Is there a real designated hitter in the Astros’ future?

Although it feels like the torture has been going on longer, the Astros have only been in search of a full time designated hitter for five seasons since joining the Junior Circuit in 2013. Here is what the Astros cumulative DHs have done in those five seasons.

Year Runs scored HRs RBIs BA OBP OPS
2013 52 16 59 .199 .276 .615
2014 76 38 92 .246 .317 .817
2015 72 27 92 .244 .291 .743
2016 62 19 62 .223 .304 .696
2017 77 19 71 .226 .284 .671

Those are mostly yucky numbers when you consider that this is the guy who is supposed to be totally concentrating on hitting, one of those 35 HR/120 RBI guys who makes you love not having the pitcher hit every game.

Perhaps nothing highlights the Astros’ frustrations in this area more than saying that the best season by an Astros’ DH was Chris Carter in 2014. His numbers in 432 ABs were .241 BA/.318 OBP/.841 OPS with 62 Rs/34 HRs/78 RBIs. However, most eyewitnesses would claim those were the most hollow, unclutch stats in the history of the game, kind of like Carter himself.

The Astros would love to have a high impact DH in their lineup, but a quick glimpse at the AL shows that those guys are very few and far between. First consider that for 2017 the league average for the slash numbers were .256 BA/.324 OBP/.753 OPS. Looking at the 12 guys who had at least 250 ABs for their teams as DHs – how do they look against those numbers?

  • Only five of the twelve had a .256 BA or higher (though amazingly four of the five had BAs of exactly .256 or .257)
  • Only four of the twelve had a .324 OBP or higher
  • Only 5 of the twelve had a .753 OPS or higher, while five others were down in Death Valley with an OPS below .700
  • Of course the Astros main DH, Carlos Beltran was outside looking in with 411 ABs and a .229/.280/.671 slash line and 55 Rs/13 HRs/47 RBIs

When you compare the league’s DHs against the Astros average slash line for 2017 (.282 BA/.346 OBP/.823 OPS best in the majors) things look worse. Basically the only two DHs in the league who had significant DH ABs and would be better than the average Astro are Nelson Cruz (38 HRs/114 RBIs .293/.378/.935) and Edward Encarnacion (31 HRs/95 RBIs .257/.380/.873).

And this is not an anomaly, for the last decade, the AL normally had David Ortiz as a superior hitter in a DH role and one or two other guys who were also good in that specific year, like Encarnacion or Victor Martinez or Jim Thome. These guys just don’t grow on trees, because it appears to be a tough role that most players do not wear well.

So where does that leave the Astros?

  • They could go with someone like Evan Gattis in that role, but he has always hit better when playing in the field. The last time he was a full time DH was 2015 when in 523 ABs he hit a below average .247/.285/.736 with 24 HRs and 79 RBIs. Better than Beltran but not that terrific and coming at a cost of $7 million for the year.
  • They could trade for one, but they are not likely able to pick up the best guys and as we showed above most of the rest are not going to give you any better than Gattis.
  • They could let Gattis go and cobble together DHs with a Colin Moran/Tyler White/Marwin Gonzalez/”whoever needs a rest” rotation.
  • Or they could make that trade that “old pro” has been pushing for Giancarlo Stanton and use him there part of the time.
  • Or they could make a few minor trades to scoop up more international bonus money and go hard for TOR/DH Japanese wunderkind Shohei Ohtani.

So, where would you go if you were the Astros?

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82 responses to “Is there a real designated hitter in the Astros’ future?”

  1. And I apologize to Edwin Encarnacion for calling him Edward. What’s funny is that I was very careful to look up how to spell Encarnacion – oh well.

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  2. I was looking at similar stats the other day to see if Beltran was really all that bad compared to the rest of the AL as a DH. It would appear that we are in a cycle where the aging players that can hit, also can still play first or someplace. So there are not 12 great batters out there, and mix in how expensive an aging veteran is in the current salary structure, you almost have to use a decent hitter who can still play some position.

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    • Also, if you look at the top 15 batting averages in the AL, Yuli is the oldest turning 34 this year. He is signed for 3 more years. If we had someone to play first that was dependable, he might be the answer going forward.

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      • AC, that is who I have been talking about in regards to the fulltime DH position. Yuli is a professional hitter and any of the youngsters could play 1st base.

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    • Things get so interesting when building a roster. If you want to keep 13 pitchers in the AL – you are playing 9 of your 12 everydays plus a backup C and then you need a bench guy to back up the OF, and then a bench guy to back up at least part of the IF.
      But I agree there are just not going to be very guys who just hit – almost all have to play a position.

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  3. I do push for Stanton, but not as a DH. A guy who had 7.6 WAR as an outfielder plays the outfield for me.
    The dilemma of being an Astos DH and hitting well would fall to a young player who wants the job so badly that he takes that job and makes it his own. The Astros have had guys like White, Reed, Moran, Davis, PTuck and Kemp hanging around the fringes for at least two years. I want one of these guys to excel at that job and fit into a World Series Champion Team and be the DH, while the other eight starting position players and All-World utility player, Marwin, form the best lineup in baseball.
    At one time or another we have mentioned these young players with the phrase “their bat will determine their future”. The future should probably be now for one of them.

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  4. Let’s look at those ‘fringe hanging’ candidates a little closer – just using their Milb histories:

    Milb slash lines:
    Kemp (L): .310/.388/.807 [speed guy, not a lot of power but hit 10 HR last year]
    White (R): .301/.397/.898 [not a great defender, but can play multiple positions]
    Reed (L): .298/.389/.949 [plays 1B, and not that well; has power but lots of Ks]
    Moran (L): .290/.353/.783 [plays 1B and 3B – seems to be improving each year]
    Davis (R): .282/.345/.872 [strictly a 3B – and average at best; has pop, no speed]
    PTuck(L): .282/.353/.844 [not a good defender; LF in a pinch only; has pop]

    Simply trying to extrapolate probabilities from those options, it would appear that, with this offense, the best chance for success as a lefty DH would be Tony Kemp – and the best position in the line-up would probably be the ninth position. If his bat determined a good future, he might move to lead-off – his customary role in the minors -in the future. We would just have to change our definition of DH to include accept less HRs, and more walks, singles, doubles, triples, and SBs.

    From a right handed standpoint, T. White’s milb numbers look significantly more encouraging than those of J.D. Davis.

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    • In other words, if all these fringers stay with the club through the winter, all the pressure this Spring will be on Preston Tucker, J.D. Davis, Moran, and Reed. One or more of them needs to show up in great shape and ready to knock the cover off every little round spheroid thrown their way.

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  5. I wouldn’t break the bank to pay a DH. With the versatility of Marwin, I’d probably approach this as an opportunity to fill a spot with a guy who provides bench defense, pinch running, etc. I’d rotate Altuve, Springer, Correa, Gurriel, Marwin, and Gattis through DH to give them some rest and keep the bat in the lineup. If it seems like this isn’t working there will surely be a guy like Jay Bruce available in late June.

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      • Precisely the one. Should he somehow get more than a one year deal I wouldn’t consider acquiring him, but the warts and (expected) salary due to his experience should make him an affordable target (not losing a lot) if we need to fill the hole. His 800+ OPS and ability to also play OF would be attractive. However, I don’t think this would be necessary – there are enough hitters that we can leave this open as a “hole” and use it to evaluate youngsters if they like.

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      • I am not sure if your projected contract was a typo, but I believe Bruce is seeking a 5/$80-90M contract. Either way, I would walk away from Bruce unless he can be had for about 1/2 that amount and years. Something like 3/$40M I could accept, but nothing more.

        Also, to piggyback off Devin’s comment if Gattis is on the team he should be the primary full-time DH. I don’t like having him as the backup catcher and no 3rd option on the team. I like having Gattis as a full-time DH and emergency catcher to McCann and, probably, Stassi. However, the only free agent I would pursue to fill the DH spot is Carlos Santana.

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  6. I was being a bit tongue in cheek about using gazillion dollar man Stanton as DH – I think they should try some of these AAAA guys and see if one sticks.

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  7. Unless something changes, I think Gattis is our DH. Now if Lucroy shows up, then the 7 million or so for Gattis is likely gone. But I’d rather have Evan as our DH than any other combination of the “youngsters” that might be available to try and fill the role, including my nephew. Bill, I think some of those particular youngsters you’ve listed will be gone in the next couple of weeks/months. And it’s too early for Yuli. Maybe Alvarez turns Yuli into a DH in 2019, but remember, for his age, Gurriel does not have a lot of miles on him. Unless we see Luhnow do more than a tweak in the non pitching area, this is my twelve man roster:

    George
    Bregman
    Jose
    Correa
    Yuli
    Reddick
    Marwin
    Jake
    Fisher
    Gattis
    McCann
    2nd Catcher

    Marwin makes this exercise much easier. His existence allows for the 13 man pitching staff. Pay him.

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  8. Not trying to be negative Nellie, maybe Kemp can do this, he can run and play a position. The rest to me have had there chances and probably are who they are. I think maybe White is the best Bat, but a liability everywhere else.

    I would like to see a couple of them get traded to a team where maybe they could find a spot on the 25

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  9. It has been pointed out before that our line-up is RH heavy. We could really use another good left-hand bat.

    Our five main hitters – Springer, Altuve, Correa, Bregman, and Gurriel – are Righties. Throw in Gattis (or Stassi), Marisnick, and maybe White (or Davis) as platooners

    Our lefties include Reddick, McCann, Fisher ( assuming he is Marisnick’s platoon opposite), and Marwin Gonzales [who, though he swings both ways, is a far better LH hitter (last year .250 hitting RH vs. .322 batting LH].

    If Fisher hits well, it will be academic. But if not, it would sure be nice for a young LH like Kemp, Moran, or Reed to have a monster Spring and win the DH spot, at least in games where we face RH pitching

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    • Our main five guys that are right handers will hit lefties or righties. If you’ve got a great hitting club, that lefty righty thing becomes somewhat of a moot point.

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      • Zanuda,

        If they find what they perceive as a better option I think they will trade Gattis. His salary and ability to play catcher, albeit not very well, should allow the Astros to find a trade partner for Gattis, if they decide to go that direction. I never thought they would non-tender Gattis as he should be able to be traded with relative ease.

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  10. Mike Fiers was non-tendered and is now a free agent. Astros have two spots open on their 40-man roster.
    That pitch thrown over Valbuena’s head was it for Fiers and the Astros.

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    • Good pick. I really like Aaron Boone, he’s a really good guy. He played (sort of) for us a few years ago. The beginning of Spring training he had to have heart surgery. Came back but Sep 16th 2009 called it done. Good choice.

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  12. Jim Crane says the Astros are gonna be in the bidding for Ohtani. He must have gotten a TON of money when the guys won the World Series. The strings attached to guys like this are *un….believable*. You have to pay a posting fee plus HUGE money to sign him. BUT…..he can pitch one game a be your DH the next day!!! LOL!! Gattis is your DH next year. Period.

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    • The thing about Ohtani is that while thee is a fair size posting fee – $20 million as I remember- because of when he is coming over there is a limitation to his personal bonus of around $3 million. His big pay will be endorsements for his first few years.
      It will probably come down to the most attractive landing spot. Who makes him feel comfortable, who lets him hit and pitch and who can win. We check off a lot of boxes though we can only give him like $300 K in international bonus money.

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      • DanP, if the we had a choice to spend the last dime of Crane’s money on Ohtani or Stanton – my choice is STANTON. Ohtani may turn out to be “Sadaharu Oh”, but he may turn out to be “Oh My God.”

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      • Personally – the money is very reasonable for Ohtani even if he flops, which everyone predicts he won’t (the same everyone who thought Appel was a cinch)
        Heard that the Marlins have deals in place with two clubs on Stanton – Giants and I can’t remember – but Stanton has to ok it.
        Not likely either works out for Astros but worth the effort and maybe a test for how much cache the WS title is worth.

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      • Didn’t they go back to the drawing board to rewrite the rules on this…causing the bidding to be postponed?

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      • I would much rather choose Ohtani over Stanton because of the huge difference in pay. If you get Ohtani the Astros will still have plenty of money to add additional players in future years as well as extend Altuve before he becomes a free agent after the 2019 season. If the Astros trade for Stanton and a large portion of his contract it will limit our payroll flexibility moving forward. Ohtani will not limit this.

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  14. *The money for Ohtani is so reasonable that every team can afford him, which is unique and outstanding. It also makes his decision and his desires more of a choice for him because it will be where he feels comfortable, without money being the only factor, which I think clouds the judgement of a lot of free agents. Ohtani definitely looks like a better prospect as a pitcher than as a batter. And his new team will not get time to improve his swing before they have to put him in the lineup.
    *I didn’t realize that Dallas Kuechel was changing agents. Then again, I didn’t see Keuchel as the kind of a guy who would spend his World Series check on a Ferrari, so what do I know.
    *Would it not be ironic if the Astros traded Marisnick and Moran back to the Marlins for Stanton?
    *Tyler White had only nine PA’s against LHP this past season. He had two hits and one BB. He scored all three times he got on base against LHP because his two hits were HRs. He had a perfect 1.000 SLG against LHP.
    *The Astros have six guys who figure to be in the mix for the rotation in 2018. They are listed on the current depth chart as the starting pitchers and they are Verlander, Keuchel, LMJ, Peacock , Morton and McHugh. In 2017 the combined record for those six pitchers in the regular season was 68-28. The pitcher with the worst win percentage of that group was Justin Verlander, who was 15-8. But Verlander pitched the huge majority of his games for Detroit, the worst team in the AL.
    * The Astros had the highest batting average of any team in baseball. They were at .282 and were nine points better than the Rockies. But, the Indians had the second best team BA in the AL and they were 19 points behind the Astros at .263.

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  15. One of the ironies of the numbers and names posted for the other teams who had better production from the DH, pointed out several times now, is Nelson Cruz. This is a guy we’ve completely shutdown for two years. Without looking at the stats, he was horrendous.

    Gattis has gone about his work to such an extent that Luhnow pointed to the very things they’ve asked of him; play good defense draw walks lessen the K’s and hit with power. Watching re runs of the playoffs, Evan broke open several games. In other words, he hit when we needed it, and it didn’t matter when he didn’t because the team played well enough.

    I’m in favor of getting the DH production from in-house, with the backup plan to find a bat when needed and available at a good price. Stanton will probably go to StL. Marwin creates supreme flexibility.

    Having four potential LHH in the lineup to keep other teams honest, with the hope that Kemp Fisher Reed Moran will find significantly more playing time as they progress, we should be fine standing pat. Altuve has proven you don’t have to be a mammoth, you just have to be fundamentally sound. Having all hit at AAA, 2018 is becoming a make-or-break season for the fringe players.

    I want to see JD Davis be the next Ohtani. Let the guy pitch!

    Another reason to look past the numbers are possible sleepers.

    https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2017/12/1/16716316/sleeper-no-longer-abraham-toro-hernandez-draws-praise#comments

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    • J D Davis pitching stats:

      Games: 2, IP: 1.2, Hits: 1, BB: 1, SO: 3, WHIP: 1.20. Faced 7 batters. And K’s per 9 innings, 16.2

      Looks good in what might be called “extremely limited action.”

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    • I only see potential for Fisher getting significantly more playing time, unless there are injuries. To a certain extent, he controls his own destiny in earning playing time in leftfield. The other guys are not so fortunate. We’re set at both corner infield positions. Bregman is 23 and under team control for five more years. Unless we decide to trade Correa before he becomes a free agent in 2022 or Altuve, which I do not see happening, Alex is staying at third. Barring something major happening with Yuli, where is Moran or Reed going to get playing time? Same deal with Tony Kemp. It’s nice to have him standing by in AAA, but what does he do that we need?

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      • I’m sure this has been thrown out there before. Moran for DH/1B. Under team control and bats left. Potential power guy.

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      • Gurriel’s salary is $12 mil in 2018, $10 mil in 2019 and $8 mil in 2020. Because of his age, Luhnow set it up that way.

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      • To answer your question Moran does not do anything more than what we already have. Considering we hit .282 as a team and Moran isn’t a high power guy he really only offers a complement to Gattis as a LH DH and can give Gurriel or Bregman a day off. Moran is a high contact hitter, which the Astros like, but barring a trade I don’t see a spot for him on the 25-man roster if we go with 13 pitchers again. The bench will be Marisnick, Stassi and Marwin/Fisher. Where would any of our minor league guys fit on the 2018 25-man roster?

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      • That’s my point Tim. Unless Luhnow does something unexpected, we’re pretty well set. The neat thing about Fisher is that he will not be pressured to produce a whole lot of offense. We’ve got enough. And I’m inclined to agree with OP on #2 catcher. Stassi might get a real challenge. I posted my 12 man roster above. Until our GM tricks me, I think that’s the group on Opening Day.

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  16. Anyone see any interest in Alex Avila or Matt Adams? If so, either one, then Gattis and his $6 million would need to be moved. Probably could sign both at or near Gattis’ salary.

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  17. It seems so slow this year and perhaps it is but these are the days of action for the Astros last year. You just have to believe that when one or two FAs are signed, the avalanche will begin.

    Nov 17th: Traded for McCann
    Nov 23rd: Signed FA Reddick
    Dec 5th: Signed FA Beltran (Last year Winter Meeting was Dec 5-8)

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    • Jeff’s diary this year:

      Nov 17th:
      Cleaned, waxed and shined WS trophy.

      Nov 23rd:
      Signed Dallas Keuchel’s air cast; then cleaned, waxed, and shined WS trophy.

      Dec 5th:
      Watched ‘Angels in the Outfield’ with Jim Crane and A.J. Hinch; then cleaned, waxed, and shined WS trophy.

      Offseason Money expended? $1.00 at Redbox.

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    • One theory is that teams are waiting because in general the FA prices go down as you get closer to spring training. However, will that work with basically all the FAs available and basically all the teams with holes in their rosters – not so sure…

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    • Bregman worked out so well at third, Gurriel so well at first. Reddick so well in right. Stay with it! We want to see something happen behind the plate. We want more DH production. Leftfield should be solidified. Maybe one of those tweaks will come from outside of the organization, but very possibly none.

      I’m waiting for a splash or two though, as I don’t think Crane or Luhnow are satisfied. I think we’ll be pleased, especially from a pitching standpoint.

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  18. There is no way to sugar coat this. The Astros were the worst, or one of the worst teams in the AL at the DH position, It’s not fair to use any stats for teams from the NL in this comparison. The Astros had the lowest OPS in the AL from this position in their lineup and they won the World Series, despite this glaring deficit in their lineup.
    How do they improve here? Gattis would be an improvement, but what is not talked about much is how badly Gattis was against lefties in 2017.
    Moran or White would be an improvement over 2017. Surely they wouldn’t be last again in OPS as DH’s would they? I guess it wouldn’t matter much if they saved the club $15.5 million dollars and turned in the same stats in 2018.
    My question is: if you can’t put Kemp, Davis, Moran, PTuck, Reed, Fisher or Marisnick at DH and come up with a better DH than last year, when we were terrible there, why are we holding on to those guys?
    Can’t the Astros find somebody, anybody, in baseball who can be better than the worst to fill their DH position?

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    • I think Gattis vs. LHs last year was more of an anomaly than any predictor going forward. In 2016, with many more ABs he was much better against LHs and for his career he is slightly better against LHs (114 wRC+ vs. 112 wRC+). I’m also in the minority in thinking his hitting as a DH v. catcher is also an anomaly and not a predictor of how he will do going forward. If the Astros find a better option I am fine trading Gattis, but I am also equally comfortable with Gattis as the primary DH for 2018.

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      • What I don’t want is Gattis as the backup catcher. He should only be, in my opinion, a 3rd option in rare instances/emergency situations.

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      • What would be the take if we signed Lucroy or a similar catcher and traded Gattis? Making our DH primarily McCann, and one of the other right handed hitter or Marwin as his backup DH.

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      • Tim, I, too like Gattis at DH and agree with you about the anomalies involving him.
        I also agree with you on the catching part. I think if he settled in on the DH role he would end up being our best DH. I think we can afford him this year if they only go out and strengthen the BP and put Fisher in LF. I think they are going to look real hard at Quintana as the backup catcher, as he is a right-handed bat and would not have signed him if they didn’t think he was capable of it.
        I don’t like the idea of signing Lucroy as a catcher because we don’t need him.
        And I absolutely loathe the idea of making him the primary catcher and letting MCann be the DH! Our pitchers love McCann and I don’t want a former Ranger catcher anywhere near our pitching staff. I don’t want any former Rangers, period.

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      • I’m totally on board with Gattis as full time DH. I’m totally on board with Gattis going behind the plate in an emergency situation only. Right now I’m assuming a 500K guy as the # 2 catcher. Now if Lucroy really is in the picture, then we might need to use some 500K guys to DH. But until that should happen, I’m operating on the premise of Gattis owning DH. And I think he’ll do just that.

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      • Dilly, Dilly! OP1.
        I have read that Stanton only wants to play for a west coast team so the chances of us even being in the hunt are slim and none. It appears that aside from Gattis at DH nobody particularly wants him behind the plate. That makes him a one dimensional player and in my opinion expendable. I think we all agree that that we need (1) a good LH reliever, (2) a bonafide DH, and (3) a back up catcher. So can we get a combo of 1, 2, or 3 and kill two birds with one stone.
        Who is available who can take care of two of three? Ohtani has been mentioned which would take care of 2 but not 1 or 3 but gives us one heck of a rotation.

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      • Yes, OP1, there is no way I want McCann as our primary DH. That is a horrible idea, in my opinion. If they were to sign Lucroy, which doesn’t make much sense for next season, I am guessing him and McCann will split the time behind the plate for the purpose of giving McCann more rest. However, as you stated, in no way should McCann be our primary DH (or really even half the time at DH). His bat is not good enough, in my opinion. I am guessing they are looking at Lucroy for 2019 and beyond as next year is probably McCann’s last year as an Astro.

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  19. Going back to Lucroy. I remember reading a while back that Lucroy was the best pitcher framer in MLB and should be given extra credit and pay, etc. for his phenomenal abilities.

    From Stat Corner, here are a few stats that make me think that pitch framing is bunk.

    Lucroy: 2014 (+166 calls), 2015 (+55), 2016 (+31) & 2017 (-58)
    Jason Castro: (same years) +68, +97, +96 & -73
    James McCann of the Tigers was the best in 2017 with +227 calls, and in 2016 -19.
    And some guy named Conger. 2014 (+160), 2015 (+61), 2016 (-21), & 2017 (Out of the League)

    Way too much of a variable for me to consider this as of much value.

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    • Framing pitches is so hard that, apparently, nobody can do it for more than a year or two and they just give up or are worn out. ( or with Castro, he doesn’t really care).
      Or umpires hate them for making them look bad and overreact the next season. Why does this answer sound the most logical? Because umpires suck!
      With all this talk about robots taking jobs from humans, AI see one job they could take from humans and I would rejoice. Umpiring.
      When I proof read this I noticed that I had made a mistake when I typed AI. It was appropriate, so I left it. By the way, instant replay is actually proofreading for umpires.

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  20. Ok folks……I think this dude from Japan, is kinda full of himself. He’s already running through the teams he won’t even talk to, and the Astros haven’t even been mentioned in his “list”. Putting up $20 million just have a conversation with him……I don’t know about the rest of you, but we don’t need this guy THAT bad. Good luck fella, I hope you land where you want to be.
    OP…..I agree with you 100% about the umpires ARE horrible, and a robot behind the plate has no feelings about the guy hitting. I suspect we will see that happen in our lifetime.

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    • Don’t give up on Ohtani yet, Becky…
      – They only owe the $20 million if he signs with us, as I understand it
      – Remember, we had to convince Verlander to come here. He didn’t just go woohoo I’m coming on the idea

      Just read that Keuchel has his foot in a boot after spraining it during the WS celebration. Well at least it was not his elbow.

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    • Probably need to apologize Becky – I did not realize that there is an actual 7 teams that he will meet with and the rest he won’t. Oh well – you are right – we don’t have to have him.

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  22. * Before the AS break Gurriel had 6 walks. After the AS break Gurriel had 16 walks. Gurriel was a rookie who hit .299 for the year and he is learning MLB pitching and how to play 1B. As a bonus, the little guy hit 19 HRs
    * Alex Bregman was a monster after the AS break. His slash was .315/.367/.536/.903. His defense was terrific the second half of the year. He is still learning MLB pitching and how to play 3B.
    * The Astros finally took our advice and let George Springer play CF. He was the starter in CF in the AS Game and the MVP of the World Series.
    * Carlos Correa was the AL’s starting SS in the ASG and hit .315/.391/.550/.941 for the entire year. Despite missing six weeks, he hit 24 HRs and 25 2Bs.
    Jose Altuve was voted baseball’s best player. How do you top that?
    Josh Reddick slashed .314/.363/.484/.847 for the year as a RFer. He also had 82 RBIs hitting different places in the lineup.
    * Evan Gattis had a 105 wRC+ as a backup catcher, despite being injured a couple of times, and will probably be the DH in 2018. He had 12 HRs and 55 RBIs in only 355 PAs. He cut his K-rate from 25.5 % in 2016 to 15.4% in 2017, an amazing turnaround for a player his age.
    * Marwin had 100 more PAs as a utility player than Gattis had. He had a .907 OPS and amazingly led the team in RBIs hitting in the lower third of the batting order with less than 500 PAs.
    * Jake Marisnick scored 50 runs in only 230 PAS. He had 6 more HRs than he did doubles. showing more power than ever before.
    If the Astros find a solid LFer, from within or outside the organization, they are going to be an awesome hitting team again.

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  23. Noticed that 5 of the 7 teams interested in Ohtani are west coast teams. The others being the “Strangers” and Cubs. I think there’s a pattern here. As it has been pointed out, let’s get another lefty in the bull pen and solve the DH and catcher spot. Otherwise I think we’re fine.

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    • Someone mentioned that there are non-stop flights from Chicago and Dallas to Tokyo – so that is why they are on the list, however…..there are some non-stops from Houston, too.

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  24. This Ohtani kid might be the best on the planet. But even assuming his is, what does he bring to the clubhouse besides his game? Are there going to be non stop distractions? And how about the welcome he’s already set himself up for in Boston and New York? Can he pitch inside and then take getting knocked down the very next day while in his DH role? There will be a batch of brand new dynamics in play for the guy. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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  25. J.J. Watt and Altuve share SI’s, sportsman of the year! How cool is THAT!!!
    Mike Minor is hooking up with the arlington little league. Don’t know what the details of the deal is, but they want him to start next year. Ok, ok……come on Luhnow work your magic! How about Brad Hand!!! WHY are ya’ll still talking about some guy from Japan who didn’t want to even have a conversation with the Astros????

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