Astros 2019: Who is and who is not clutch?

Friend of the blog Old Pro wrote about how the Astros are one of the best offensive teams around until …….there are people in scoring position, where they are very middle of the road. Which is unfortunate, since they have people in scoring position more often than any team around.

This made your humble writer wonder about who is and is not clutch on this team and this season in two situations – runners in scoring position (RISP) and 2 outs with RISP. The following mini-spreadsheet has the players ranked from best to worst in those situations. It is plain to see that while some of the players are Clutch Cargo, others appear to be clutching their throats in these key situations.

Name Situation ABs HRs RBIs BA OBP OPS
Michael Brantley

 

 RISP 108 4 54 .361 .433 1.053
2 outs RISP 48 2 24 .354 .446 1.051
Yordan Alvarez RISP 66 4 34 .348 .408 1.059
2 outs RISP 28 2 15 .357 .419 1.134
Yuli Gurriel RISP 125 9 48 .304 .363 .971
2 outs RISP 63 4 26 .280 .366 .906
Jose Altuve RISP 68 9 38 .279 .406 1.142
2 outs RISP 32 4 15 .313 .450 1.200
George Springer RISP 88 7 43 .307 .409 1.045
2 outs RISP 40 3 15 .225 .340 .890
Aledmys Diaz RISP 41 3 24 .317 .365 1.000
2 outs RISP 20 2 11 .300 .400 1.040
Carlos Correa RISP 81 5 36 .284 .386 .892
2 outs RISP 36 1 10 .222 .349 .682
Alex Bregman RISP 106 6 48 .216 .341 .782
2 outs RISP 41 4 23 .244 .404 1.014
Robinson Chirinos RISP 77 2 25 .182 .295 .619
2 outs RISP 36 1 10 .167 .302 .608
Jake Marisnick RISP 59 0 16 .237 .308 .664
2 outs RISP 33 0 7 .242 .286 .680
Josh Reddick RISP 85 1 25 .235 .291 .597
2 outs RISP 41 0 9 .171 .261 .456
Tyler White RISP 58 1 20 .207 .290 .583
2 outs RISP 23 0 4 .174 .269 .442

Observations…..

  • Eyes are not deceiving on the two best hitters in the lineup, especially in the clutch. Both Michael Brantley and wunderkind Yordan Alvarez are insanely good with RISP and are as good or better when it happens with two outs.
  • Alex Bregman is fairly effective despite his bad BA in both situations. Just imagine what those numbers would look like if he was hitting like last season (.388 BA/.488 OBP/ 1.219 OPS with RISP and .368/.446/1.201 with 2 outs RISP)
  • There is no wonder why Tyler White is gone.
  • There is also no wonder why folks are thinking Josh Reddick may head elsewhere in the off-season.
  • Carlos (Glass Menagerie) Correa is really solid with RISP, unless…..there are 2 outs. Then he is below average as is his buddy Mr. Springer.
  • Yuli, Jose and Aledmys are actually quite good with RISP. End of the lineup guys like Chirinos, Marisnick and Reddick show why they are end of the lineup guys.

So, how would you rank these guys and who do you want to see up or sitting in the dugout when the spotlight brightens?

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117 responses to “Astros 2019: Who is and who is not clutch?”

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  2. I say we need to sign “Clutch Cargo” (for those who remember that cartoon) because he can’t be any worse than the cast of characters currently at the plate these days.

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  3. The picture in today’s paper of Verlander….tells it all. If I was any guy in that clubhouse, I wouldn’t even make eye contact with him today. I’ve never been so angry at the poor play as I was last night. Verlander has a chance to be in line for a Cy Young this year…….good luck with that.

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  4. I’m pretty sure Toro is being brought up to eliminate another poor hitter from the lineup. I’m pretty sure there is more than one person PO’d about our best hitter sitting on the bench last night while seven(7) of the 9 guys in the lineup had 0-fers. It’s just humiliating to get beaten by the worst team in baseball with Michael Brantley watching and not injured.
    Toro is Rule 5 eligible anyway, so he would be added after the season. But the Astros probably feel they need his switch hitting bat right now.
    I’m pretty sure Mayfield will be sent down, but I’m not sure who is coming off the 40-man. Maybe an injured player is going to be put on the 60-day, but, unless Josh James has reinjured himself, I thinking it won’t be him.

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  7. In answer to your post, ranking, who up, who sits; the top 4 on your list are definitely the guys I want in the spotlight. AD & CC would follow (though out with inj) then GS & AB. I’d sit all else in bright light moments. They are who we thought they would be.
    For this Det series the top hitters are GS, JA, YG & MB until CR came in with a 4-4 to lift both the top & bottom of the lineup off the dung heap.
    AJ’s lefty strategy was a colossal flop.
    Opposing tms will continue to pitch around YA/YG, scurrying like rats to get to the back end guys who were a collective 0-9 minus CR.
    After last nights debacle if I’m the hitting coach I’m rolling film to show our guys how horrible they looked being undisciplined at the plate

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    • It was either Guduan, or Rodgers.
      Odd, since the former is suspended for team rules.
      Astros might feel like 100 mph LHRP will get scooped up immediately, whereas Rodgers may not.

      I’d prefer they go ahead and DFA Guduan, and bring up Bielak. But they probably don’t want to start his or Ivey’s clock if we have Urquidy, Armenteros, Abreu and Sneed (along with the contracted vets Smith Rondon Biagini McQ, Peacock).

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  9. Springer
    Brantley
    Altuve
    Bregman
    Alvarez
    Gurriel
    Toro
    Maldonado? Chirinos?
    Reddick
    This is my guess since Mickey Storey told Toro he would be batting seventh tonight for the Astros.

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  11. “Now, to what end this season to add to 40-man? Toro.”

    Did ya catch that three days, Dan? ha
    Maybe a lucky guess…

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    • Grayson – I’m not sure what your post means – did you say that 3 days ago?

      In my last post on September call-ups I had mentioned him – “Also, note that if you want to promote someone not on this list (Abraham Toro anyone?) someone has to leave the 40 man to make space for him.”

      I had been talking about him in my back and forth with my sons when Correa went down, because the Astros had such a small contingent of infielders on the 40 man roster.

      In my mind – if Correa is never going to be more than a China doll, they need to see what Toro can bring to the table and decide if they want to send Carlos packing and move Bregman over whether off-season or next deadline….

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      • Dan I agree with you 100%…..just a reminder, Biagini got totally ROCKED this week, so I’d stay away from him until this weekend.
        * Toney Sipp is still out there, just a suggestion 🙂

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  12. Welcome to Houston, Abraham Toro.

    22 y/o.
    At CC this year, he slashed .306/.393/.906, with 22 DBL, 16 HR, and 70 RBI.
    In 16 games of hitting AAA’s ‘juiced’ baseball, he slashed .424/.506/1.112 with 9 DBL, 1 HR, and 10 RBIs.

    Make it count, Abe!

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  13. Sounds like a guy we could like and use, more so if he follows in the footsteps of YA. Can he play def well enough?

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  14. I gotta tell ya…I watched the A’s Yankees, game on Tues and Wed….we were LUCKY to get outta there with one win! The A’s are playing some dang good baseball. The Angels have been man handled by the arlington little league as well. The Angels are starting a lefty on Friday.

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  15. Astros fans to Carlos Correa:

    Once I loved Carlos and it was a gas
    Soon turned out he had a heart of glass
    Seemed like the real thing, but only to find
    Mucho mistrust, love’s gone behind

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  18. Zimmerman has *1* win this year…..for the exception of Bregman, these guys are playing brain dead again.😠 A’S are 7 games behind us, not much margin to play with.

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    • Makes no sense to me. Excellent pitching and
      The line up appears to be sleep walking against the worst team in baseball.

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  19. Another 1 run with the bases juiced. Maybe all Cole needs we hope.
    Out of curiosity, today I watched 2 gms this series, just Astro at bats. I repeatedly saw our guys expanding the zone with Det pitchers working around the edges, getting lots of outs on off speed stuff outside the zone. They hardly bother throwing FB’s, we’re chasing bad pitches on 3-2 counts even. No wonder these gms have been low hit/scoring

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  20. What a performance by Cole 12 strikeouts ! Tanaka, is melting down in Oakland, A’S have a 3 and 0 against the yankees. I hope our guys can keep the Tigers off the board tonight. Cross your fingers!

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  21. Biagini ain’t got it. Can’t throw a strike but when he does whamo! I notice that the Detroit hitters have pounded that 1st pitch strike while our guys let it go. Then we swing at the off speed stuff or the off the plat slider.

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    • Well if you want to blame someone other than the guys that throw the pitches, then I’d look to Luhnow first. The pen has been suspect all season. The injuries have not helped. If I’m up 6 I’ve got to use a guy like Biagini in that situation. And I’m sure Osuna was mentally on his way home already.

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    • I think the hitting slump continues as long as the opposing pitchers throw junk soft tosses or breaking balls on the outside of the strike zone. Eliminate Alvarez (at times) and Bregman (most of the time) and you have nothing but free swingers that make a young team like Detroit look disciplined.

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  25. So Oakland sweeps the Yanks after taking 3of 4 from us. Interesting.

    Our guys just refuse to be patient at the plate. You would think that with all the videos available they would be able to see their mistakes.

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  26. Whitley pitched pretty well against the top team in the Texas League last night on the road.
    Josh James pitched last night for Round Rock and got hit hard, but at least he is rehabbing. Every pitcher for RR got hit hard in Memphis last night. Maybe It Was Memphis.
    Brady Rodgers has been released. He was a third round pick in Luhnow’s first Astros draft in 2012.
    Biagini got hit hard in his AAA appearance and got hit hard last night. He was throwing meatballs.

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  27. I will not be suckered into watching Texans and Rockets games this season. This blog, the Astros offseason and sitting in a blind in rain and cold are very reasonable alternatives.
    Yesterday, on the way to school I avoided death for the first time in my life, that I know of. On the state highway by the school. an oncoming car came across the yellow line into my lane. When I realized he wasn’t going to correct I made a move to the right and watched him blow past me in the lane I had been in and continue cutting across the highway before jumping a curb and disappearing across a vacant lot.
    If I hadn’t been slowing to turn into the school, if I hadn’t been paying attention, if I hadn’t had an instant reaction, if there had been someone in the lane next to me, he and I would be history. I am still shaking.
    I love all of you. Be safe.

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    • Wow – op – that is over the top scary.
      A couple years ago they had a feature on the news about if a car is heading towards you head-on.
      The two biggest things were –
      1) Slow down as much as possible to lower the total speed of the two vehicles – if you are both going 60 that is the equivalent of a 120 mph collision, but if you can slow your car down to 20 that makes it like 80 mph
      2) Go to the right even if you have to collide with someone – the collision with someone going your direction is minor compared to a head on
      Bottom line – glad you are here to write about this. Thank you Lord

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