999 NL wins title as an Astro.

A very quick player, Steve Finley would lead the National League in Triples in 1992.  It was with the Astros that Finley would post his best Stolen Base numbers and had two consecutive seasons where he accumulated 170 Hits.  Over his four years in Houston, he would have a Defensive bWAR of 5.0, a number that was actually better than he accrued for other teams this despite winning his six Gold Gloves elsewhere.  Finley would have 595 Hits with 110 Stolen Bases in Houston.