The Astros have an above average offense this season. Most of that is due to Yordan Alvarez being the best hitter in the AL. But the offense lacks depth in the bottom half of the order.
On your OPS+ chart, it really looks solid through Christian Vazquez. Who is, after all, our backup catcher. Who said we couldn't replace max value Caratini?
And a 98 from your contractually-obligated fading Hall of Famer ain't bad either.
And you can make the case that both 'Tuve and Isaac will bump their numbers up the rest of the way.
But three BIG problems:
Cam - A wonder defensively, but not as cool as Jake Marisnick and about the same offensively. Game winning triple the other night notwithstanding he's an 8th and 9th inning defensive replacement given 5 PAs per game. The patience TK and Blummer have shown with him makes me incredulous. Just say it! He has not been good!
Yainer - What happened? This guy was gonna be awesome! The feeling I get is that the Astros don't really care when or if he gets back. 2 years ago that would have been inconceivable.
Jake - Another amazing defender if you gloss over his arm, but this was the year where he was supposed to take off, after last year's major boost to BA. The guy was a sparkplug in the minors and we got a glimpse last year, I thought, of what he can be. But bupkus so far this year.
I think (and it for sure ain't no conceptual breakthrough) that if Yordan can just stay healthy he will win the MVP going away. But I'm still scared. This is a guy who injured himself trying to plant his foot on a slippery home plate. Is he star-crossed or just made of glass?
On your OPS+ chart, it really looks solid through Christian Vazquez. Who is, after all, our backup catcher. Who said we couldn't replace max value Caratini?
And a 98 from your contractually-obligated fading Hall of Famer ain't bad either.
And you can make the case that both 'Tuve and Isaac will bump their numbers up the rest of the way.
But three BIG problems:
Cam - A wonder defensively, but not as cool as Jake Marisnick and about the same offensively. Game winning triple the other night notwithstanding he's an 8th and 9th inning defensive replacement given 5 PAs per game. The patience TK and Blummer have shown with him makes me incredulous. Just say it! He has not been good!
Yainer - What happened? This guy was gonna be awesome! The feeling I get is that the Astros don't really care when or if he gets back. 2 years ago that would have been inconceivable.
Jake - Another amazing defender if you gloss over his arm, but this was the year where he was supposed to take off, after last year's major boost to BA. The guy was a sparkplug in the minors and we got a glimpse last year, I thought, of what he can be. But bupkus so far this year.
I think (and it for sure ain't no conceptual breakthrough) that if Yordan can just stay healthy he will win the MVP going away. But I'm still scared. This is a guy who injured himself trying to plant his foot on a slippery home plate. Is he star-crossed or just made of glass?