Post by Saint on Oct 1, 2018 11:22:26 GMT -6
Just my opinion, obviously. All stats are from baseball-reference.com. Here are the main everyday players for part I.
Jose Altuve: B+
.315/.384/.449 13 HR 61 RBI 84 Runs 17 SB 168 Hits 29 Doubles .834 OPS (132 OPS+) 5.2 WAR
It seems like a pretty down year for what we have come to expect from Altuve, but it actually ended up (by most metrics) as his 4th best season thus far of his 8 year career. A deserving all-star with a good chance at his 5th Silver Slugger and potentially even his 2nd Gold Glove (although doubtful). Gleyber Torres and Jed Lowrie had strong seasons as comparable 2B (both of which with more HRs and RBI), but Altuve's overall performance was still better. He led in OPS, OPS+, WAR, and AVG for 2B, and his defense was again pretty above-average. While his AVG was down some from the previous two years, he maintained an excellent OBP due to a stronger than normal walk rate. His injury kept him from reaching the 200-Hit milestone this year and 20+ stolen bases, but he still put up good numbers all-around. My biggest complaint isn't the lower HR count, it's the low Doubles count. I hope next year we see more gap power with him. The lower doubles and triples count (along with the HRs) led to his worst SLG since 2013. Some of it was the knee issue after the all-star break for sure, since his pre-DL stint rate stats were excellent. Next year he reaches a number of moderate milestones if he is healthy: 700 Runs, 300 Doubles, 100 HR, 500 RBI, 250 SB, 1500 Hits. (For comparison, the only one of those milestones that Biggio reached in his first 9 seasons was the 700 Runs.)
George Springer: B-
.265/.346/.434 22 HR 71 RBI 102 Runs 6 SB 144 Hits 26 Doubles .780 OPS (116 OPS+) 2.7 WAR
Certainly the worst year of his career offensively if you look at his overall OPS, but his AVG and OBP were pretty consistent with his career marks. The SLG was what hurt him; much like Altuve. His HR rate was well down, but he did manage 22 and passed the 100 HR mark for his career early in the year. He also scored 100+ Runs for the 3rd straight year. Overall, a good but not amazing offensive year; with some of his performance hampered by the thumb issues, no doubt. He certainly won't win a Silver Slugger award this year, but still a solid season overall. Again with him, I wish we saw more basestealing value like we did in 2015 when he stole 16 in 20 attempts.
Carlos Correa: C
.239/.323/.405 15 HR 65 RBI 60 Runs 3 SB 96 Hits 20 Doubles .728 OPS (102 OPS+) 1.6 WAR
If you look at his offense as a shortstop with no other factors, it wasn't a bad year. His rate stats put him as slightly above league average, and 15 HR with 65 RBI for a premium defensive position is pretty good. That being said, after all-star caliber seasons it was a huge step down. He was having a respectable season before the back injury, but even then it wasn't close to what he did last year. His defense was still good, and he came alive finally in the very last game, but still an average year for him (C is still average, right?). Hopefully next year he is healthy and looks more like at least his 2016 version. And similar to Springer, it would be nice to see some more steals. (He was 27 of 34 his first two years and then he stopped running.) Next year he has the potential to reach the 100 HR mark at only age 24, not bad. Man the guy seems fragile though...
Alex Bregman: A+
.286/.394/.532 31 HR 103 RBI 105 Runs 10 SB 170 Hits 51 Doubles .926 OPS (156 OPS+) 6.9 WAR
Essentially he was Jeff Bagwell playing 3B. What more can you say? Easily the team MVP despite a mild finish, Bregman had a breakthrough year. He probably won't win a Silver Slugger because of Jose Ramirez, but he had a hell of a year. Led the AL in Doubles and in the top-10 in most offensive categories. He'll be a top-5 MVP finisher this year and has set some high standards for the next few years. Instead of Correa, he very well looks like he could end up being the key power cog of this team for years to come. He was really the only key player on this team to improve from last year.
Yuli Gurriel: C+
.291/.323/.428 13 HR 85 RBI 70 Runs 5 SB 156 Hits 33 Doubles .751 OPS (108 OPS+) 2.3 WAR
A C+ plus probably seems like a low grade to a lot of people, but it really isn't. A C+ is a little above-average. Yuli led the league in AVG w/RISP and improved his RBI count from last year. Both great things. Unfortunately his walk rate was even lower than last year and his power (like multiple other guys) was way down. On top of that, even though he had a respectable year offensively, his defense is poor at best (which kept him from a B-). The hand issue likely hurt his power numbers, so, if healthy, I expect some improvement to that next year. For a better score we need to see improvement with him reaching base and getting his power back up some. I don't expect his defense to improve at this point in his career, but at least he can, if needed, play multiple positions. He's starting to get up there in age for baseball so I would be surprised to see him do much more next year than he showed this year, but if he can continue to hit .290+ his offense will be at least mediocre at worst.
Josh Reddick: C-
.242/.318/.400 17 HR 47 RBI 63 Runs 7 SB 105 Hits 13 Doubles .718 OPS (99 OPS+) 1.8 WAR
A down year by all accounts. Slightly below-average offense with slightly above-average defense. Last year was a career year so we shouldn't have expected a repeat, but this year is certainly worse than anybody expected. I expect something in between next year if he stays healthy, which would be absolutely fine. On the plus side, it's the first time in his career that he played back-to-back 120+ game seasons, and he did hit more HRs than last year. If he can give us 15 HR 75 RBI and a .775 OPS next year with solid defense, I'll be pleased.
Evan Gattis: C
.226/.284/.452 25 HR 78 RBI 49 Runs 1 SB 92 Hits 17 Doubles .736 OPS (101 OPS+) 0.4 WAR
Per usual Evan Gattis performance, the highs were high and the lows were low. At one point he looked like he could end up putting up career numbers, but a deep funk and then limited playing time cut him back down to around his normal numbers. Like most guys on the team his power was down, but also his AVG was lower than normal which kept his OBP south of normal expectations. That being said, he helped carry the team in May and June with Bregman, and he likely ended his Astros career with a solid season. I'll never understand why he wasn't utilized more as a Catcher, but he was a respectable and reasonably-priced DH for multiple seasons. I hope he gets a decent contract with somebody this offseason...just not us. His average season as an Astro: 24 HR 73 RBI .769 OPS (109 OPS+)
Marwin Gonzalez: C+
.247/.324/.409 16 HR 68 RBI 61 Runs 2 SB 121 Hits 25 Doubles .733 OPS (103 OPS+) 2.5 WAR
Another player who is finally done as an Astro for the regular season, Marwin ended up with a respectable year. It wasn't 2017 but it wasn't 2016 either. He can be frustrating to watch sometimes for multiple reasons, but we're going to missing having a guy with so much value as a utility player. His 2nd best year for HRs, RBI, and Runs, and he was again good on the defensive side. He likely ends his Astros career averaging: 11 HR 42 RBI 43 Runs .737 OPS all while playing at least 90 games at 5 different positions. Pretty damn solid work all things considered.
Jose Altuve: B+
.315/.384/.449 13 HR 61 RBI 84 Runs 17 SB 168 Hits 29 Doubles .834 OPS (132 OPS+) 5.2 WAR
It seems like a pretty down year for what we have come to expect from Altuve, but it actually ended up (by most metrics) as his 4th best season thus far of his 8 year career. A deserving all-star with a good chance at his 5th Silver Slugger and potentially even his 2nd Gold Glove (although doubtful). Gleyber Torres and Jed Lowrie had strong seasons as comparable 2B (both of which with more HRs and RBI), but Altuve's overall performance was still better. He led in OPS, OPS+, WAR, and AVG for 2B, and his defense was again pretty above-average. While his AVG was down some from the previous two years, he maintained an excellent OBP due to a stronger than normal walk rate. His injury kept him from reaching the 200-Hit milestone this year and 20+ stolen bases, but he still put up good numbers all-around. My biggest complaint isn't the lower HR count, it's the low Doubles count. I hope next year we see more gap power with him. The lower doubles and triples count (along with the HRs) led to his worst SLG since 2013. Some of it was the knee issue after the all-star break for sure, since his pre-DL stint rate stats were excellent. Next year he reaches a number of moderate milestones if he is healthy: 700 Runs, 300 Doubles, 100 HR, 500 RBI, 250 SB, 1500 Hits. (For comparison, the only one of those milestones that Biggio reached in his first 9 seasons was the 700 Runs.)
George Springer: B-
.265/.346/.434 22 HR 71 RBI 102 Runs 6 SB 144 Hits 26 Doubles .780 OPS (116 OPS+) 2.7 WAR
Certainly the worst year of his career offensively if you look at his overall OPS, but his AVG and OBP were pretty consistent with his career marks. The SLG was what hurt him; much like Altuve. His HR rate was well down, but he did manage 22 and passed the 100 HR mark for his career early in the year. He also scored 100+ Runs for the 3rd straight year. Overall, a good but not amazing offensive year; with some of his performance hampered by the thumb issues, no doubt. He certainly won't win a Silver Slugger award this year, but still a solid season overall. Again with him, I wish we saw more basestealing value like we did in 2015 when he stole 16 in 20 attempts.
Carlos Correa: C
.239/.323/.405 15 HR 65 RBI 60 Runs 3 SB 96 Hits 20 Doubles .728 OPS (102 OPS+) 1.6 WAR
If you look at his offense as a shortstop with no other factors, it wasn't a bad year. His rate stats put him as slightly above league average, and 15 HR with 65 RBI for a premium defensive position is pretty good. That being said, after all-star caliber seasons it was a huge step down. He was having a respectable season before the back injury, but even then it wasn't close to what he did last year. His defense was still good, and he came alive finally in the very last game, but still an average year for him (C is still average, right?). Hopefully next year he is healthy and looks more like at least his 2016 version. And similar to Springer, it would be nice to see some more steals. (He was 27 of 34 his first two years and then he stopped running.) Next year he has the potential to reach the 100 HR mark at only age 24, not bad. Man the guy seems fragile though...
Alex Bregman: A+
.286/.394/.532 31 HR 103 RBI 105 Runs 10 SB 170 Hits 51 Doubles .926 OPS (156 OPS+) 6.9 WAR
Essentially he was Jeff Bagwell playing 3B. What more can you say? Easily the team MVP despite a mild finish, Bregman had a breakthrough year. He probably won't win a Silver Slugger because of Jose Ramirez, but he had a hell of a year. Led the AL in Doubles and in the top-10 in most offensive categories. He'll be a top-5 MVP finisher this year and has set some high standards for the next few years. Instead of Correa, he very well looks like he could end up being the key power cog of this team for years to come. He was really the only key player on this team to improve from last year.
Yuli Gurriel: C+
.291/.323/.428 13 HR 85 RBI 70 Runs 5 SB 156 Hits 33 Doubles .751 OPS (108 OPS+) 2.3 WAR
A C+ plus probably seems like a low grade to a lot of people, but it really isn't. A C+ is a little above-average. Yuli led the league in AVG w/RISP and improved his RBI count from last year. Both great things. Unfortunately his walk rate was even lower than last year and his power (like multiple other guys) was way down. On top of that, even though he had a respectable year offensively, his defense is poor at best (which kept him from a B-). The hand issue likely hurt his power numbers, so, if healthy, I expect some improvement to that next year. For a better score we need to see improvement with him reaching base and getting his power back up some. I don't expect his defense to improve at this point in his career, but at least he can, if needed, play multiple positions. He's starting to get up there in age for baseball so I would be surprised to see him do much more next year than he showed this year, but if he can continue to hit .290+ his offense will be at least mediocre at worst.
Josh Reddick: C-
.242/.318/.400 17 HR 47 RBI 63 Runs 7 SB 105 Hits 13 Doubles .718 OPS (99 OPS+) 1.8 WAR
A down year by all accounts. Slightly below-average offense with slightly above-average defense. Last year was a career year so we shouldn't have expected a repeat, but this year is certainly worse than anybody expected. I expect something in between next year if he stays healthy, which would be absolutely fine. On the plus side, it's the first time in his career that he played back-to-back 120+ game seasons, and he did hit more HRs than last year. If he can give us 15 HR 75 RBI and a .775 OPS next year with solid defense, I'll be pleased.
Evan Gattis: C
.226/.284/.452 25 HR 78 RBI 49 Runs 1 SB 92 Hits 17 Doubles .736 OPS (101 OPS+) 0.4 WAR
Per usual Evan Gattis performance, the highs were high and the lows were low. At one point he looked like he could end up putting up career numbers, but a deep funk and then limited playing time cut him back down to around his normal numbers. Like most guys on the team his power was down, but also his AVG was lower than normal which kept his OBP south of normal expectations. That being said, he helped carry the team in May and June with Bregman, and he likely ended his Astros career with a solid season. I'll never understand why he wasn't utilized more as a Catcher, but he was a respectable and reasonably-priced DH for multiple seasons. I hope he gets a decent contract with somebody this offseason...just not us. His average season as an Astro: 24 HR 73 RBI .769 OPS (109 OPS+)
Marwin Gonzalez: C+
.247/.324/.409 16 HR 68 RBI 61 Runs 2 SB 121 Hits 25 Doubles .733 OPS (103 OPS+) 2.5 WAR
Another player who is finally done as an Astro for the regular season, Marwin ended up with a respectable year. It wasn't 2017 but it wasn't 2016 either. He can be frustrating to watch sometimes for multiple reasons, but we're going to missing having a guy with so much value as a utility player. His 2nd best year for HRs, RBI, and Runs, and he was again good on the defensive side. He likely ends his Astros career averaging: 11 HR 42 RBI 43 Runs .737 OPS all while playing at least 90 games at 5 different positions. Pretty damn solid work all things considered.
