Heading into the COVID delayed 2020 season, Astro’s fans had many concerns ranging from how well the Astros were going to fill in behind Gerrit Cole, Wade Miley, Roberto Osuna, Will Harris, and Hector Rondon, to how Yordan Alvarez‘s knees were going to hold up, to whether they would make it through a whole season during the pandemic and would any fans actually see any games in person.
As it turned out, an area the fans were not that concerned about, the performance of their high octane infield of Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman, turned out to be the biggest disappointment of 2020. The following table shows the huge drop off of each of the foursome. Note – the numbers for runs, doubles, homers and RBIs have all been factored up to 162 games worth for each season to give a better feel on the comparisons.
| Name | Year | BA | OBP | OPS | Runs* | Dbls* | HRs* | RBIs* |
| Yuli Gurriel | 2019 | .298 | .343 | .884 | 95 | 45 | 35 | 117 |
| Yuli Gurriel | 2020 | .232 | .274 | .658 | 77 | 34 | 17 | 62 |
| Jose Altuve | 2019 | .298 | .353 | .903 | 116 | 35 | 41 | 97 |
| Jose Altuve | 2020 | .219 | .286 | .629 | 108 | 30 | 17 | 61 |
| Carlos Correa | 2019 | .279 | .358 | .926 | 91 | 35 | 45 | 127 |
| Carlos Correa | 2020 | .264 | .326 | .709 | 61 | 25 | 14 | 70 |
| Alex Bregman | 2019 | .296 | .423 | 1.015 | 127 | 38 | 43 | 116 |
| Alex Bregman | 2020 | .242 | .350 | .801 | 73 | 46 | 23 | 85 |
It is not clear what is more amazing here. That not one of those stats went up year to year or that the Astros somehow managed to get within one game of the World Series after all this occurred. It should be noted that after squeezing into the expanded playoffs two of the four (Altuve and Correa) produced closer to expectations in the playoffs.
The bottom line here is that there is a ton of room for all four of these players to swerve back to their norm.
Gurriel is by far the oldest of the infield foursome as he turns 37 in June. His performance in 2020 could be blamed on age, but frankly, he had been getting better with age and had his very best season in 2019. However, he may have been much more affected by the stop-start of the 2020 season as he was not in top shape, may have been dealing with an injury and was also dealing with the emotion of COVID with most of his family isolated from him. The Astros still believed in him and signed him for 2021 with an option for 2022.
Altuve had the worse season in his career. As we’ve been told he was dealing with a death or deaths in his family. We did not have to be told that he took the cheating scandal perhaps more personally than any of his teammates. It was like watching George Springer in one of his bad slumps for the whole season as he was swinging out of his shoes with little contact and lesser results. The “real” Jose appeared in the playoffs and told us that he still had the ability to be one of the most impactful players in the major leagues.
Correa slumped the least of the four players, though his power fell off steeply. The plus side for the season was that he had no little nicks, massaged broken ribs or mystery back injuries knocking him out of the lineup. The other plus side was that he stepped up verbally and with his performance in the playoffs. The focus will be on this possibly being his last year with the organization, but there should be additional focus on whether Correa can finally link a premier offensive performance with a season that he stays on the field.
Bregman’s 2020 season was mediocre for a normal hitter, but far below average for the man who was a runner up to Mike Trout for the AL MVP in 2019. It was a pretty sure thing that his hamstring injury hamstrung him in the batting box, especially late in the season and it is a concern that he starts spring training with a tweaked hammy. Alex turns 27 this season and should be entering his prime. A bounce-back season is a reasonable expectation for Bregman in 2021.
Will all four of these infielders come roaring back in 2021? Maybe not, but it sure is not a big reach to think that 3 of the 4 will get back to the norm in the new season.
CHIPALATTA 
Astros enter the ninth today trailing 6-2.
Then the kiddie corps plays small ball
Nova walks
Toro singles
DeLaCruz singles
Manea walks
di Gotti singles
Dawson singles
Barber hit by pitch
6-6 with the bases loaded and still no outs
LikeLike
(That was DeGotti)
McCormick K’s
Pena sac fly to put them ahead 7-6
Nova K’s
Heading to the bottom of the 9th.
OK – it does not count, but it is baseball
LikeLiked by 1 person
Somebody in the dugout read the word ‘comeback’ in the title to this post, and Voila!
Well done, Dan!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am so powerful, Mr. Bill……
LikeLike
So Mr. Bill, maybe I should write about how the ASTROS ARE WINNERS in a WORLD that is a SERIES of countries separated by boundaries and oceans.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Astros win! Astros win! As Ryan Hartman gets the win…..
So the players who are not going to play in the majors for the Astros this year beat the players who are not going to play in the majors for the Nats this year.
LikeLike
Even if Bregman is coddled and starts the season late, I see 500 points worth of OPS added by those four guys in 2021, at least.
LikeLike
Since they lost more than .900 OPS from the four you might be conservative
LikeLiked by 1 person
If our infielders are physically and psychologically healthy, they should all improve their numbers from last year.
I did not realize this but apparently Yuli had a hand injury last year that caused his poor production:
https://climbingtalshill.com/2020/09/22/astros-yuli-gurriel-should-rest-injured-hand-before-playoffs/
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Astro Nut – I was looking for something about a Yuli injury when I wrote this and this did not pop up. It certainly would explain things as he was still making contact last season – his K% was about the same, but his HR% and extra base % were way down. His Babip (batting average for ball in play) was a minisucle .235, which is way off his personal average or league averages. It makes sense you would have less pop with an injured hand. You could still connect but the ball isn’t going anywhere.
LikeLike
Some Astro related stuff….
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/quick-hits-springer-conforto-straw-greinke.html
LikeLike
I saw a few people had clicked on this post from last year and I stopped to re-read it. Nice walk down memory lane, especially all the wonderful comments…
https://chipalatta.com/2020/04/04/10-things-i-love-about-baseball/
LikeLike
A fun read – I really liked the video of the 2 home run game…
https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/zack-greinke-wants-10-homers-10-steals?t=offbeat
LikeLike
Considering the theme of this post, now is a good time to look at the Astros infield today starting against most of the Mets regular lineup:
Diaz at 3B
Pena at SS
Nova at 2B
Jones at 1B
LikeLike
Easy names to remember.
LikeLike
Programs, get yer programs here! A nice looking Spring Training Magazine:
https://www.mlb.com/astros/fans/astros-game-day-magazine
LikeLike
Framber gets three ground ball outs in a 1-2-3 first inning….
LikeLike
I just spent 3.99 a month (about the price of a large rum punch at Sunshine’s) on a subscription to The Athletic. I know, big splurge. Anyway, Jake Kaplan was talking about what Correa might get as a free agent after an excellent 2021 season. He suggested Manny Machado money.
I hope Carlos has the kind of season that nets him 300 million over ten years.
LikeLike
But I doubt we’ll be paying it.
LikeLike
Someone else might pay that kind of money for 115 games a year, but it will not happen here.
LikeLike
That’s a pretty big gamble. When I look at the players who have been paid those obscene contracts I’d say Machado is the safest bet of all of them. I wouldn’t touch Betts, Trout, or Tatis, Jr.’s contracts. Harper’s has been a disaster and could overtake Arod when it comes to a team regretting what they paid someone eventually. Correa brings value in so many ways that I can see a justification, but the despite a wide gap in natural ability he has yet to be the best player on his MLB team for a season. Then again, by the looks of it, SD, LAD, and NYY aren’t concerned with how much money they throw around.
LikeLike
So today, Framber gave up a solo home run in two other wise spotless innings. Javier gave up a hit and a walk in two scoreless innings. Lash Larue (Not sure if this is really Lash) just gave up another solo HR in the 5th inning.
The Astros’ hitters, which are mostly the youngsters, have not scored yet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A few tidbits from today’s game:
Souza Jr played the 6th & 7th at First Base.
Austin Hansen struck out the side in the 7th.
Former Astro farmhand Drew Ferguson played LF for the Mets in the 6th & 7th and drew a walk in the 7th.
LikeLike
Hansen actually looked pretty good. I didn’t catch the 1st 6 innings.
LikeLike
Am I reading this correctly? It appears that MLB and AAA players complete Spring Training for games starting about April 1st. Then the other minor leaguers go to ST for April and start their games about May 4th. That is how I am reading the schedule.
LikeLike
That was changed in the last 24 hours. Now all the minor leaguers will not start until may and there will be an alternate site for MLB reserves to practice at for each club until the MILB season begins. MLB and Covid, working hand in hand to mess up as much of everyone’s career as they can.
LikeLike
On a separate note, with the announcement yesterday that Texas is fully open for business once more, does that mean Opening Day at Minute Maid will be a sell out?
LikeLike
I would not buy tickets just yet – I think the County Judge and Mayor will not allow full opening (they can’t over-ride the governor on most things, but I’m betting they have lawyers filing stuff right now)and frankly I don’t think the Astros or MLB will take the deep dive at this point.
LikeLike
Dan, yeah, I can’t think of how it could possibly be in MLB’s best interests to pack 40K plus mask-less fans into the park 5 weeks from now on a rainy night with the roof closed.
LikeLike
Looks like AAA will be delayed along with the other minor leagues….
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/start-of-triple-a-season-delayed.html
LikeLike
If MLB ran the Indy 500, there would be a 30 car pile up before the pace car left the track.
LikeLike
Another question? Does anyone use FUBO TV to watch the Astros. Rather pricey but for those of us in Suddenlink Hell, we have few options. If it is AT&T Southwest, my assumption is no blackout. I am reading $65 a month but cancel anytime?
https://www.fubo.tv/welcome/channels
LikeLike
I’m sorry AC45 – when I see FUBO – all I can think of is how it appears to be the initials for a “not ready for mixed company” description of what kind of Baseball Organization the MLB is…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Framber fractures finger:
https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/framber-valdez-finger-injury
LikeLike
He won’t get to throw for awhile. Well, on the bright side of things, he was not going to throw 200 innings this year anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know I am a post behind in asking, but who do you think will be the NEXT MAN UP after Framber Valdez? The remainder of Spring Training 2021 just started looking a whole lot more competitive for a few of our young pitchers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps Mr. Whitley will not only get an opportunity but will take advantage of it
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m taking Abreu.
LikeLiked by 1 person