2018 Remarkable! Season Preview – Houston Astros

by | Feb 26, 2018 | Baseball

 

2017 Record: 101-61 (1st in AL West – World Series Champions)

The World Series Champions start our 2018 Remarkable! season preview. Houston added former Pirates ace, Gerrit Cole, to an impressive starting rotation. Reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve will lead the star studded offense who placed first in many offensive categories last season.

 

Starting Pitchers

 

Justin Verlander
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of .312 (121 Total Bases / 388 ABs) on fastballs in 2017 — best in MLB; League Avg: .480.
  • He struck out 48.0% (24/50) of left-handed batters he faced over the last 30 days of the 2017 regular season — highest among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 21.1%.

  • He threw at least two strikes in his first three pitches to 70.8% (221/312) of opposing batters in the second half of the 2017 season (Rank: 13th of 185 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 61.3%).

 

Dallas Keuchel
  • He allowed an OPS of .435 (117 PAs) vs left-handed batters in 2017 (Rank: 1st of 158 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .778).
  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 67.5% (276/409) against Dallas Keuchel in 2017 (Rank: 1st of 158 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 45.3%).

  • He induced opposing hitters to ground into 24 double plays in 105 opportunities (22.9%) in 2017 (Rank: 1st of 148 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 11.5%).

 

Gerrit Cole
  • He had an average fastball velocity of 96.0 MPH in 2017 — 2nd best among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 92.5.

  • He walked 11 of 180 batters (6.1%) with RISP this season (Rank: 17th of 152 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 10.3%).
  • He allowed an OPS of .910 (293 PAs) against the heart of the order in the 2017 season — 4th worst among qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .779.

 

Lance McCullers
  • He allowed a slugging percentage of just .172 (57 Total Bases / 331 ABs) on low breaking pitches over the last two season — best among non-qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .310.

  • Opponents had a groundball rate of 62.3% (205/329) against Lance McCullers in 2017 (Rank: 4th of 158 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 45.3%).
  • He threw off-speed pitches 79.7% of the time (445/558) with two strikes in 2017 (Rank: 1st of 156 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 49.1%).

 

Charlie Morton
  • Left-handed batters hit .175 against Charlie Morton (44-for-252) in 2017 — best among non-qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .264.

  • He struck out 32.8% (94/287) of left-handed batters he faced in 2017 (Rank: 4th of 155 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 19.7%).
  • He allowed an OPS of .643 (215 PAs) against the heart of the order in 2017 (Rank: 11th of 158 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .829).

 

Relief Pitchers

 

2017 Bullpen Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .234 6th
OBP .310 7th
SLG .409 T-18th
OPS .719 T-11th
BB% 9.2% 17th
K% 28.5% 2nd
GB% 45.0% T-17th

 

Joe Smith
  • Hitters chased 109 of Joe Smith’s 260 fastballs out of the zone (chase rate of 41.9%) in 2017 (Rank: 2nd of 250 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 25.2%).

  • He walked 2 of 137 right-handed batters (1.5%) in 2017 (Rank: 4th of 242 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 8.6%).
  • He had a strikeout rate of 33.2% (71/214) in 2017 (Rank: 17th of 250 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 23.4%).

 

Ken Giles
  • Hitters chased 94 of Ken Giles’ 205 breaking balls down out of the zone (chase rate of 45.9%) in 2017 (Rank: 21st of 225 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 35.8%).
  • He allowed an OBP of .138 (58 PAs) against the first batter faced in the inning in the 2017 season — best among qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .299.

  • He allowed an OPS of .329 (142 PAs) with two strikes in 2017 (Rank: 21st of 247 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .511).

 

Chris Devenski
  • Left-handed batters hit .111 against Chris Devenski (16-for-144) in the 2017 season (Rank: 2nd of 230 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .245).

  • He threw off-speed pitches 59.7% of the time (765/1,282) in 2017 (Rank: 14th of 250 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 39.5%).

 

Will Harris
  • He walked 7 of 177 batters (4.0%) in 2017 (Rank: 7th of 250 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: 9.2%).
  • Opponents had a Well-Hit Avg of .000 (0/38) against Will Harris on high fastballs in 2017 (Rank: Tied for 1st of 153 qualified RPs in MLB; League Avg: .144).

 

Brad Peacock
  • As a starter, he allowed an OPS of .458 (149 PAs) vs right-handed batters in the second half of the 2017 season (Rank: 4th of 185 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: .760).
  • As a starter, he threw his slider 39.0% of the time (427/1,094) in the second half of the 2017 season (Rank: 6th of 115 qualified SPs in MLB; League Avg: 22.1%).

 

Hitters

 

2017 Offense Ranks

Stat # Rank
AVG .282 1st
OBP .346 1st
SLG .478 1st
OPS .823 1st
BB% 8.1% T-21st
K% 17.3% 1st
QAB 2785 1st
wOBA .359 1st

 

Jose Altuve
  • He is batting .341 (420-for-1,230) since the start of 2016 (Rank: 1st of 130 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .255).

  • He attempted 78 stolen bases since the start of 2016 (Rank: 8th of 317 in MLB).
  • He chased 27.6% of pitches out of the zone (90/326) on the first pitch of at-bats in 2017 (Rank: 145th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 15.1%).

 

Carlos Correa
  • He batted .391 (36-for-92) versus LHP in 2017 (Rank: 3rd of 174 part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .255).

  • He had an OPS of .941 (481 PAs) in 2017 (Rank: 4th of 176 part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .750).
  • He has a Well-Hit Avg of .366 (41/112) on the first pitch of at-bats since the start of 2016 (Rank: 2nd of 130 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .227).

 

Alex Bregman
  • He slugged .497 (75 total bases in 151 ABs) on low non-fastballs in 2017 (Rank: 7th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .300).
  • He batted .372 (42-for-113) when leading off an inning in 2017 (Rank: 2nd of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .256).
  • He had a line drive rate of 27.6% (34/123) versus LHP in 2017 (Rank: 10th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 21.2%).

 

Yuli Gurriel
  • He had a Well-Hit Avg of .257 (136/529) in the 2017 season — best in MLB; League Avg: .179.

  • 17.7% of Yuli Gurriel’s plate appearances have lasted only one pitch (100/564 PAs) in 2017 (Rank: 2nd of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 10.8%).
  • He struck out 62 times in 564 PAs (11.0%) in 2017 (Rank: 5th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 21.6%).

 

George Springer
  • He slugged .425 (117 total bases in 275 ABs) with two strikes in 2017 (Rank: 5th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .281).

  • He chased 13.3% pitches (38/285) when the pitcher is behind in the count in 2017 (Rank: 3rd of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 26.9%).
  • He made 7 non-routine plays out of 19 chances (36.8%) in 2017 (Rank: Tied for 18th of 255 in MLB; League Avg: 22.3%).

 

Josh Reddick
  • He batted .257 (57-for-222) with two strikes in 2017 (Rank: 5th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .176).
  • He came to the plate with runners in scoring position in 155 of his 540 plate appearances (28.7%) in 2017 (Rank: 14th of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 24.9%).
  • He slugged .557 (97 total bases in 174 ABs) versus relief pitchers in the 2017 season — 6th best among full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .431.

 

Marwin Gonzalez
  • He slugged .927 (38 total bases in 41 ABs) on the first pitch of at-bats in 2017 (Rank: Tied for 6th of 144 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .585).

  • He chased 48.3% of high fastballs out of the zone (97/201) in 2017 (Rank: 141st of 145 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 27.3%).

 

Brian McCann
  • Opponents used a defensive shift against Brian McCann on 61.4% of his plate appearances (245/399) in 2017 (Rank: 3rd of 176 part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: 13.0%).

  • He slugged 1.133 (34 total bases in 30 ABs) on the first pitch of at-bats in 2017 (Rank: 3rd of 145 part-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .585).

 

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