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ChipalattAwards for September 2024

As we wonder how deep the Astros will go in the ’24 playoffs…

The Astros 14-11 record in September matches the eye test. They were a team that played a little better than .500 ball for the month, which was enough to hold off the Mariners, who were a tad better down the stretch at 16-10. The Astros had an excellent scoring month, running fourth in the AL in runs scored and might have been third if they had not had the finale cancelled. Their pitching was worse in September, running with a 3.90 ERA, primarily due to a shakier bullpen than in previous months.  

But, as usual, this post is about individual awards for the month.

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

Name Gm W L Svs IP ERA WHIP BAA OBPA OPSA IR/ IS
Framber Valdez 4 2 1 0 26 1.73 1.077 .211 .272 .598 N/A
Hunter Brown 4 0 2 0 23 3.13 1.174 .231 .281 .592 N/A
Ronel Blanco 5 4 0 0 24 0.75 1.125 .188 .281 .575 0/0
Spencer Arrighetti 5 0 2 0 20.2 3.92 1.597 .301 .366 .896 0/0
Yusei Kikuchi 4 2 1 0 25 2.88 0.920 .200 .230 .556 N/A
Justin Verlander 5 2 2 0 23.1 9.26 1.843 .340 .391 .896 N/A
Josh Hader 11 1 1 5 10.2 6.75 1.219 .205 .296 .706 6/4
Ryan Pressly 8 1 0 1 8 2.25 1.125 .241 .290 .704 3/1
Bryan Abreu 11 1 1 0 11.2 1.54 0.514 .135 .154 .532 10/1
Seth Martinez 2 0 0 0 2.1 15.43 2.571 .462 .500 1.192 2/0
Tayler Scott 5 0 0 0 5.2 6.35 2.471 .391 .533 1.099 3/2
Bryan King 5 0 0 0 4.1 4.15 1.846 .389 .400 .900 3/2
Shawn Dubin 2 0 0 1 2 4.50 1.000 .182 .182 .727 0/0
Kaleb Ort 12 0 0 0 10.1 4.35 1.161 .250 .286 .936 7/2
Caleb Ferguson 10 0 0 0 9.2 4.66 1.552 .275 .370 .645 2/1
Hector Neris 13 1 1 1 12.2 4.97 1.184 .260 .297 .776 1/0

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

Starting Pitcher of the Month. Ronel Blanco. A bit ironic that the best starting pitcher by far in the last month was moved to the bullpen due to the number of innings he has pitched overall this season. That 0.75 ERA was brilliant and was supported by a great slash against (.188 BA/ .281 OBP/ .575 OPS).

Runner-up.  – Framber Valdez  – Strong numbers across the board for Framber as he helped lead the team to another division title.

Last Month. Winner – Framber Valdez / Runner-up – Tie – Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, Yusei Kikuchi

Relief Pitcher of the Month. Bryan Abreu – Well only two pitchers had ERA’s below 4 this month and those two were well below and win the mantle this time around. Abreu put up numbers like his dominant self with a miniscule slash against of .135 BA/ .154 OBP/ .532 OPS. Stranding 9 of his 10 inherited runners was outstanding in a month where that was not the norm.

Runner-up.  – Ryan Pressly – If you look at Pressly’s slash against vs. Josh Hader’s – you would not expect the big difference in ERA as Pressly hung tough with a 2.25 ERA while Hader had a crappy 6.75 ERA for the month. Which is why Pressly is here.

Last Month. Winner – Josh Hader / Runner-Up – Bryan King

Special Recognition – Yusei Kikuchi and Hunter Brown did not get the Starting Pitcher awards this month, but they were both strong. Brown did not deserve an 0-2 record with his 3.13 ERA. Kikuchi was 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA and his loss came in a game where the two runs he gave up were unearned (poor Shay Whitcomb).

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

Name ABs Runs Dbls HRs RBIs BA OBP OPS
Jose Altuve 88 16 7 2 8 .284 .351 .782
Mauricio Dubon 65 5 3 0 7 .339 .362 .747
Jeremy Pena 91 8 5 1 7 .231 .271 .590
Alex Bregman 78 12 4 5 14 .256 .310 .810
Chas McCormick 23 4 1 0 3 .391 .417 .852
Kyle Tucker 63 14 2 4 9 .365 .453 1.041
Yordan Alvarez 78 12 5 7 15 .282 .345 .960
Yainer Diaz 99 10 8 0 10 .303 .333 .717
Jake Meyers 58 7 2 1 6 .155 .242 .484
Jon Singleton 49 5 5 2 9 .245 .351 .861
Victor Caratini 69 8 2 2 8 .261 .329 .706
Zach Dezenzo 14 1 0 1 4 .357 .357 .929
Shay Whitcomb 13 0 0 0 1 .154 .154 .308
Ben Gamel 25 6 1 0 1 .120 .333 .493
Jason Heyward 49 8 1 4 7 .225 .296 .796
Grae Kessinger 6 3 0 0 0 .000 .400 .400

Positional Player of the Month. Kyle Tucker came off the IL and hit his stride as he ripped off a fine .365 BA/ .453 OBP/ 1.041 OPS during the month.  

Runner-up. Yordan Alvarez led the team in homers and RBIs even with missing the last few games with his sprained knee.  

Last Month. Winner – Yordan Alvarez/ Runner-up – Tie – Yainer Diaz and Alex Bregman

Special Recognition. Those nine RBIs by Jon Singleton in only 49 ABs was impressive.

Biggest Surprise.  Jason Heyward was picked up out of the dustbin and gave the Astros 8 runs/ 4 HRs/ 7 RBIs and a number of highlight defensive plays that all seemed to come in the clutch.

Runner Up. None this month

Last Month. Winner – Yusei Kikuchi / Runner-up – Ben Gamel

Biggest Disappointment. Justin Verlander – Not expecting him to be Cy Young JV, but a 9.26 ERA when he was trying to earn a spot in the playoff rotation was disappointing.

Runner-up. Josh Hader – You sure want your closer to head into the playoffs on a better note than what Hader put up in September.

Last Month. “Winner” – Bryan Abreu/ Runner-up – Ryan Pressly

Some Comments on September

There are some interesting things that happened to the Astros in September of 2024:

  • It is rather amazing that Yainer Diaz can hit so well .303 with 8 doubles and not hit one home run on the month.
  • Really liked that Zach Dezenzo played three games this month – all in his home state of Ohio (1 at Cincinnati and 2 in Cleveland) and put up 4 RBIs in 14 ABs.
  • The bullpen needs to turn things around – 8 of their 10 relievers had ERAs of 4 or higher in September. Of course, adding Blanco and Arrighetti to the bullpen can help change that.
  • I know there were DH and 1B ABs mixed in, but getting 18 runs and 18 RBIs out of Victor Caratini and Yainer Diaz is something you would never see out of previous catching pair-ups.

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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33 responses to “ChipalattAwards for September 2024”

  2. Hard to think about awards right now, but collectively, the team finished the first job by reaching post season play once again.

    Difficult day today against the Cy Young winner. But Bregman missed a homer by a foot. If Hayward gets a bit of air under that liner in the 9th, it’s a three run walk off double in the corner. Chas had a good at bat late. Caratini had a good at bat that had a bit too much air. Even Yainer coaxed a grounder into the hole between first and second. And Yordan still hits.

    It’s a shame that Framber turns into a different pitcher when it counts most. That’s not the guy we needed today. Instead he was tentative, so obviously uncomfortable on the mound.

    But no reason this group can’t win two in a row.

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  3. Thoughts

    • After being excellent in the 2022 playoffs, Framber has been bad. 2023 ALDS 4.1 innings, 5 runs, 10.38 ERA. 2023 ALCS – 2 starts – 7.2 innings – 7 ER – 8.22 ERA. 2024 WC – 4.1 innings – 3 runs – 6.23 ERA. He’s not our ace.
    • Hunter needs to be the ace today. Hope he does not feel it – just pitch like he has been and don’t think about it.
    • Heyward hit that one of the screws – a foot more towards the line and we are tied or maybe winning that game.
    • The Astros have won two in a row a ton of times this year – but can they do it with the pressure. In previous years I would say no problem but this team really has a bit of a choking problem on offense.
    • The Tigers go with lefty reliever Tyler Holton to start today. He has not gone more than 3.1 innings in any game this year and the longest in one of his nine starts was three innings. In his last 18 appearances he has topped out at 2 innings.
    • Hinch saw up close that the team can struggle with the other team throwing a reliever out there followed by someone completely different. He wants to see if a lefty can slow down our best hitters (I know Yordan is so good against lefties – Tucker not so much) and then maybe bring in a slider heavy righty.
    • The Astros need to come out and whack the Tigers in the nose. Get the momentum back and the fans on their feet.
    • And then do it again on Wednesday.

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    • The frustrating thing about Framber is that he’s capable of putting up great season stats, he can show up and throw a no hitter, he’s had post season success in the past. But I know of no other quite so talented pitcher that can disappear at any point.

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    • I just don’t understand the pitch calls and adjustments by Diaz/Framber. In the first inning, he threw 2 breaking pitches. In the second inning, he gets a K on three straight curves, then the umpire decided not to call a couple close curves for strikes on the next hitter and Framber started throwing almost all fastballs. That’s not a bad plan if he can locate them, but it looked like perhaps the Tiger’s entire plan was to try to tee off on the fastball and not swing at curves…so throwing right down the middle was a bad strategy.

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      • The Tigers put together some good at bats in that second inning – they went the other way or up the middle for their 4 hits. And Framber got away from his curveball after that walk where he was all over the place. He really had control issues practically the whole time and just lucky he only gave up three runs.

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  5. Justin Verlander is not the same. Cristian Javier is hurt. Jose Urquidy is hurt. The LMJ of 2017 is not here. Charlie Morton is gone as is Kuechel. The 2022 version of Jeremy Pena has disappeared. The Carlos Correa who turned playoff games around is gone. George Springer who started things off from the leadoff spot is long gone. First base is a vacuum that is filled by a backup catcher. Alex is not 100%. Tucker is not 100%. Yordan is not 100%. Chas is not 100%. Mauricio is a utility guy who is not Marwin. Gerritt Cole is gone.

    This team is not the team of 2017-2022. It is a decent team with a lot of heart but is slowly wearing down and is slow on the bases and slow in the front office. There is not enough up top to see a vision of the future. They may, somehow, win this series, but they will end up like the Texans and eventually get pounded by better teams.

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    • Jeez OP – I am depressed now….

      I would say that this team has shown it can lose to anyone and beat anyone. We just hope it can somehow shake things off and get to the next round and anything can happen at that point.

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    • I’ve already said this: The 2024 version of the Astros, however compromised they are, might be my favorite team of the decade. We’ve had an incredible array of injuries. Some of the guys are getting old. Some are just hurt. Others are just not good enough to play as much as they have. I think Framber tries to give his best, but sometimes it just does not process. And we have an imperfect rookie manager. But he’s shown me he should be back. Not one guy has mailed it in. There are no malcontents on this club. They will win or lose as a team, as it should be.

      Let’s see what our designated ace for today can do on the mound. I’m confident.

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    • None of those points are wrong except the last one. The Texans haven’t been to the playoffs yet where you should have had the expectation they could advance to the SB or even win. In baseball, momentum changes in the blink of an eye or perhaps in the span of a Marwin Gonzalez HR. All I’m asking is for the team to rally for two from the Tigers and give us a shot in the next. There are no unbeatable teams.

      But yeah…the future doesn’t look good.

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    • Old Pro, I agree. I’m watching from a distance now, but I’ve argued for a while this organization is running on Luhnow fumes. You have a new order in place now, so we’ll see what Brown and Espada can do, but it will be with fewer players from the Luhnow years going forward. It may take a jolt to do a complete reset, so I’m watching this post-season and, more importantly, the off-season.

      Lots of decisions pending to be sure.

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  7. Hunter with three scoreless innings so far. A lazy play by Altuve cost him some extra pitches. Altuve hits next inning and he owes Hunter something on the offensive end.

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  8. Hunter rocking and rolling through 5 innings – probably has one more inning in him. Astros struggling on offense…..again

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  10. We fans have not trusted Ryan Pressly all year. Joe Espada put him in the limelight with the season on the line. And the result was predictable. After sacrificing an out in a 2 run game on a sac bunt in game 1 and putting Pressly out there with the season on the line I no longer trust Joe Espada.

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    • I don’t think Presley had a clean inning this season. I think it’s time to start a new youth movement since we have too many old fuddy duddys

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  13. These Detroit guys remind me a bit of our 2015 Astros. We also had a pretty cerebral manager back then too, willing and able to think outside the box.

    We got beat by a better team again today; a young, feisty, quick, smart group that took advantage of our outclassed team. A team that looked both mentally and physically weary. It was a hell of a run by the Astros, but significant changes are needed for 2025, without a whole lot of apparent flexibility available. Dana Brown has so much to fix.

    Congratulations to the Tigers. I know I’ll have a lot more to say in the coming days, but one thing today. Hader and his 95 million deal is at the top of my mind.

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  14. Hunter Brown was asked to put the team on his back and he did. Nobody hit the ball hard. The Astros hit into 3 DPs, had no extra base hits and the bullpen gave up 4 runs in the 8th and 9th. The Astros scored their 2 runs on bloops and flukes. Detroit kicked their butts.

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  16. Lots of things swimming in the head right now – but I’ll defer to our less scatter brained grand master of this blog to present his case piece by piece before I just start rambling. It’s a long offseason, and maybe one of the most critical offseason this franchise has faced in decades in setting tone and expectations of the next 5 years. Do they continue to hand out the occasional kinda big contract and then fill in around with minimum salary guys or do they let some of the older guys go? What happens with Bregman, Tucker and Valdez?

    They got beat by a younger, more athletic team that is not particularly offensively talented but they play with an energy level the Astros couldn’t match. It’s very possible that in a 7 game series the Astros could bounce back and win it, relying on veteran savvy and been there done that moxy. But in a 3 game set you can be shut down by a bullpen in a way that might not happen in a 7 game set.

    Pundits everywhere will spend the entire offseason debating the “Tiger way.” One starter and 4 bullpen games as a rotation. I don’t know that it works for 162 games, but it worked for the 45 games or so they needed it to work and in a 3 game series. We will see how it plays in a 5 game set. Well, we won’t, but Tigers fan will. This whole playoff run is going to depend so much on Skubal. What if he has one start where he only goes 3 or 4? The whole thing will end up behind schedule, and that would be the end of the Tigers season. Me, I’m off to enjoy some Aggie football and hope this Rockets offseason gets them one more step closer to at least seeing their first playoff game since what feels like 1875.

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    • The last six offseasons I think (intelligent) teams have looked at their organizations and said, “What do we need to do to catch the Astros.” This offseason we’re going to be looking at the Tigers, Royals, Orioles, and even Padres and wondering what we need to do to get back up to their level.

      While I’m definitely a root for the laundry guy, I also get attached to the players we have in town. I’m entering the offseason with more concern than usual.

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  19. As a prep to Dan’s upcoming look forward, here is a little news about the Astros’ prospects:

    Today, the PCL All-Star team was announced. Three of the five starting pitchers on that team were Ryan Gusto, Colton Gordon and AJ Blubaugh, all of whom are Astros prospects. Pedro Leon was one of the 3 outfielders and Wander Suero, who led all of the minors in saves was one of two relievers. Suero is 33 years old, so, he wouldn’t be considered a legit prospect. The PCL Manager of the Year is Mickey Storey of Sugarland. The All-Star PCL DH was Shay Whitcomb. That totals up to 6 players and the Manager on the Pacific Coast League All- Star Team from the Sugarland Space Cowboys.

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