EVERY-THING SPORTS
How critical key to Houston Astros season is hiding in plain sight
Jun 23, 2023, 12:55 pm
Yainer Diaz looks like the real deal. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
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There was a time when I thought the Astros were permanently cursed at two positions. Shortstop and catcher were plagued for years with the stereotypical good defensive guys who couldn't hit their way out of a box made of Legos with a metal bat. Adam Everett, Julio Lugo, Jonathan Villar, Tony Eusebio, Brad Ausmus, and Martin Maldonado to name a few. I'm sure you guys can come up with a few more. Those were the guys that came to mind for me.
Along came number one overall pick and shortstop prodigy Carlos Correa. He changed the game when it came to those defensive wizards at short whose best hits were bloop singles they leg out to first base. Not only was his defense elite, his bat was as well. Power, average, and in the clutch. He did it all. I'm getting those same feelings about Yainer Diaz at catcher. At 24, he's tied for the youngest guy on the roster right now. In my opinion, he's been the best hitter on said roster not named Yordan.
That isn't a hot take because it's the truth! He's second on the team in batting average, second in slugging, second in OPS, tied for fifth in homers…all of this while being 11th on the team in total at bats (119), and 11th on the team in games played (37). You mean to tell me we can't find more playing time for this kid? I'd have him at DH until Yordan gets back. I don't care who's making what money and who's feelings may/may not get hurt. Yainer is in the lineup somewhere every single day unless he's hurt!
Can he stretch and scoop balls at first? How does he look catching up to bloop singles in left? What pitchers like their own personal catcher? The service Maldonado provides at catcher is immeasurable. He knows opposing batters better than they know themselves in some cases. The amount of info he provides the staff while navigating them in and out of the other team's lineup is insane. While I truly value his intangibles, I know he's a liability at the plate. What good is a guy like him in a game you lose 4-1 because you couldn't get more timely hits off a pitcher with an ERA that looks more like Steph Curry's career three point percentage (.428)?
There are 16 games until the All Star break. Nine of those games are against teams under .500 this season. The middle four games of that stretch are against the Rangers. The Astros remain 5.5 games behind the Rangers in the AL West. This collection of games is crucial for the stretch run. Diaz will be heavily counted on to continue producing. If Yordan isn't coming back until just before or after the All Star break, someone will need to step up. Diaz is doing that right now, but needs some help.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: one man can't carry a whole lineup. It would take an otherworldly effort, and some illegal stuff, to do so. If Diaz is helping carry the load in the lineup, the team requires their main stars to assist him in the lineup and on the bump. Some other young guys need to produce when given the opportunity. I agree that playing consistently helps. At what point do we hold these guys more accountable for not being able to step up when given the opportunity? We can blame Dusty Baker's lineups all we want. At the end of the day, nine men take the field every day. It's up to those nine to perform, no matter where they're placed in the lineup or how often they play. Diaz has stepped forward and said he's got next. It's time for others to do the same.
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. In the batter’s box he has often looked befuddled. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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