Astros’ ChipalattAwards for August

The Astros had a 14-12 record in August, which at one time was 6-8, so the final number is not the end of the world. The Astros’ starting pitching along with losing Lance McCullers came down to more human numbers. The revamped bullpen was overall good. The hitting was a mix of the terrific and the terrible. So there was a lot to consider in giving out the Chippy Awards for the month of August.

Starting Pitcher of the Month. Framber Valdez. None of the regular pitchers was that outstanding in August and Valdez came in and gave them a terrific shot in the arm. He only had two starts, but his third 4+ inning appearance was start-ish in effect. He was 2-1 for the month with a sterling 1.26 ERA and 0.907 WHIP. His strong and poised performance gave the front office something to think about as they head to an off-season with two starters becoming free agents.

Runner-up. Dallas Keuchel. He was the anchor for the month with a solid 2-1 record and a 3.49 ERA with 1.241 WHIP in a team-leading 38.2 IP.

In July – It was Dallas Keuchel followed by Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander.

Everyday Player of the Month. Your Pick. This month you get to choose the Everyday Player(s) of the month and his (their) Runner(s)-Up. There were three outstanding performances for the month that all deserve some recognition.

  • Alex (The Stare) Bregman put up a terrific .327 BA / .427 OBP / .938 OPS slash while scoring 18 times, knocking out 9 doubles, 3 HRs and 15 RBIs and oh yes, he walked 16 times and struck out only 10 times.
  • Marwin Gonzalez reversed his season trend with a .303 BA / .361 OBP / .967 OPS while scoring 19 times with 6 doubles, 8 HRs and 20 RBIs, but he did strike out 28 times vs. only 8 walks.
  • Tyler White was great with a .325 BA / .385 OBP / 1.095 OPS, 14 runs scored, 4 doubles, 8 HRs and 23 RBIs and he walked 8 times against 17 Ks (in 15 less ABs than the other two guys)

In different ways, all three of these players brought a lot to the table and all deserve to be recognized for their performance.

In July – It was Alex Bregman with Tyler White as the runner-up.

Relief Pitcher of the Month. Ryan Pressly. Pressly has been nails since the deadline trade with the Twins brought him to a contender. He posted a glittery 0.79 ERA and matching 0.441 WHIP while striking out 12.7 batters / 9 IPs and walking no one in 11.1 IPs in August. He has been a solid contributor in the late innings for the Astros.

Runner-up. Hector Rondon. Rondon did not fall apart when the Astros brought in another closer in Roberto Osuna. Hector had 4 saves along with a 1.46 ERA, 1.135 WHIP in 12.1 IP in August. He has helped give the Astros some choices in the 8th and 9th innings.

In July – This award belonged to Collin McHugh with Tony Sipp and Joe Smith as the runners-up.

Biggest Surprise (Positive). Tyler White. He has shown small snippets of good hitting in his previous stays with the big club, but since getting regular plate time in late July, he has pulled the DH job away from Evan Gattis and given himself a potential long-term position with the club.

Runner-up. Framber Valdez. The way most of the Astros’ hitting farm hands have floundered after their first call-ups, it was natural to be wary of the insertion of Valdez into the McCullers slot into the rotation. The kid has not disappointed in his first taste of major league ball.

In July – It was Tony Kemp followed by Tony Sipp and Joe Smith.

Biggest Surprise (Negative). Carlos Correa. It might not be an exaggeration to say that Carlos was worse than any sub they might have used for him when he was injured. In August, he was even worse than he was when he came off the DL in 2017 with a .169 BA / .235 OBP / .460 OPS. It was not surprising that he would be a bit rusty coming back, but this performance makes one wonder if his back is healed or not.

Runner-up. Justin Verlander. This comes under the category “we’ve been spoiled”. JV has been unbelievably good through an unbeaten September 2017, as a leader of the playoff push to the championship and through 2/3 of the 2018 season. He proved he would actually bleed if cut in a very pedestrian August with a 2-2 record, a 5.29 ERA and allowing 9 HRs in 32.1 IP, while pursuing his 200th career win. Yes – he deserves a mulligan of a month once in a while.

In July – Ken Giles followed by Kyle Tucker

The surprising stats award. Will Harris. His 0-0 record, 2.38 ERA and 0.882 WHIP in August do not seem to match the eyeball impression test where he is thought to be bound to be banished from the post-season roster.

Runner-up. Martin Maldonado. It was obvious he was hitting better in August than when he first came over from the Angels, but his .269 BA / .867 OPS / 12 runs / 9 RBIs month seemed higher than what was seen during the month.

Honorable Mention. Jose Altuve. This also comes under the category of “we’ve been spoiled”, but would you have guessed he was slashing .295 BA/ .356 OBP / .795 OPS in August? Good for mortals, but not good enough for Mr. MVP.

The stat that might have shown an injury was coming award. Charlie Morton. Every month he was averaging 11 or more strikeouts per 9 innings pitched until August where he dipped to 8.5 K/ 9 IP

Do you agree with these awards?

Want to propose awards of your own?

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129 responses to “Astros’ ChipalattAwards for August”

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  1. Call me 1/2 empty, Mr Raincloud, naysayer, etc. Lets not forget last year we were going to get home field because the Indians could not keep winning. This year it is the A’s. Lets win the Division and see who we need on the roster. Don’t want to play a one game series.

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  2. Good morning 45! Would you rather be any other team in MLB than the Astros right now? A couple of thoughts on the Sox that I had not really noticed before this weekend. They have a significant issue behind the plate. Their pen is suspect. The bottom of their order is unremarkable. I like our rotation more.

    For obvious reasons, we shouldn’t be too concerned with home field advantage.

    The one biggest thing in our favor though is that we fully control our own destiny. We don’t need help from anyone. Oakland deserves a whole lot of credit for what they have accomplished, but I’d bet they are a bit frustrated watching us win our last seven in a row. They had to be thinking the Red Sox would be of some help.

    Our guys played one of their most complete games of the year yesterday, against the best record in baseball in their very cozy park. We were totally unfazed. And like I said yesterday, when you can go to the pen in the 6th and bring in a guy, a rookie that throws 100 and shuts down the best offense in MLB for 2 and 2/3, well I think that gives everyone in Boston pause.

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    • My biggest concern is Altuve and Correa both hitting below .200 for a couple weeks now. Yep, we won most of those games, but we need for them to get healthy, if possible, in order to go far in the playoffs. And the answer is No, I like our team with our infield tandem playing well.

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  3. I love Yuli, but I think we saw his best season in 2017. We might have better guys available next season. Does he get traded, or does he become an infield utility guy if Marwin is gone? Don’t say DH. He’s not hitting enough for that job. He’s not all that expensive, so someone might take him.

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    • Dave I’ve been thinking along those lines too – you could get a 1B pretty easy the way they are valued or put White at first and pick up a DH

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      • J.D. Davis has not done anything yet, but what if he really can hit? What if he and White could cover first and DH for a million plus total? That’s extra money somewhere else.

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      • Based on our history, picking up a 1B is easy? Gotta question that assumption! Interesting thought about letting Yuli take the Marwin role. Yuli is under contract for 2 more years at $10.4 and $8.4, but he is 34, 5 years older than Marwin. It will probably cost a good bit more to keep Marwin than to keep Yuli. Or maybe Tyler White is your super sub – he’s played all IF positions plus some LF at Fresno this year. Maybe Yuli would like to go play with his brother in Toronto? Lots of decisions this offseason.

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      • White is not our super sub. He holds is own at first, but that’s his best position. If he keeps hitting as advertised, he should be the DH and part time guy at first, playing everyday. It would be great to have Marwin back, but he’s not going to be an easy signing. This will be the one one real free agent opportunity of his career. What is a poor mans’s Ben Zobrist worth? With Yuli sitting with a .720 OPS in September, the club will be looking to get more offense out of first next year.

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      • I love DB7’s nephew, but really, he can hit, and he is acceptable at first. And we can quit with anything else. UNLESS he spends the time that people like Biggio did to make himself another position player.

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      • 45, I think nephew would easier become a sumo wrestler than a utility infielder. I’ve already told him to keep drinking the Budweiser per your direction.

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  8. A’s, are currently losing to the arlington little league!! Chill didn’t make it out of the 3rd inning. *NEVER* thought I would say this but, GO RANGERS!
    Spit, spit, spit…..now I have to gargle with Clorox😨

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  9. If Keuchel can escape the 1st inning without getting his guys behind the 8 ball, he usually pitches pretty well. BUT…..it’s that 1st inning that’s been a bug for him. I think we will see some homeruns tonight from some guys not named Alex Bregman!

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  14. Why do we have replay if they are going to miss a call like that. Altuve was safe and I don’t see how they could watch that and say otherwise.

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  21. Excellent series. We certainly got the Sox attention. They were pretty happy, and I think relieved too, going home with a win.

    Rondon did not pitch badly. Two bloops and a grounder up the middle. It happens.

    No let up here. The A’s are for real.

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    • Dave, I watched some of the Oakland / Texas series. The A’s are impressive but Texas looks awful. Their defense was pathetic and the pitching speaks for itself.

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  22. Previously I said I would be thrilled if we came through the weekend with 2.5 game lead.
    It was much more than I expected. I’m very proud of our team this morning.

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  23. I will say this. We’re got four outfielders that would have laid out for that game winning hit. Marwin is not much of a head first diver, but maybe he just misjudged the ball. Even if he catches it barehanded on a hop, no way he throws the guy out standing flat footed out there. Too bad we did not have our late game defensive rotation on the field. I think Reddick would have made the play.

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