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ChipalattAwards for July

The Astros somehow plowed through all their injury problems to put up their third straight winning month (14-11) in July, bringing them up to a virtual tie with the Seattle Mariners. When you stare at the monthly stats below, it is not really obvious how they did this without Kyle Tucker, Justin Verlander, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers, and J.P. France. The answer is they did it as a team.

But, as usual, this post is about individual awards 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 BAA OBPA OPSA IR/ IS
Framber Valdez 5 4 0 0 31 2.90 1.194 .244 .298 .640 N/A
Hunter Brown 6 4 2 0 35.2 3.53 1.458 .286 .348 .734 N/A
Ronel Blanco 5 1 2 0 28.2 4.40 0.977 .186 .257 .659 N/A
Jake Bloss 2 0 1 0 8 7.88 1.500 .294 .333 1.157 N/A
Spencer Arrighetti 5 0 3 0 27 5.33 1.407 .248 .336 .774 N/A
Josh Hader 12 1 2 9 10.1 5.23 0.968 .167 .250 .750 3/3
Ryan Pressly 9 0 0 0 9 1.00 1.111 .212 .297 .570 0/0
Rafael Montero 9 0 0 0 8 5.63 1.250 .200 .323 .763 0/0
Bryan Abreu 14 0 0 0 14 1.93 1.286 .231 .323 .591 3/0
Seth Martinez 8 0 0 0 9.2 3.72 1.655 .290 .372 .898 2/1
Tayler Scott 9 3 1 0 10.1 0.87 0.677 .125 .200 .419 4/1
Bryan King 9 1 0 0 8.1 3.24 1.440 .219 .324 .699 3/2
Shawn Dubin 9 0 0 0 10.2 5.06 1.875 .311 .404 .893 8/1
Caleb Ort 3 0 0 0 5.2 1.59 0.353 .105 .105 .369 0/0
Caleb Ferguson* 9 0 0 0 7.1 3.68 1.364 .226 .294 .746 3/2
Yusei Kikuchi* 5 0 1 0 27.1 6.59 1.427 .270 .336 .778 N/A

* Stats with the Yankees and the Blue Jays respectively

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

Starting Pitcher of the Month. Framber Valdez. He struggled a bit in his last start of the month, but overall, he was the steadiest pitcher during July. He had solid numbers and top-notch results, going 4-0 with a 2.90 ERA.  

  • Runner-up. Hunter Brown  – He was a bit up and down, but he was tied for first in wins, led the team in innings and was second in starter’s ERA in July.  
  • Last Month. Winner – Hunter Brown / Runner-up – Ronel Blanco

Relief Pitcher of the Month. Tayler Scott – Look at those numbers. Another brilliant month from the South African for a bullpen that was the base for much of the team’s success.

  • Runner-up. Tie – Ryan Pressly/Bryan Abreu – Pressly had better numbers, but we are giving Abreu credit for pitching 14 times vs. Pressly’s 9 times. They built a nice bridge for the team in the seventh and eighth innings.
  • Last Month. Winner – Tayler Scott / Runner-Up – Ryan Pressly

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

Name ABs Runs Dbls HRs RBIs BA OBP OPS
Jose Altuve 95 10 4 1 10 .316 .356 .746
Mauricio Dubon 54 7 4 1 4 .177 .208 .521
Jeremy Pena 95 15 4 4 14 .263 .311 .742
Alex Bregman 99 16 4 5 14 .263 .324 .779
Chas McCormick 45 9 0 1 3 .200 .280 .547
Kyle Tucker 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Yordan Alvarez 79 12 6 4 14 .304 .415 .972
Yainer Diaz 101 12 6 3 18 .337 .355 .860
Jake Meyers 89 9 4 3 11 .169 .227 .541
Jon Singleton 84 14 4 2 8 .214 .272 .605
Victor Caratini 13 2 0 1 2 .462 .563 1.255
Joey Loperfido 52 3 2 1 7 .154 .224 .513
Trey Cabbage 31 3 3 0 1 .129 .182 .408
Cesar Salazar 8 2 0 0 4 .250 .462 .712
Aledmys Diaz 4 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Grae Kessinger 4 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Positional Player of the Month. We will give this to Yainer Diaz for leading the team in batting average (other than Caratini) and in RBIs. He seemed to be getting a key hit or two for the team every game.

  • Runner-up. Yordan Alvarez – If you argued for Yordan for player of the month, it would be a reasonable argument. That .415 OBP and .972 OPS were strong for a team that was lacking a lot of the oomph in the OPS area….
  • Last Month. Winner – Yordan Alvaez / Runner-up – Yainer Diaz
  • Special Recognition. Caleb Ort – Allowing that .105 BA/ .105 OBP/ .369 OPS slash stands out, even if it was only over 5.2 innings – it was a shot out of nowhere.

Biggest Surprise. Jake Meyers – Only hit .169 BA for the month but still managed 11 RBIs.

  • Last Month. Winner – Hunter Brown

Biggest Disappointment. Rafael Montero – He never found his stride this season and ended up with a DFA to end the month.

  • Runner-up. Josh Hader – For what he is being paid, he needs to buck up and pitch well when he is brought in when it is not a save situation. 
  • Last Month. Winner – Jose Abreu / Runner-up – Rafael Montero

Some Comments on July

There are some interesting and puzzling things that happened to the Astros in July of 2024:

  • It is crazy to look at Ronel Blanco’s numbers (0.977 WHIP/ .186 BAA/ .257 OBPA) and see him with only a 1-2 record and a 4.40 ERA.
  • Aledmys Diaz and Grae Kessinger had perfectly matching statistics for July…..which was not a good thing.
  • Looking at the numbers, why the heck did they send Seth Martinez down instead of sending Shawn Dubin?
  • Joey Loperfido and Jake Bloss did not exactly tear things up the last month before being traded, but neither did Yusei Kikuchi. Now Caleb Ferguson is pitching OK.
  • Somehow the team overcame crappy months by Chas McCormick, Mauricio Dubon, Jake Meyers, Joey Loperfido, Trey Cabbage, and Jon Singleton to outscore the opposition.

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

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37 responses to “ChipalattAwards for July”

  1. I suspect that Martinez was sent down instead of Dubin because his arm is getting tired, or he might be slightly injured and needs some rest.

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  2. Good morning! Alex Bregman remains a huge key to getting this offense humming. And he might be the most astute player on the field. But take away his rookie and pandemic partial seasons and he’s never had anything approaching a .311 OBP or a .722 OPS as late as August 2. He’s shown some promise but it continues to be a roller coaster ride. Is he over thinking things, or is it simply early decline? Seems like he’s prone to guessing more these days. It sure would be nice to have him getting on base in front of Yordan regularly as has been his historical norm. And getting Tucker back sure would lengthen the line up. Do we get Tucker back?

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  3. I was re-watching the foul ball that got Tucker and I’m wondering if he didn’t incur a hairline fracture. Otherwise this doesn’t make a lot of sense. Something is just a bit fishy here.

    I’ve relegated myself to watch condensed games only when the Astros win. Yes, that’s pretty much a fair weather fan but I’m still upset over the Kukuchi trade. Yes, I hear pundits say it wasn’t that bad but it all depends on the short run if Kukuchi performs as we’d like him to. The other half would be that if Wagner, Bloss, and Loperfido (any or all) turn out to be better than average ball players then we’ll know what the verdict is.

    We definitely need to play better than .500 ball if we’re going to win the division. Seattle has the 1st place Phillies while we get the Rays who are battling for a WC spot. Time to make hay while the sun shines.

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  4. We need Kikuchi to go out and pitch well – if not – the boo birds may be out there

    The Astros just seem to be struggling to get the top of the lineup to hit in synch – it’s like one game Altuve gets a couple hits and Bregman and Alvarez don’t or vice versa.

    I can’t think of a parallel situation to Tucker’s. It’s not like a mysterious arm injury to a pitcher. This is supposedly a bad bruise. We’ve not even heard if they retested him – It is weird

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    • We’ll probably never find out, but my guess is that there was a missed diagnosis or something got infected and was not noticed. Now you don’t want one of your largest sponsors to be embarrassed, so it stays quiet.

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    • “We need Kikuchi to go out and pitch well – if not – the boo birds may be out there.”

      Perched and ready to pounce!

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    • We’re going to go through 40 pitchers this year! Welcome Mr. Junk. I’m hoping we get you stretched out to pitch in September when we need starters to get us to the finish line.

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  9. A double, a home run, and a walk in his first inning of work. Totally worth giving up our three best prospects. Yup…..

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    • Nice recovery for the rest of his outing. If he can pitch that way the rest of the season, it will take some of the sting out of his price tag. Which I still think was way too much.

      More data needed.

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  10. Watching Pressley and Hader pitch is like watching the movie Jaws. You don’t know if the shark is going to attack or not. But we’ll take a win. Rough start but Kukuchi came through. And Congratulations to Blake Snell on his no-no.

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  11. I just read the injury updates and I was shocked to realize that Verlander has missed a month and one half due to a… sore neck.

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  13. Yes, they did get lucky again. The past two wins came practically gift wrapped. How long before that box of Lucky Charms runs dry? I guess as long as they keep putting RISP they’ll have a chance. It’s gruesome to watch them squander so many scoring opportunities. And their bench is filled with dead bats. Will Bregman be Hotter than July? Will that bloop single get Yordan kicking after a 5-25 stretch at home? The offense is going to have to get jiggy with it soon.

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  14. Good morning! The new guy was pretty solid once he got past the first inning. But those Rays sure made it easy on him and the home plate ump by swinging at everything, Kikuchi did not have to throw strikes. Nevertheless, we got a 3-2 win out of new guy and our once again scary pen. It would be helpful for our line up to start hitting the ball at the right time though. We got 9 hits and a walk from the 2-6 guys and only produced 2 earned runs. Excepting Alvarez, our outfielders might be the worst hitting, or non hitting collection in MLB. Somebody make me happy and give Pedro a shot tonight.

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  16. Thoughts

    • Have to admire what Kikuchi did last night – he started off about as bad as you can and could have melted down, but righted the ship right away and gave the Astros the kind of start they needed
    • Yeah, the Astros were lucky with the opponents fielding the last couple of games. On the other hand I thought they were unlucky at times – like the ball Meyers smoked to right center that could have been a two run double or triple. And overall this year, the Astros have a 57-52 record while their Pythagorean record shows that with average luck they would be 59-50.
    • Listening on the radio while driving around doing chores they played a couple interviews from the previous week. Chandler Rome speaking after the trade but before Kikuchi’s start basically said the Astros did what they had to do. He said the haul was probably too much, but that it was not disastrous. He thought Kikuchi had a chance to pitch well for the team with a little team magic sprinkles on his pitch mix. Then they had an interview with Brian McTaggart about Kyle Tucker (I am not sure when this last week it occurred). He did not sound confident at all about when Tucker would return. His impression is that he is a ways away from rehab.
    • Well, I’m calling it on Luis Garcia – we are not seeing him this season.
    • Diaz is carrying the offense right now – he really needs some help from the top three in the lineup.

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  17. Oh, and as far as the Rays helping Kikuchi out by swinging at his stuff – that is what he does – he has a very good strikeout rate. I liked his changeup usage – it reminded me of what the team has done with Blanco.

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    • We’ll have to see if the next guys are better at laying off Kikuchi’s stuff out of the strike zone. When a guy gets so many swings and misses, especially off a pitch he has not been using nearly as much, I have to wonder if the Jays were paying attention when he was still in Toronto.

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  19. If Kikuchi helps the Astros reach the post season, then it would be hard to argue whether or not the trade made sense.

    The flip side for me is that Tucker remains a big question mark. And I wonder when Garcia’s elbow became a problem. I don’t remember when he last threw, but there already was a set back with him. So I’ve got to withhold judgement for now. If we don’t go to the post season, then I’m likely going to lament the deal, especially considering the continuing issues with Tucker and Garcia.

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  20. Faux Sports sucks just as bad as Faux News. At least they dumped Joe Buck. But these guys are awful. Whoever they are.

    Just saw a graphic with one of them telling me I can win $52.50 if I bet $5. So again I ask:

    Why is Pete Rose not in the HOF and Joe Mauer is?

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  22. OMG! Scottie Scheffler shoots a 9-under-par, 62, in the final round to win the Olympic Gold Medal for himself and the USA! He was so far behind at the start of today that I didn’t even have it set up to record. It will be re-broadcast tonight on the Golf Channel and I have it set up to record to watch tomorrow. Just wow!

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  23. The first time through our lineup and already I’m watching a rerun video of putrid offense, The only guy hitting, Diaz, is the only guy hitting thus far. TB isn’t looking much better but have scored. Let’s go guys!

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  25. https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/lance-mccullers-jr-to-miss-rest-of-2024-mlb-season

    Espada said. “We all want him to be out there for us. It’s frustrating because I’ve seen how hard he’s worked to try to get back. I know the contribution he’s made for so many years. He’s part of the family, he’s a big part of things that we have accomplished. Just not good, you know? I expect him to continue to work hard and we’ll see him again.”

    Translated into English: You will never see Lance McCullers pitching in an Astros uniform again.

    Espada is a loser, a moron, and a liar.

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  26. By the #’s. 2,3,2,5,3,1,0 That’s runs scored in last 7 games going 2 and 5. Now for more good news:

    BA 45/221 = .203

    LOB 38

    RISP 7/46 = .152

    K’s/rate = 45 20% 1.875 ratio of K’s to walks

    W rate = 24 10.8%

    Home Runs = 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0 (2 by Diaz)

    Pitching,

    ERA Starters = 4.50, 0.0, 6.92, 6.0, 3.46, 3.6, 1.5

    IP = 6, 3, 5.2, 6, 5.2, 5, 6

    ERA Bull Pen = 0.0, 9.00, 0.0, 0.0, 2.20, 6.0, 3.00

    IP = 3, 6, 3.1, 3, 3.1, 4, 3

    Walks starters = 2, 2, 3, 0, 2, 0, 2

    Walks BP = 2, 1, 2, 0, 2, 5, 5

    K’s starters = 12 , 7, 11, 10, 8, 4, 8

    K’s BP = 3, 3, 3, 1, 6, 11, 3

    HR’s starters = 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 2

    HR’s BP = 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1

    Starter record 1-4

    BP Record 1-1

    While pitching has a a rule has been good except for one bad start and a BP explosion, the hitting has been an unmitigated disaster. Should we start calling this team the Disastros? Glad I was watching Scottie Scheffler win the Gold for the USA in Golf.

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  27. I’d hate to see these guys fade now, but they keep dropping off the roster, whether by trade or being injured beyond repair.

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  28. Will Wagner is 7-11 including 2 doubles and a homer with 3 walks for the Buffalo Bisons. I hope he gets a shot at regular play in MLB soon. Joe commented that he is a good hitter, but we didn’t have a place for him. Maybe first base?

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