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ChipalattAwards for August

Looking at the numbers for the starting pitchers in July, especially the ERAs for Cristian Javier (6.17), Hunter Brown (6.23), and J.P. France (5.92), it is hard to believe that the Astros finished August with a 17-11 record. On the other hand, after the mostly bad offensive numbers in July …..

ChipalattAwards for July – ALL THINGS ASTROS

…. there were a lot more hitters competing for the monthly awards, and that is what carried the team to an above .500 finish for the month.

Here is a quick stat chart of the Astros’ pitchers in the month of July.

Name Gm W L Svs IP ERA WHIP HR Ks/9 IP BAA OBPA OPSA BAbip IR/ IS
Framber Valdez 6 2 2 0 41.2 3.67 0.960 5 6.5 .197 .261 .635 .212 N/A
Cristian Javier 5 2 0 0 23.1 6.17 1.843 6 6.2 .278 .386 .922 .280 N/A
Hunter Brown 5 3 2 0 21.2 6.23 1.47 5 10.8 .302 .344 .937 .375 N/A
Brandon Bielak 1 0 0 0 5.1 5.06 1.875 0 5.1 .333 .440 .869 .389 3/3
J.P. France 5 3 2 0 24.1 5.92 1.562 5 8.1 .291 .345 .850 .325 N/A
Ronel Blanco 2 0 0 0 6 3.00 1.833 0 6.0 .304 .407 .799 .368 0/0
Justin Verlander 5 4 1 0 29 2.79 1.241 2 9.0 .252 .315 .698 .318 N/A
Jose Urquidy 5 0 1 1 19 5.21 1.474 1 6.2 .263 .333 .689 .307 0/0
Ryan Pressly 9 0 1 4 8.2 4.15 1.269 1 12.5 .270 .290 .695 .375 0/0
Hector Neris 12 0 0 0 11.2 3.97 0.971 2 10.3 .171 .244 .610 .192 2/0
Rafael Montero 13 0 0 0 11.1 2.31 1.371 1 14.7 .227 .320 .638 .375 1/2
Phil Maton 6 1 0 0 4.1 6.23 1.615 1 14.5 .250 .400 .838 .375 4/3
Ryne Stanek 10 1 0 0 9.2 1.86 0.621 2 9.2 .177 .200 .553 .182 5/0
Bryan Abreu 11 0 0 1 10.2 0.00 1.125 0 7.6 .147 .293 .469 .200 4/1
Seth Martinez 2 0 0 0 2.1 3.86 1.286 0 3.9 .222 .300 .522 .250 1/0
Parker Mushinski 5 0 0 0 4.2 7.71 1.500 3 5.9 .316 .350 1.140 .231 1/0
Kendall Graveman 13 1 2 0 14 2.57 1.214 2 10.3 .149 .298 .596 .172 4/0
Martin Maldonado 1 0 0 0 1 36.00 6.00 1 0.0 .714 .700 2.129 .571 0/0

Note – I added the IR (Inherited runners) / IS (Inherited runners who scored) stat for the relievers.

Starting Pitcher of the Month – Justin Verlander – He put up consistently solid numbers month long and ended up with the most wins and best ERA among the starting pitchers.

Runner-up – Framber Valdez – He had the best slash (against) of the starters with .197 BAA/.261 OBPA/ .635 OPSA fueled by his complete game no-hitter and a separate seven innings of no hit ball. His relatively poorer showings in his other four starts is why he is runner-up here.

Last Month – J.P. France – Starting Pitcher of the Month / Brandon Bielak – Runner-up

Relief Pitcher of the Month – Bryan Abreu – He repeats in August as the top reliever from July, allowing no earned runs in 11 appearances and a microscopic .147 BA/.293 OBP / .469 OPS against.

Runner-up.   Ryne Stanek – Stanek channeled some of his 2022 magic as he put up a staff-leading 0.621 WHIP and did not allow any of his 5 inherited runners to score.

Last Month – Bryan Abreu – Relief Pitcher of the Month and Hector Neris – Runner-up

Here is a quick stat chart of the Astros’ position players in the month of July.

Name ABs Runs Dbls HRs RBIs BBs Ks BA OBP OPS BAbip
Martin Maldonado 62 8 2 3 10 6 28 .258 .324 .759 .419
Jose Abreu 48 6 1 1 6 4 12 .188 .278 .549 .229
Mauricio Dubon 59 11 5 2 10 5 9 .339 .394 .919 .367
Jeremy Pena 99 18 8 0 8 15 20 .333 .426 .881 .418
Alex Bregman 110 21 9 4 21 18 22 .318 .432 .959 .369
Chas McCormick 96 16 2 6 16 8 28 .271 .343 .822 .318
Kyle Tucker 98 20 4 8 25 16 15 .255 .357 .897 .224
Yordan Alvarez 98 15 5 4 18 16 16 .306 .400 .900 .329
Yainer Diaz 86 13 4 6 18 4 14 .302 .337 .895 .299
Jose Altuve 113 27 8 3 14 14 20 .354 .430 .952 .411
Jake Meyers 54 6 3 2 8 1 15 .222 .250 .639 .270
Jon Singleton 51 8 2 2 9 10 10 .196 .328 .681 .205
Corey Julks 15 0 1 0 1 1 2 .200 .250 .517 .231
Grae Kessinger 8 0 1 0 0 0 4 .125 .135 .375 .250
Michael Brantley 8 1 1 0 2 0 1 .250 .250 .625 .286

Positional Player of the Month – Jose Altuve – There could be arguments made for a number of other players, but Altuve showed that he is the straw that stirs this offense as he performed like 2017 Altuve with his .354 BA/.430 OBP/ .952 OPS and a huge 27 runs scored.

Runner-up – Tie – Alex Bregman/Kyle Tucker – Bregman had a much higher BA, though he had the good luck of a much higher BAbip than Tucker. But the two of them were the big run producers, Bregman with 21 runs and 21 RBIs and Tucker with 20 runs scored and 25 RBIs,

Last Month – Kyle Tucker/Chas McCormick tied for Positional Player of the Month / Alex Bregman was Runner-up

Special Recognition – Yainer Diaz – He had the 7th most ABs on the team, but boy, he did a great job when he was out there with his .302/.337/.895 slash and those 6 HRs and 18 RBIs.

Biggest Surprise (Positive) – Rafael Montero – He had that bad start of the year and then bounced back in July, but I kept waiting for him to crash back down in August. He did not and has worked his way back to throwing meaningful innings for the team.

Runner-up  – Michael Brantley – Sure, he has been a great hitter in the past, but I thought he might struggle for a while upon his return. Some might say he only had 2 hits in his first 8 at bats, but he hit the ball hard at least another 4 times. Watching that beautiful left-handed swing is heartwarming.  

Last Month – Biggest Surprise (Positive) was J.P. France and Parker Mushinski was Runner-up.

Biggest Disappointment – Jose Abreu – Hopefully, it was just his back injury, but after a much better June and July, his big fall off in August was disappointing.

Runner-up – Cristian Javier – He grabs the runner-up spot again in August and deservedly so. He has more talent than this, but his lack of control jacks up his pitch count and puts him in hitter’s counts batter after batter.  

Last Month – Biggest Disappointment was Framber Valdez / Cristian Javier was Runner-up

Some Comments on August

  • Look at Framber Valdez’s won-loss of 2-2 vs. that 2-0 record of Cristian Javier. Considering Javier was giving up 2-1/2 more earned runs, had almost double the WHIP, and had about a 50% worse slash against than Framber, how the heck did he have the same amount of wins and no losses? It is one of the reasons that wins and losses is often a poor way to judge a pitcher’s season.
  • One amazing stat from this month is the .881 OPS for Jeremy Pena. Why is that amazing? I’m not sure if I’ve seen a player posting an OPS near .900 without one home run.
  • After complaining about Martin Maldonado all summer, it is a little embarrassing to see him actually have a solid month (.258 BA/.324 OBP/ .759 OPS and 10 RBIs in only 62 ABs). Well, if he ever did that for a whole season, I would never complain again, though I hope to not have to spend another season watching him.
  • Kendall Graveman’s numbers are much better, it seemed, than when watching him. In truth, he gave up a single run in his first two games with his new team and then only the big extra-inning homer out of his next 11 appearances.
  • The Astros had four players with an OPS of .900 or over and eight players with an OPS of .800 or over. No wonder they had their best offensive month of the season.
  • Something that is critical heading down the stretch is to improve one stat for three of the starters. Javier, Hunter Brown, and J.P. France each had 5 starts for the month but only threw 23.1, 21.2, and 24.1 innings, respectively. That is between 4 and 5 innings per start and will kill this team , if it continues.

As usual, it is your turn to comment. Any awards you disagree with? Any new ones you want to award?

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48 responses to “ChipalattAwards for August”

  1. I don’t get Jake in center. I thought I had Baker figured out. Frenchy is hitting the heck out of the ball. Chas has a 1.083 OPS against lefties. This is serious win every game in September time. It’s not time for hunches or to share the load or to keep a guy sharp. Jake can certainly help by pinch running at some point or playing late inning defense. He’s not a starter though.

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  2. Along with what Dave is saying – here is the lineup tonight

    Altuve 2B
    Bregman 3B
    Alvarez LF
    Tucker RF
    Abreu 1B
    Diaz DH
    Peña SS
    Meyers CF
    Maldonado C

    So, Brantley is sitting – they said he would not play more than 2 games in a row, but with the off day…. And as Dave is saying we have both Dubon and Chas sitting. Our bench is really good which means we will give away at bats early in the game for the chance that a late game at bat will help us. Look at McCormick and Dubon vs. Meyers August stats. No reason to do this (though it is funny he isn’t starting Dubon with JV pitching).

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  4. Anyone see the home/road, win-loss record the past 31 gms for both? The Stros have been road warriors away. How do tigers lose their stripes at home? Brown pitching tomorrow. We probably won’t see Jake or Maldy in the lineup. But somebody has to hit the ball!

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  7. If the manager is not prepared to squeeze every possible advantage out of his line up, that’s a heck of a disadvantage. Chas had 6 hits in his last 4 games played, yet was not in the line up on the 29th, off the 31st and out of the line up again on the 1st. Offensively, that’s worse than sitting Bregman for two out of three games.

    It’s the managers job to figure out how to win at home. It can’t all be bad luck and misfortune. And I know the manager has been given all kinds of statistics to help him make those line up decisions.

    Our relic is making things tougher on us.

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  8. You have waited a year and a half for “professional hitter” Brantley to return to the lineup, and you don’t DH him or play him, even after an off day.
    You start the worst catcher in baseball because he calls a great game and your ace gives up four home runs.
    Your slugger gets hit twice by pitches and you don’t retaliate. The ninth inning comes and a guy who hasn’t been on your team all year finally hits a nobody and then your catcher lets him steal.
    You sit your starting center fielder who scalds LH pitching and his replacement goes 0-for-ever and doesn’t make a bit of difference in CF because all the balls hit to the outfield go over the fence.
    41,000 fans fill your park, paying premium “Yankee Ticket Prices” and with first place in the division right there for the taking, you stink up the joint. That’s Dusty Baker Baseball!

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      • Come Monday was a great song but Jimmy and “mature” do not blend. This man was a big kid to his many fans and his reputation as a young soul will long outlive him.
        Everywhere this guy went, others had big smiles on their faces. He was a fun magnet.
        No offense to your comment, though, my friend.

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      • As I recall Jimmy mentioned in an interview that he wrote Come Monday about when he was in a deep depression and considering suicide. I’m sure that is why it is really different for him. I do like it when singers or bands step out of their comfort zone – Kind of like Kiss singing a ballad like “Beth” or the Carpenters rocking out (OK ,they never did that).

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      • You forgot “Goodbye to Love” which featured a fantastic guitar solo. Carpenter fans didn’t like it because of that but others admit it put them in a different light. I liked it.

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      • Good point Z – I forgot that solid solo
        I was a big fan of the Carpenters – great arrangements by Richard and the most pure voice you could wish for in Karen. A tragic loss.

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  10. Thoughts
    – Another discouraging home game…
    – Following along the throwing at Yordan thread – with the Yanks so comfortable at the plate, why didn’t JV bring one or two in under their chins?
    – There we were losing 3-0 and Altuve comes out of the game – not a good feeling for our side
    – I go back to the Dan P lineup
    Altuve 2B (I’m pretending he’s going to be back)
    Bregman 3B
    Alvarez LF
    Tucker RF
    McCormick CF
    Brantley DH
    Diaz C
    Abreu 1B
    Pena SS

    I mean c’mon that is really, really tough

    – The Yanks bring up two prospects and one hits a HR first time up and the other a single. I don’t think the Astros are bringing up anything that will help right now.
    – Man, 4 homers off JV, is major league baseball stealing our signs and feeding it to the Yanks? Yeah, I know – none of the home run pitches were really on the edges of the zone. LeMahieu’s was high but in the middle of the plate. The other three were on the edge of the middle square of the plate.
    – Oh yes, we lost because Dusty did not start Dubon in Center with JV on the mound.
    – I’m not blaming Maldy for this loss, like I’m not awarding him a halo for being back there when we sometimes win, but I’m tired of this charade – (Charade – actually a great movie and the most Hitchcockian movie by someone not named Alfred) – we need to live and die with our best and we are not.

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    • Dan, you pretty much got your line up. However no team with Chas’ stats would hit him 8th. But it’s a small detail at this point. Problem is we only see this group of 9 including Altuve minus Dubon maybe once a week.

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  11. Soooo…. bottom of the ninth, 2 out with Meyers pinch running on first. Oh good! McCormick, batting .281 coming up! WTH!!! Singleton pinch hitting??!!! Batting .160??!!! Of course he strikes out! Dana Brown had to be screaming to himself. Baker managed the game to lose.

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  12. Good morning Astro fans! It’s tough to be us.

    This morning I’m reading that Dusty used projections to determine Singleton was a .275 hitter against Holmes, Chas a .220 in that situation.

    I smell a rat. Lifetime Singleton is hitting .141 against righties. .127 this year. I’d like to see that Nerd squad projection. Is Singleton even projectable?

    Meanwhile, Chas is hitting .308 at home this season with a .948 OPS. His splits in late inning situations remain excellent. Check this stat out: In 68 2023 appearances, with a man on first he’s hit .393 with a .476 OBP, a .767 SLG and a 1.243 OPS. 7 of his homers have come with a man on first. That is not a projection. It’s reality. Chas might have been the best guy on the team to be up in that situation.

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  13. Found this scribbled on a napkin at a winery …

    Dusty …
    I’m Dusty regarding projections;
    I’m Dusty ….
    Dusty as Kansas in June.

    I thought …
    Singleton had Holmes’ number;
    Oops, I forgot …
    Big Jon only hits on Blue Moons.

    Yeah, I’m Dusty the tweaker;
    always Chaz’s critiquer;
    and I’m dust-in-the-wind pretty soon.

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    • Mr. Bill, I wish I could like that!

      Yeah, I’m Dusty the tweaker;
      always Chaz’s critiquer;

      Best line of the season except for the last one!

      Man, I sure feel for Chas. He’s put up with so much crap on the season, disrespect as it’s called these days, keeps a smile on his face and when he gets a chance, he comes out and produces. He’s not the most talented guy. His arm is weak. But he always hustles. Always runs hard down to first. Steals a base when needed. Will run into a wall for you. And he puts up stats with the top five on the team. Not many 21st round draft choices doing what he’s doing. Not many guys period doing what he’s doing.

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  14. https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2023/9/3/23857259/blunders-abound-astros-lose-5-4-to-yankees
    Dusty’s decision making errs proving costly in 2 gm losing streak.
    Javier pitches today, whom Maldy probably C. The lineup Dan recommended, for the Fandom at least, is spot on. It’s a lineup, in all likelihood, we probably will not see. The lunacy of Dusty’s facilitating preferential treatment for pitchers and veteran players (i.e. Abrey/Maldy), including lineup decisions, directly impacts the tms win-loss column. If it ain’t working the adults in the room has to fix this.

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  15. Nice little parody Mr. Bill – great lyrics
    Daveb – exactly right on Chas -he’s just a very good ball player.
    Andre – if we had any catching depth I would wish for a Maldy injury. I’m very concerned that with Korey Lee gone they plan on re-signing Maldy.

    And it’s beyond hilarious Dusty is using some statistical projections to pick Singleton over Chas when he has continuously ignored stats when it comes to using Chas and for not using Maldy.

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    • Dan, I cringed when news came of the Korey Lee trade. At this point, I have to hope that once the season is over, Dana Brown will be handed the reins to create what his vision of the team and coaching staff should be. I think that re-signing Maldy would actually disrupt what needs to get done going forward. And I’m wary of the Verlander/Crane relationship and how that might also impact the roster.

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  16. I had a dream the other night that Maldy became the manager for some unknown team. That was one dream I hope would have some truth to it as long as it wasn’t the Astros.
    I too am concerned that we will resign Maldy. That would be about as bad as the Mets trying to buy a championship. It’s time for Dana Brown to start making this his team. And how embarrassing to lose two games to the last place Yankees and their AAA members.

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  17. Today’s lineup….
    Altuve 2B
    Bregman 3B
    Alvarez LF
    Tucker RF
    Abreu 1B
    Brantley DH
    Pena SS
    Dubon CF
    Maldonado C

    Yes, Chas is out again. Diaz who hit his 20th HR yesterday sits out today.
    Lordy lordy another day with a reduced quality lineup for no reason.

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    • .308/.377/.571/.948 at home for Chas.
      .323/.339/.627/.966 at home for Yainer.

      These guys flat out hit at home.

      We’re trying to avoid a sweep tonight and stay above .500 on our home field. Or are we?

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    • Diaz, your bat is too hot… siddown!!

      McCormick, you didn’t hit a homerun to win the game in the ninth last night… siddown!!

      All I can do is just shake my head…

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  20. ESPN prefers to continue propping up Maldonado and Baker with oft repeated crap about the wisdom and knowledge they share, never delving into the obvious and clear statistical chasm between catchers, both offensively or defensively, nor the continued absurd decisions made by the manager. You’d think someone would ask where the centerfielder with 20 homers and .850 OPS has been for 2 of 3 games this series. Or comment on the kid that hit his 20th homer of the season last night while catching part time. Oh wait, Diaz gets a chance to PH and lines a base hit. I really feel at this point that Dusty Baker has sucked the life out of these guys. Maybe they’ll regroup on their own. Maybe the manager will finish them off.

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    • You’re wrong. He won’t take the blame but he’ll get the blame. Dusty will say “We were in in right up until the time Diaz assumed the catching duties. If it hadn’t been for Maldy we’d have been down at least 10 runs.”

      FIRE DUSTY Now or we won’t even see the playoffs! But that has a snowballs chance in hell for occurring.

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  22. Honestly, it didn’t even look like they were even trying to win today. Like they must be thinking “If the manager doesn’t care, why should we?”
    Also honestly, as a fan, I can’t help but feel the same way. If the manager doesn’t care and the players don’t care, why should I?
    I’ve got a feeling the Rangers slump is gonna end starting tomorrow.

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  23. When the pitching was elite, we could survive and overcome Dusty’s incessant, anal line-up tweaking and his blatant racial preferences. Now that the pitching has regressed, the disaster-waiting-to-happen which Dusty-ism brings to the game is finally being exposed for what it is. Our franchise’s golden era was probably closing anyway, but Dusty is slamming the door shut before our eyes.

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  25. I’ve been resigned to this scenario for a couple of months now. We really might miss post season play. But alas, should we go home after 162, I’m pretty sure (but certainly not positive) that Dusty does too. That’s the trade off I remain willing to accept, even embrace.

    I just don’t like the deadline deals deals we made. I really wanted Korey Lee behind Diaz next year, and I’m not sure if Verlander helps provide a cohesiveness to the team that we need going forward. I’d rather still have those two prospects too.

    We need to get younger.

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  26. Dave, whatever it takes to lose, Dusty will do. He has an uncanny ability to know just what to do to give the opposing team all the advantage they need.

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  27. I am a spoiled brat. Now that my bubble has burst, I don’t quite know how to act or what to do or say.
    I am aware, though. After reading what Ryan Pressly said about the team after sweeping the Red Sox, I cringed. The more I watch Baker manage, the more I understand why Brett Strom left to relax and then took the same job somewhere else in less than two weeks. The people running this club need to wise up.
    I feel like I went on a three day binge and woke up to nothing. I said I was refraining from comments the day of a loss but my days are piling up.
    Thank goodness Red River Days are fast approaching. A lot of mountains and cool air and a few rainbow trout should ease the pain.

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  28. OP, lately, every day is a loss. If you continue to refrain from commenting on loss days Dan will have to call the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to do a wellness check!

    (By the way, I identify Storm’s departure – and that of Click- as pivotal milestones in our franchise’s downward spiral.retaining Dusty and bringing on Dana Brown as GM were the nails in the coffin

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  29. Who’s this fan boi with the chapped lips filling in for Blummer? Telling us how good Kimchi was with bases loaded (on 2014)? Completely lost in the delusion……

    BwHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  30. Just when I was about to give up on this team they come back from a 3 – 0 deficit, a 5-5 time and win big. Have to admit I couldn’t watch any this weekend and turned this one off after 3 but I’ll take that win anytime.

    I was about to say that if they don’t get into the playoffs then maybe it’s time to start unloading some players and get younger. Still need to be younger regardless.

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  31. This sure is a schizo group. I feel bad for Stanek. Did not see the play but it does not sound good at this point in the season.

    After being humiliated at home by sleeping through the Yankees sweep, we might as well return the favor and take it to the Rangers.

    I can’t even begin to figure a line up from Dusty tomorrow that would include both Yainer and Chas again. I’ve got one, but I don’t count. He might have Frenchy hitting clean up.

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