Houston Astros Summer Check Up

Houston Astros

36-22 (First in AL West)


Eye Popping Number

2.67

Last season the Astros were the most productive offense in MLB history, comparative to the Murderer’s Row 1927 Yankees. After bringing back the whole offense, it was expected to be just as dominant. While it’s been good, it hasn’t been dominant. What has been dominant is the pitching staff. After an offseason trade to get Garritt Cole, a full season of Justin Verlander, and another jump for Charlie Morton to go along with the solid Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers have pitched to the tune of a 2.67 ERA. That’s five guys averaging a better ERA than any Astros starting pitcher last season (outside of Verlander coming over in a midseason trade) across more starts.

Biggest Surprise

You could pick any pitcher for this section: Cole, Morton, Verlander, even Colin McHugh out of the bullpen, but the biggest surprise has to be Morton. Cole and Verlander have shown they have the talent to be considered some of the best pitchers in baseball, but Morton had the best season of his career last year and finished with a good but not great 3.62 ERA and a pretty dominant 26.4% strikeout percentage. He’s upped those numbers to elite status. He’s has a 2.26 ERA and 31.6% strikeout percentage this season. With career numbers of a 4.27 ERA and 18.1% strikeout percentage, this season has definitely come as a surprise.

Player to Watch

I could very easily stick with the pitching theme here, but I’m going to go out of the box and say Max Stassi. After getting sporadic at bats the first few years of his career as a September call up, he’s finally getting his chance this season. He’s delivered to the tune of a .303 batting average, 5 home runs and 17 RBIs. Those have added up to a 156 Weighted Runs Created Plus, meaning he’s hit 56% better than the average hitter this season, ranking 2nd for catchers with more than 50 plate appearances this season. With Brian McCann on the DL, Stassi will get even more opportunities to showcase his abilities.

What to Watch for at the Deadline


Here’s the deal, holes on the roster are few and far between for Houston. Just when you think they have a weak spot, Tony Kemp turns left field into an above average position offensively and defensively, or Evan Gattis decides to go on a tear and hit 7 home runs over the last couple of weeks to finally bring value to the DH position. But while we’re picking nits, the bullpen can use another arm, preferably a left handed arm. The bullpen is currently sitting at a 65% save percentage, which sits at 15th in the Majors, 4th in the division. Pitchers that may be available would include: Blake Treinen (Oakland), Kelvin Herrera (Kansas City), and Zach Britton (Baltimore). Closing out games is going to be crucial down the stretch, especially after watching the bullpen falter a little in the postseason in 2017. Although I’m sure the ring they won was worth losing a couple years of life due to the stress the bullpen caused.

 *All stats as of 6/1 via fangraphs.com and baseball-reference.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 2019 Houston Texans Offseason Blueprint

Image
Well, it’s that time of year again. Football season is over (the NFL season, I should say, as I just watched a game of the Alliance of American Football) and the Houston Texans didn’t win the Super Bowl, extending their streak to 16 years since their inception. While there were moments of hope this season, epitomized by a nine game winning streak and a division championship, there were also moments of doubt that the team was as good as their record. Now, owner, Cal McNair, general manager, Brian Gaine, and head coach, Bill O’Brien, have to figure out how to replicate the moments of hope while eliminating the doubt that surrounds the franchise. Luckily for them, I’m available for hire. Or they can just read this blog for free. However they decide to come to their decisions, this is what they need to do to get to Super Bowl LIV. There is good news and bad news going into the offseason. The good news is that the team has the seventh most cap space to work wit...
Read more

2015 World Series Preview

Image
Starting on Tuesday, the New York Mets will play the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series. According to ESPN at the beginning of the season, none of these teams were predicted to reach the World Series, much less win it. But here they are, and both worthy of being here, and looking to win the last game of the season. Some history between the two teams: The last time the Royals were in the World Series was... well, last year. However the last time they won was back in 1985. Best known for one of the worst calls in MLB history, the Royals came back in game 6 to force game 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals and ended up winning it all. Until recently, they have been the doormat of baseball. Consistently getting top 5 overall draft picks. Lately, those top draft picks have come to fruition as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon lead not only a potent offense but arguably the best defense in the game. Last year, they were Cinderella but the clock struck midnight on th...
Read more

The Astros and the 2015 MLB Playoffs

Image
Can we all just take a second and think about the Houston Astros being in the playoffs? Yes, those Astros that lost 111 games and had only four players put up a WAR (wins above replacement) of 2.0 in 2013. Those Astros that lost 22 games more than they won last season, and considered that a huge success... those Astros. They are in the playoffs. It may seem like a shock that they almost didn't even make the playoffs thanks to an abysmal road record and late surges by the Rangers and Angels, but the fact of the matter is that no one pegged them to be contenders until maybe  next year. As a homer, and with a completely biased opinion, I imagined them playing somewhere around .500 ball with a shot at the wild card and absolutely no shot at the division with the Mariners having lofty expectations, the Angels having the best record in baseball last year, and the Rangers one of the top payrolls in all of baseball.  But no. These Astros wanted to compete this year. And her...
Read more