Time to give the Chippy Awards for the month of June. These were almost all tough calls.
Starting Pitcher of the Month. Gerrit Cole. The biggest reason for giving this to Cole over Lance McCullers or Charlie Morton was 9 more innings pitched – but all three could be deserving. His 4-1 record, 3.41 ERA, 1.108 WHIP were all solid and his .179 BAA/ .275 OBPA/.619 OPSA are very strong too.
Runners-up. Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton. LMJ was very good with a 2-0 record, 2.81 ERA, 1.125 WHIP and a .214 BAA/.285 OBPA/.652 OPSA. Morton was also very good – with a 3-1 record, 3.21 ERA, 1.321 WHIP (due to increased walks and HBPs) and a .198/.344/.671 slash against. If you picked any of these three there would not be much argument here.
In May – It was Justin Verlander followed by Gerrit Cole.
Everyday Player of the Month. Alex Bregman. Bregman was second to Evan Gattis heading into the last ten days of the month and then surpassed him with a power show. He batted a solid .306 BA/.372 OBP/1.085 OPS slash, but he made it all count with 24 runs scored, 9 doubles, 11 HRs and tying Gattis with a club record 30 RBIs in the month of June.
Runner-up. Evan Gattis. Gattis was key to the 12 game winning streak as he was an RBI machine including 5 RBIs in back to back games. For the month he slashed .265/.302/.863 with 13 runs scored, 5 doubles, 8 HRs and 30 RBIs.
In May – It was Evan Gattis with Max Stassi as the runner-up.
Relief Pitcher of the Month. Chris Devenski. He was 1-0 and his ERA for June was a perfect 0.00 with a 0.500 WHIP and 12 Ks against only one walk in 12 innings. Hitters had a micoscopic .132 BA/.175 OBP/.333 OPS against Devo.
Runner-up. Collin McHugh. Brad Peacock (0.68 ERA), Hector Rondon (0.93 ERA and 5 saves) and Tony Sipp (0.96 ERA) all were excellent in June, but McHugh was just a little better. He had a 2-0 record, with a 0.79 ERA, 0.618 WHIP and a huge 14.3 K/ 9 IPs and was lights out most games.
In May – This award belonged to Collin McHugh with Joe Smith as the runner-up.
Biggest Surprise (Positive). Tony Sipp. He suddenly looked a lot more like the Sipp of 2014 and 2015 with his 0.96 ERA and 0.750 WHIP and giving up a slash of 0.148 BA/0.250 OBP/ .435 OPS.
Runner-up. Jake Marisnick. After two months of awful, Jake was good in June with a .286/.400/.948 slash, 10 runs scored, 3 HRs and 7 RBIs.
In May – It was Tony Kemp backed up by Joe Smith.
Biggest Surprise (Negative). George Springer. Even though he scored 18 runs, it is hard to get past his .190 BA for the month.
Runner-up. Dallas Keuchel. After some ups and downs early in the season, June was mostly down for DK. He was 1-1 with a very poor 5.72 ERA and high 1.624 WHIP.
In May – Carlos Correa backed up by Ken Giles.
The most ineffective award. Josh Reddick. His overall numbers look good at .333 BA and .357 OBP, but he had 0 HRs and 3 RBIs on the month.
The May was not a fluke award. Tony Kemp. The mighty might turned into the home run hitter hugger during the month, but also had a solid slash of .327 BA/.383 OBP/ .783 OPS
The so good he gets ignored sometimes award. Jose Altuve. His .354/.461/.982 slash was terrific. Oh and he scored 22 runs, hit 7 doubles and 3 HRs and had 12 RBIs.
Do you agree with these awards?
Want to make awards of your own?
CHIPALATTA 
During the game yesterday (spit), Springer was looking like he
a) had lost his best friend
b) was a deer in the headlights
c) Had been traded to Baltimore for a player to be named later
d) Was being sent to Quad Cites to get his Mojo back
Maybe he just wanted to get back into the game and help the guys win.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Zanuda – I have not forgotten about your suggestion about looking at the roster changes heading into 2019, etc. I am working on it – it may be a 3 part series.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem Dan. I leave this in your capable hands. As always you get our award each month for “best topics” inspiring interesting dialogue.
LikeLike
The biggest negative surprise for me is McCann. With an OPS in June of .434 I would have hoped his leadership could have helped this team win close games. In reality, he has lost his starting job behind the plate to Stassi.
By the way, McCann has been awful at the plate in May and June, as his OPS in May was .498.
The Astros outfield has been a disaster for the entire season offensively except for Kemp. Here are the OPS figures for the World Champions:
Kemp- .784
Springer-.775
Gonzalez- .669
Marisnick- .597
Fisher- .641
Reddick- .719
If I had told you that Tony Kemp would have the highest OPS of any Astros outfielder at the All-Star break, I would have been laughed off this blog. The truth is that the Astros outfield has been lousy this season and there are no excuses for it because they have been healthy.
The players are the ones who should be held accountable, because their failures are the reason this team is fighting for a playoff spot with a Seattle team that has been riddled with injuries.
Astros outfielders have gotten a pass all season for their lousy efforts at the plate and it’s time for the club to recognize that they aren’t the team they were last year and do something about it, other than say be patient.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Agree with our great post OP. So you are GM what would you do with the OF?
LikeLike
Work on trades to get rid of outfielders who won’t be here next year. Trade Marisnick. Include Fisher in a trade. Keep Marwin as a backup infielder/PH only. Move Alvarez to AAA. Trade Reddick.
Bring up Tucker and put him in RF. Bring up Straw and use him in a #4 outfielder role. He is the fastest player in our organization, has a plus glove, an above average arm and is a RH Tony Kemp. Platoon him with Kemp in LF.
LikeLike
Love it was thinking along the same lines including Spider man!
LikeLike
Great points op – sometimes we don’t look closely enough at trends like that. With Reddick – I couldn’t believe he was hitting over .300 for the month because I could not remember him doing anything of worth in June.
I still think at some point soon Springer will begin rolling again, but the outfield sure could use a shot of KTuck it would seem.
LikeLike
Well, the simple answer is to be patient. And still might be the best answer. Springer will come out of his funk. Reddick is getting his bat back, just not in key situations yet. If we run out of patience, then we bring the kid up. We could always go out and trade for a reliable outfield bat too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
dave i think we can be patient and at the same time bring up tucker if they think he is ready for trip up. springer will come out of his slump. its baseball. slumps and streaks. most in here wanted gattis gone. then in june he showed what he can do when on a streak. franchise record for most rbi’s in june. impressive. as pointed out by dan above, other players have stunk it up pretty good and then came back and had solid contributions. no time to panic. i would however like to see what tucker can do with the big club for awhile. might payoff come september even if this first stay doesnt go as planned.
LikeLike
SEA last game against Cleveland was on 4/29. They played non-contenders in May, excepting losing a series to Houston and games against the fading Angels. In June, they manged to go 3-4 against the Red Sox , 1-1 against Houston, and 0-4 against the Yankees. However, they managed to go 6-1 against Tampa, 4-0 against Baltimore, and just finished a three game sweep of KC yesterday. They are taking care of business against the bad teams. If they continue to do so it will be very difficult for Houston to pull away.
…but to your point, Springer has always been streaky and we need some hot streaks from him. Reddick needs to come through and play smart baseball. Yesterday’s mental mistake in the outfield was one thing, but grounding into the double play in the ninth was another. I don’t expect calling up anyone from the minors really fixes the production problems from the other spots. It may be a trade/signing like the one last season that brought Maybin (hit a robust .166/.226/.441 for us) might be necessary.
LikeLike
Too late to help us – Wilmer Font was put on the DL with a strained Lat….
LikeLike
McCann is a tough call. Seems he’s about used up. And he’s pretty much hopeless against the shift. But with a whole lot of rest, he’s probably got a good post season left in him at least from a defensive standpoint .
Pitchers want to pitch to him. That’s the problem. But I’d rather see Stubbs come up at least for a few weeks. Maybe that is already planned for August. Then he can come back in September when the rosters expand, giving McCann every opportunity to be fresh late.
LikeLike
With you Dave, McCann good dude great career, retire already.
LikeLike
Congratulations to Bregman!!! He was the AL player of the month, AND the AL player of the week last week!! He’s moving up in the All Star game, so get off your rear ends and *V O T E*!!!
LikeLike
I have been *VOTING*!!
LikeLike
Starting pitcher of the month: Anyone save DK.
Player: Bregman. Gattis a close second, but second none the less.
Relief/Surprise: Rondon
Negative Surprise: (I am not kidding on this one.) The lackluster performance of this team is really getting to me. Yes, the have a good record, Yes they are a good ball club, but unless they come around in the second half, it looks like a team loaded with talent, on their way to one and done.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know they are not playing as well as we expect (yet still on a pace for 103 wins, which is two more than last season). But I am happy they have not really had a true World Series hangover where they are hanging around .500 or something like that. I do agree that they are not quite like they were last season spirit-wise, but it must be hard psychologically to get up for a game in Tampa in front of 16,000 fans after playing the Red Sox, Yanks and Dodgers in front of full houses for all the marbles.
I’m torn here. I know they can’t just expect to put it in gear when the playoffs come, but it is a very long season and I just can’t expect them to be up 100% of the time. It would drain them in my mind.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not concerned. Last year after playing remarkable ball most most of the season, they went into their post All Start break funk. Then they woke up in September, their momentum taking them all the way to November 1 and the title. We’ll see a boost by Luhnow in the form of an impact player or two, we’ll see guys get rested, we’ll see a real push in September again. Seattle will not keep up their present pace. Everyone needs to keep in mind that we’ve only played little more than half a season.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe I missed it – have we heard back from Dr. Bill and his surgery? And how are you doing Billy C? Becky – still keeping you and Tanner in my prayers!
LikeLike
Dr Bill said he came through the surgery extremely well and was up on a walker soon after. Billy is still posting so I’m assuming he’s ok and Becky appears to be back to normal.
I worry about them them too.
LikeLike
Been doing hanging in there…I have missed quite a bit of work as I have been in and out of hospital. Job has been understanding and supportive; collectors and apartment management however have not been
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cionel Perez was brought up to the Astros for several days and then sent back down to CC and is their starter today.
Why?
I think the main reason is because the Astros wanted to get a good look at him in bullpen sessions to see what he has and to see if the coaching staff had recommendations on his delivery, repertoire, arm angles, grips, delivery, motion, moves to first. Basically, anything they might see to fine- tune him for the future.
They lose nothing by using an option year up with this move because they could call him up as many times as they want this year and only use up one of his options. Some teams have probably expressed a ton of interest in him and it was a chance to see exactly what he has to offer, so that the Astros know his value to them and to others.
LikeLike
Kyle Tucker had one of his most frustrating nights ever at the plate last night. Flyout, popout, GIDP, GIDP and a strikeout with a runner on third, a run already in and only 1 out in the 10th inning. Sacramento scored two in the bottom half of the tenth to come from behind on a walkoff 2-run homer.
LikeLike
I guess I’m supposed to say “We already have guys that can do that….”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Speaking of Kyle Tucker, I don’t think we’re going to see him any time soon, unless Tony Kemp reverts back to his former self. Tucker will not replace Josh Reddick or George Springer unless one of those guys suffers a significant injury. And he’s not going to take Jake’s job and spend most of his time on the bench.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe McCann is going to get a break every month from here on out. And it seems the decision makers don’t think Stubbs is ready yet to handle working behind the plate with the big club quite yet.
LikeLike
Still a little puzzling to me why Stubbs is not getting a look. Federowicz is going to be another 10 day stopgap and while he does have some MLB experience this next stretch of games would seem to be a golden opportunity to see what Stubbs has to offer. . . . OOPS, just as I was typing Bleacher Reports says McCann is headed for surgery and 4-6 weeks on the DL. Do we want two right hand hitting catchers? Stassi has surely been well above average against lefties but pretty weak against righties. Looks like Stubbs and Federowicz are similar throwing out base stealers.
What I would really like to see going forward is significantly better performance from Correa and Springer. Even Jose could tighten up a bit. His strikeout with the bases loaded on a pitch 2 feet off the plate was pretty pathetic. Bregman is putting up great ABs and now getting good results. Is that so difficult to emulate? We also miss Correa’s defense and I hope going forward until he comes off the DL that Bregman gets the work at short.
Many thanks to all of you who prayed for my hip. That recovery is going fairly well. I came home last Tuesday the day after the surgery and was doing some preliminary rehab until Thursday evening when I was watching the first Astros – Rays game. Out of the clear blue my heart rate jumped to 140. It was NOT that exciting a game! The tachycardia persisted so I went to the ER and A-Fib was confirmed. I spent the weekend in the hospital and was able to get back in rhythm with medications and avoided the paddles. I’m feeling fine now and moving around better every day. Now if Dallas could show up with some good stuff tonight my ticker would be pleased.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heck Bill, I prayed for you, not the hip specifically, but I guess I had a bad connection this far out in the ocean. Glad to hear you are doing better. The Wicz guy is coming back and we’d all rather see Stubbs I think, but it must have something to do with the belief that the older guy will do a better job working with the pitchers.
LikeLike
Stubbs is really having success against right handed pitching.
.360 .411 .515 .925
Wicz has been pretty good against them too.
.319 .368 .550 .923
Not that big a difference, especially if Stubbs still needs to learn a few things.
LikeLike
I Just saw McCann out 4-6 weeks knee surgery
LikeLike
Yeah, who knows what happens behind the plate the rest of the way. Does Luhnow look at a trade with new eyes?
Tonight would be a good night for our former Cy Young to act like him again.
This World Cup business of deciding a match with a “shoot out” seems a tough way to lose. Shouldn’t they just keep on playing?
LikeLike
Colby Rasmus has retired . Did the same last year but this time I have a feeling it is going to stick
https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Report-Colby-Rasmus-leaves-Orioles-to-13047944.php
LikeLike
Heck, we might see Stubbs tomorrow. If Stassi can’t throw for a few days, he can’t help.
Sure was nice to see Cy Young go 1,2,3 in the first.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice 5-0 lead in the third
– Yuli knocks in Bregman with a double
– Reddick with 2 RBIs with a double and a HR
– Federowicz with a single in relief of Stassi (HBP) and then scores on a Kemp HR
– Dallas 6 Ks before giving up a run in the 3rd (so far)
LikeLike
Reddick seems to be intent on making up for his brain f**t the other day. Very nice play on a drive down the right field line.
LikeLike
For those of you not watching the game, Kemp hit a home run. Came back to the dugout and jumped into Gattis arms. Was quickly dispatched and Gattis then jumped onto Kemp. Kemp looked hilarious attempting to carry Gattis around the dugout.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And we didn’t need for Stassi to get hit by an inside pitch. Hope it is not serious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hopefully Max won’t be out too long. He finally got an opportunity to start and if he’s going to be out for a while, it’ll be a shame
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much too close but a “W” none the less.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We will take it – especially with our “5th” starter pitching.
LikeLike
Lot of bad karma in Tampa Bay. And tonight could have gone sideways too, in spite of a great effort by Cy and balls being hit all over the field. And now it looks like our MVP is in a legitimate slump. But we sure will take that win.
LikeLike
See?? EverY time they have a day off, they play like crappola. Thank goodness for Rondon! I charge these knuckle heads $500 for being stupid on the bases.
Kemp owes me $500 and Springer owes me *1000.00* tonight!
Glad Keuchel got his win⚾!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
They have stats of every other darn thing – can’t the pointy heads share some stats with the guys on insanely stupid baserunning?
LikeLike
Tonight’s game was so hard to watch. I would watch for an inning or so and start to get upset and turn it off and come back to it an hour later. Time does not fly when someone is being tortured and Chris Devenski was the sadist tonight. OMG, I hate walks!
Thank you, Tony Kemp and Hector Rondon for saving the night. I actually watched the postgame show because I already knew the Astros had won and I wanted to salvage a little of the evening.
I will be glad when Springer starts hitting homers again. That way he can just trot around the bases without being doubled up.
The Mariners beat the Angels tonight, despite the worlds greatest hitter coming back and being the DH for Los Angeles.
A win over Texas on July 4th would get the Astros back on that 12-7 track heading to the ASG.
LikeLike
For those who didn’t stay up late, or lit firecrackers instead of watching the Angels lose to Seattle, Ohtani’s return netted him an 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.
LikeLike
That was a Reddick-ulous Kempin’ trip with the most beautiful Gurriel in the world.
Meanwhile, Dallas Wicz-ed through Arlington.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I guess it’s also safe to say that our former closer is indeed our former closer.
LikeLike
It is not Giles fault. The offense needs to get us ahead by 9 runs, and then Giles can pitch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We don’t have a closer. We have a couple of ‘9th Inning Adventures with Bear Grillis’ survivors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy 4th and go easy on the 5th. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes a very happy 4th of July to everyone. Looks like a very wet 4th here in the bayou city.
LikeLike
Please send some of it to us here in NC
LikeLike
Dan, between Memorial Day floods, repeatedly, tax day flood, and now July 4, I’m wondering if some kind of message is being sent. Prolly just me. (!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lineup tonight behind Cole…
Springer CF
Bregman 3B
Altuve 2B
Gurriel 1B
Gattis DH
Reddick RF
Gonzalez SS
Federowicz C
Kemp LF
LikeLike
Apparently being a moron runs in the family
https://sports.yahoo.com/reports-son-former-mvp-set-213821192.html
Did I mention I still hate the trade that brought him here? We gave up nothing of worth, but I hated having him as an Astro
LikeLike
Looks like those old masking agents do not work any longer.
LikeLike
Correct me if I’m wrong but lately the middle to the bottom of the lineup, except one or two, have been putting the wood to the ball lately.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Cole not on his game tonight. Bats heating up.
LikeLike
But he comes through in the 5th
LikeLike
Springer obviously has caught the dreaded JFSF disease. 1 walk and 3K’s. He looks lost at the plate.
LikeLike
Astros have hit several on the nose either just foul or right at someone. The Rangers have hit balls which would be an out normally, but the shift has no one there. (No not complaining, just saying what I have seen)
LikeLike
Before tonight, Astros lead all of MLB with 85 ground into double plays. 5 more than Royals.
LikeLike
The top of the lineup are all reeling, even Tuve. George is like 5-6 for 60 or 70 something. And Marwin has become a liability offensively, SO, groundout, popup, esp with risp (he’s not alone there). Altuve will rebound pretty quickly. If CC’s expressed 2018 goal is MVP he’ll have to rake the second half. You’re right about GS, Zanuda, he’s infected big time. It seems like the plate approach tonight was be aggressive on the 1st pitch. Kemp hasn’t fared so well doing that. Again the middle, bottom of the lineup dealin
LikeLike
George gave it a ride but still an out. He looks like, “what have I got to do to get a hit?”. Making good contact will help and eventually happen.
LikeLike
Make them pay MG
LikeLike
Not sure if I want to watch the bottom of the 10th, with the two options presented.
LikeLike
Oh Ye of Little Faith……..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I watched. Those first couple of sliders up scared me. The next three were excellent. Hey, we’re two and 1 in July!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s the old Ken Giles we like to see.
LikeLike
Good win for the good guys. Homeruns and situational hitting lead the comeback and Giles puts up his first save in a while
LikeLike
* That was a game the Astros weren’t supposed to win and did. They are back on track for that 12-7 record leading up to the ASG.
* Homers are great, but Altuve’s single with 2 strikes on him, a totally stupid error by their pitcher and a clutch SF by Gattis is a game winner.
* Gerrit Cole looks like he needs some rest.
* Tim Fedorawhat is not my idea of a good catcher, but the Astros won both games. I’m pretty sure they told him he would be the first guy up in case of injury when they signed him.
* Fresno shut out Las Vegas 5-0 tonight and all is back to normal in Kyle Tucker’s world with a couple of hits and a walk and an RBI. Stubbs and Tucker both had triples tonight.
* I didn’t want to watch Giles pitch, but Mrs 1OP made me do it and she got award for best fan in the family tonight.
LikeLike
Good part is Stassi should be back on Friday.
LikeLike
Good heavens! What on earth is wrong with Garrett Cole??? We were busy celebrating with family, so I didn’t check my phone until the 10th. At least they got outta there with a win, but I’m kinda worried about Cole! He’s had 3 starts in a row where he’s had some bad luck, trying to get outs. Oh jeeze another day off tomorrow, I’m not sure why, but these guys play like crappola the next day.
LikeLike
Nothing wrong with Garrett Cole. He’s kept his team in every one of his 18 starts. We’re 15 and 3 in those games. He’s an early Cy Young candidate. But as OP notes, a few days of down time to rest body and brain would be nice. Maybe he’ll even get a ten day vacation at some point.
LikeLike
One thing that stuck out last night. When Bregman was not able to get back to the bag on the bunt, Harris was quite demonstrative on the field, which is very unusual for him. Maybe these guys are putting too much pressure on themselves, so ingrained in their heads is the mantra to repeat the outcome of 2017. We normally don’t see such significant slumps out of our guys. We almost never see any kind of slump out of Altuve. We’re making too many mental errors for a World Champion squad. I’m hoping they come back from the break and start playing a bit looser. But let’s not also forget that June, at 19 and 8, was an excellent month overall.
LikeLike
Good points daveb – I was going to point out that a new post is up when you get time to check it out.
LikeLike