RANKING THE CITY'S BEST
The top 20 athletes in Houston for 2017: No surprise, the Astros dominate again
Dec 12, 2017, 7:21 am
Where does Jose Altuve rank? Pretty darn high. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
As 2017 wraps up, it has been an incredible year in Houston. This ranking of the top 20 athletes in the city for 2017 takes into account overall impact on their team, where they rank vs. their peers in their respective sports and quality of performance. This takes into account on the field or court impact only. As you might suspect, the list is Astros heavy thanks to the run to the World Series. Obviously, the criteria and ranking is subjective, but that is the point of these things. Feel free to switch these around in your own rankings. The final breakdown: Astros (10), Rockets (4), Texans (3), Dynamo (2), UH (1).
No. 20: Charlie Morton, Astros
While his regular season was not overwhelming (14-7, 3.62 ERA, 163 Ks in 146.2 IP), it was still pretty solid and consistent. The big reason he is here, however, is he came up big in the postseason other than one rough outing in Boston, where he was mostly unlucky. He closed out the Astros first-ever World Series with a phenomenal outing and deserves to make the list on that alone.
No. 19: Yuli Gurriel, Astros
The first baseman was a solid player all year for the champs, hitting .299 with 18 HRs and 75 RBIs. He was better in the postseason run, hitting .304 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs.
No. 18: Juan David Cabezas, Dynamo
One of the most consistent players for the Dynamo all season, Cabezas solidified the midfield and helped the team make a deep playoff run. The Columbia native led the team with 1,052 passes attempted and had an 86.4 pass completion percentage. He also played strong defense, with 4.11 tackles per 90 minutes, which led the league. He also had the team lead in tackles (102), tackles won (77) and interceptions (52).
No. 17: Josh Reddick, Astros
Reddick brought veteran leadership to the locker room and turned in a terrific regular season, hitting .314 with 13 HRs and 82 RBIs and adding quality defense. He was awful in the postseason, hitting just .169, which dropped him several spots. But still a nice acquisition who helped the Astros win it all.
No. 16: Eric Gordon, Rockets
The reigning sixth man of the year is off to another good start, averaging over 18 points per game. He was especially effective while Chris Paul was sitting out with a knee injury. A key component in the Rockets’ explosive offense.
No. 15: Clint Capela, Rockets
Capela’s development is a huge reason for the Rockets’ success. He is averaging over 13 points and 11 rebounds a game and has improved his free-throw shooting to over 60 percent. He makes almost 2/3rds of his shots and his unselfish play is a perfect mix with the 3-point bombers on the Rockets.
No. 14: Dallas Keuchel, Astros
He was on his way to another Cy Young-type season when an injury derailed him. He still finished a solid 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA and followed it up in the playoffs by going 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA. Could easily make an argument he belongs higher up.
No. 13: Chris Paul, Rockets
Late to the party due to a knee injury, he has stepped in and instantly made the players around him better. Not enough of a body of work yet to crack the top 10, but he is averaging over 14 points and just under 10 assists and has helped the team reach a new level. Another who will be much higher on this list with a full year.
No. 12: Justin Verlander, Astros
He was not here long, but boy, what an impact. Verlander was 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA after being acquired shortly before the Aug. 1 deadline. He then went 4-1 in the playoffs with a 2.21 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. With a full season he would be top 5 and the Astros do not win the World Series without him.
No. 11: Alex Bregman, Astros
Don’t expect him to miss the top 10 too many more times in his career. He got better as the season went on and came up with some clutch HRs in the playoffs, even though he only hit .208. The arrow is definitely pointing up.
No. 10: Marwin Gonzalez, Astros
On a team loaded with stars, Gonzalez was the glue that kept them together all year, leading the Astros in RBIs. His production fell off during the playoffs, or he might have been higher on this list. He was versatile, playing multiple positions, hit .303 with 23 HRs and 90 RBI in the regular season, consistently coming up with clutch hits. He hit just .180 in the playoffs, but deserves to be here.
No. 9: Alberth Ellis, Dynamo
The “Panther” brought excitement, pace and goals to a team that made it to the Western Conference Finals. Ellis scored 10 goals with 4 assists and was second on the team with 28 shots on goal. He also tied Cubo Torres for the team lead in game-winning goals with 3. The Honduran has a bright future. (A tip of the cap to soccer expert Glenn Davis for his input on this one).
No. 8: Ed Oliver, University of Houston football
The highest regarded recruit to ever come to UH, Oliver has lived up to the billing, even in a year when he battled injuries and a disappointing effort as a team in general. He has a chance to be the best defensive player to ever suit up in the city at the college level with presumably one more year before he goes off to the NFL as a potential top 10 pick.
No. 7: George Springer, Astros
He started off the season on a ridiculous home run pace and emerged as a star in what became a career year. He faded in the second half, but still finished with a .283 average, 34 HRs and 85 RBIs. After a slow start to the postseason where some speculated he should be taken out of the leadoff spot, Springer exploded in the World Series, hitting .375 with five HRs, 7 RBIs and taking home the World Series MVP trophy.
No 6: Deshaun Watson, Texans
You might think this is too high for a guy who played six and one half games, but you could make a case he belongs as far up as No. 3. Consider this: Only Matt Schaub threw more TD passes in a season than Watson’s 19 that came in those six and a half games. (Brian Hoyer also had 19 in 11 games). Not just that, but after putting up just 13 points in his first start on a short week, the Texans scored 33, 57, 34, 33 and 38 points in his next five starts. Three of those came against the Patriots, Seahawks and Chiefs, who were playing better than anyone at that point of the season. He also rushed for 289 yards and two touchdowns. And talk about impact, the Texans were 3-3 in games he started. In games he did not? 1-6. They scored over 30 points just once in that span (31-21 win over Arizona). In no other game did they manage more than 16. Was playing at an MVP level when got hurt. If he stays healthy next year, expect him to be much higher.
No. 5: Carlos Correa, Astros
Injuries robbed him of a special year, but he was still dynamic, hitting .315 with 24 HRs and 84 RBIs and playing slick shortstop. He was well on his way to a 30 HR 100-RBI season at one of the most demanding positions in the sport. He followed that up with a solid .288, 5 HR, 14 RBI postseason in the run to the World Series. It was obvious the offense was not as good with him out of the lineup. Could easily be near the top of this list with a full season.
No. 4: Jadeveon Clowney, Texans
His numbers might not blow you away -- 34 tackles, 12 assists, (46 combined) 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries including a touchdown -- but that is only over 12 games and he has a constant impact. He is often double or triple teamed, yet still makes plays in the backfield (his 20 tackles for loss are second in the league) and gets constant pressure on quarterbacks. He has little to no help on the defensive side of the ball, yet he continues to make plays. A truly special player.
No. 3: DeAndre Hopkins, Texans
It might seem odd that the Texans have three players in the top six considering they are having a lousy season. But it also tells you how top-heavy they are: No one else on the team even came close to making this list. Hopkins is a no-doubter. After a down year last year, Hopkins responded big time in 2017. He has over 1,200 yards receiving and barring an injury will have over 100 catches. His 11 TD receptions are the most in a single season in team history. And he has done much of it with Tom Savage playing quarterback. One of the few remaining reasons to tune in to Texans games, he is a joy to watch and a master at making dynamic sideline catches. He is a likely All-Pro at one of the toughest positions to make that list in all of football.
No. 2: James Harden, Rockets
Just missed the MVP last season and is off to another terrific start, leading the league in scoring and teaming with Paul to make the Rockets one of the most dynamic teams in the league. There are very few cities where Harden would not be No. 1 on a list like this. He is simply one of the best in basketball.
No. 1: Jose Altuve, Astros
The diminutive second baseman was incredible all year, adding a third batting title with his .346 average and chipped in 24 HRs, 81 RBIs and 32 steals. In the playoffs he hit .310 with 7 HRs and 14 RBIs and was one of the key cogs in winning the World Series. A future Hall of Famer at the top of his game, he was AL MVP, was voted by the players as the best in baseball and well deserves the No. 1 spot on this list.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.