It’s your first in-ST Boil, including chapter 113 of Everystros.
Houston Astros News
Astros Notes: Verlander, Whitley, McCormick (MLBTR)
Astros ace Justin Verlander faces ‘tight’ timeline to be ready for Opening Day (The Athletic)
Verlander: ‘Hard to forecast’ return to game action
Astros 2024: May the fake games begin
AL West News
The Las Vegas pre-A’s — Oakland A’s fans are only getting stronger in fight with John Fisher (SF Gate)
Gorton’s Fishermen — After injury-riddled 2023 for Mariners, Andrés Muñoz lighting up the radar gun (The Seattle Times)
The Kevin James’s — Rangers’ Andrew Heaney displays high-wire abilities in spring debut (Dallas News)
The Danny Glovers’s — Carlos Estévez to open 2024 season as Angels’ closer
MLB News
Learning English as a phenom on the rise: ‘Show me and I’ll do it’
MLB union rips decision to shorten pitch clock time, says players expressed concerns (Fox)
With Kodai Senga Injury, Mets Rotation Already Takes a Hit (FanGraphs)
Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite Outfielder Seeking MLB Deal Despite Retirement Rumors (SI)
Slugger-turned-fireballer eyes role in O’s bullpen
Bellinger returning to Cubs on three-year deal
Houston Astros Birthdays
RHP Héctor Rondón (36)
RHP Gary Majewski (44)
3B Steve Hertz (79)
RHP Don Lee (90)
Everystros CXIII
10. Carlos Correa (Bagwell score 104.58) is a six-foot-four right-handed shortstop from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Born on September 22, 1994, he was Houston’s first-round pick in 2012 out of Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, with the first overall selection. Unsurprisingly, Correa’s 40.9 bWAR is tops from the 42 players to reach the bigs out of the round.
Correa appeared in 752 games over his six seasons with the Astros, starting 746 at shortstop (6553 1⁄3 innings, .981) and twice at designated hitter. He won the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year, made the All-Star Team in 2017 and 2021, also taking home a Gold Glove in the latter. At the plate, he was 781-for-2824, slashing .277/.356/.481, with 162 doubles, eight triples, 133 home runs, and 33 stolen bases in 41 attempts. He drew 347 walks and struck out 660 times, scoring 438 times and driving in another 489.
On June 23, 2015, Correa singled and scored in the first inning against the Angels, hit a second-inning three-run home run, doubled and scored in the fourth, then added an RBI-groundout in the ninth inning to help defeat Los Angeles, 13-3. On July 3, he singled in the fourth, hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth, and added a go-ahead RBI-single in the 10th, in a 12-8 win over the Boston Red Sox. On August 1, he hit two homers for three RBI in a 9-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Five days later, he hit a first-inning single, drew a walk in the sixth, then hit a lead-changing two-run homer in the eighth, in a 5-4 win over the Oakland Athletics. On August 19, he hit a first-inning solo home run, and a walk-off RBI-single in the 13th to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-2. On September 26, he hit a first-inning solo homer and a third-inning game-tying two-run homer, with a fifth-inning single and a seventh-inning walk with a stolen base in a 9-7 win over the Texas Rangers. On October 12, in Game Four of the ALDS, he hit a third-inning game-tying solo home run, a fifth-inning go-ahead RBI-double, a seventh-inning two-run homer, and a ninth-inning single in a 9-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
On April 5, 2016, Correa hit a fourth-inning RBI-groundout with a stolen base, a game-tying sixth-inning solo home run, reached on an error in the eighth, stealing a base and scoring a run in a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees. The next day, he hit two singles and two solo home runs in a 16-6 loss to the Bombers. On May 29, he hit a pinch-three-run-13th-inning go-ahead homer for an 8-6 win over the Angels. On July 30, he hit a first-inning double, a ninth-inning game-tying RBI-single in the ninth, in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers. On August 9, he hit a two-run homer in the first and a two-run single in the sixth to defeat the Minnesota Twins, 7-5. On August 26, Correa hit a game-tying solo home run in the ninth, in a 5-4 win over the Rays. On September 26, he hit a second-inning single, a ninth-inning game-tying RBI-single, and a 11th-inning single in a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
On May 3, 2017, Correa hit two singles, a double, and a solo homer in a 10-1 win over the Rangers. Two days later, he hit a seventh-inning single and scored, then hit a go-ahead RBI-single in the 10th to defeat the Halos, 7-6. On May 10, he hit a lead-changing two-run double in the fifth, crossing the plate later in the inning, then added a seventh-inning double in a 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. On June 29, he hit two home runs for four RBI in a 6-1 victory over the A’s. On July 2, he hit two singles and two doubles with three RBI in an 8-1 victory over the Yankees. On July 9, he collected five RBI with two singles and two home runs in a 19-1 squeaker over the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 27, he hit a single, a double, and two homers for four RBI in a 12-2 win against the Rangers. The next day, he hit two singles, a double, and a home run with three RBI in another 12-2 win, this time over the Red Sox. On October 14, he hit a fourth-inning go-ahead home run and a walk-off RBI-double to defeat the Yankees, 2-1 in Game Two of the ALDS.
On March 31, 2018, Correa totaled two singles, a double and a home run with two RBI in a 9-3 win against Texas. On April 20, he hit a single and two home runs with three RBI in a 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. On September 29, in the first game of a doubleheader, he hit a sixth-inning solo home run, and a go-ahead ninth-inning RBI-double. On October 17, he hit an RBI-single in the second, a go-ahead RBI-single in the fifth, and a seventh-inning double in an eventual 8-6 loss to the Red Sox in Game Four of the ALCS.
On July 27, 2019, Correa collected five RBI on a single and a home run in a 8-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. On August 15, he hit a pair of solo home runs in a 7-6 loss to Oakland. On September 20, he hit two home runs for three RBI in a 6-4 win over the Angels. On October 13, he hit a second-inning RBI-double, and a walk-off solo home run in the 11th to defeat the Yankees, 3-2 in a Game Two ALCS victory.
On October 5, 2020, Correa hit a single and two home runs for four RBI in a 10-5 win over the A’s in Game One of the ALDS. Three days later, he totaled five RBI on two singles and a home run in a Game Four, 11-6 win to eliminate the A’s. On October 15, in Game Five of the ALCS, he hit a walk-off ninth-inning home run to top the Rays, 4-3.
On April 30, 2021, Correa hit two singles and two doubles with one run and one RBI in a 9-2 win over Tampa Bay. On May 29, he hit a two-run fourth-inning homer, and a 10th-inning game-tying RBI-double in an 11-8 loss to the Padres. On June 4, he hit two homers for four RBI to top the Blue Jays, 13-1. On June 15, he singled in the fifth and hit a game-tying homer in the ninth, in a 6-3, 10-inning win over the Rangers. On September 20, he hit three singles and a double to defeat the Angels, 10-0.
Correa signed with the Twins on March 22, 2022, and has played two seasons with Minnesota (271 games, .261/.339/.433, 40 home runs, 129 RBI).
9. Alex Bregman (Bagwell score 99.54) is a six-foot, right-handed third baseman from Albuquerque, NM. Born on March 30, 1994, he was a 29th-round choice of the Boston Red Sox in 2012. After not signing with Boston, Bregman attended Louisiana State University. In 2015, Houston chose him in the first round with the second overall choice. He leads the 32 players to reach the majors out of the round with 35.4 bWAR.
Bregman took a deal with the Astros to a $5.9 million signing bonus. He reached the big league club in 2016, and appeared in 966 games in total. He’s started 835 games at third base (7,343 1⁄3 innings, .967), 107 games at shortstop (966 innings, .973), 10 games at designated hitter, two games at second base (32 innings, no errors), and zero in left field (3 2⁄3 innings, one error in one chance).
Bregman has never won a Gold Glove, but is probably one of the top five best fielding third basemen around. He’s 21 DRS above average through his career to date. He’s made two All-Star Teams and won a Silver Slugger in 2019, when he led the majors with 119 walks and 8.9 bWAR. Bregman also led the majors with 51 doubles in 2018.
On August 6, 2017, Bregman hit a ninth-inning two-run game-tying two-out triple, then scored the game-winner on a Juan Centeno single for a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 29, he hit a double in the first against Boston, then hit a go-ahead third-inning RBI-single and a fifth-inning two-run homer in a 3-2 triumph over the Red Sox. On October 29, he drew a walk and scored in the fifth, singled and scored a go-ahead run in the seventh, then drove home the game-winner with two outs in the bottom of the 12th, with an RBI-single to score Derek Fisher for a 13-12 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the World Series.
On April 11, 2018, Bregman hit two singles, a double, and a home run in a 9-8 loss to the Minnesota Twins. On May 24, he hit a lead-changing three-run fifth-inning homer, then added an RBI-double in the sixth in an 8-2 victory over the Cleveland (checks notes) Indians. On June 18, he hit a come-from-behind walk-off two-run double to top the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4. On June 26, he hit three doubles and a home run with a pair of RBI in a 7-0 win over the Jays. The next day, he hit a third-inning double, a fifth-inning double, scoring on an Evan Gattis double, then ended the game with a come-from-behind walk-off two-run homer for a 7-6 win against Toronto. On July 10, he hit a first-inning solo shot, a seventh-inning solo shot, then drove home the winning run on a catcher’s error (no RBI) in a 6-5 victory against the Oakland Athletics. On August 27, he hit two singles, a double and a homer for four RBI in an 11-4 win over the A’s. On September 5, he collected two hits (a double and a homer) with two walks and five RBI in a 9-1 victory over the Twins.
On May 4, 2019, Bregman hit a single and two home runs for four RBI in a 14-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The next day, he hit a lead-changing fifth-inning grand slam and a seventh-inning single to defeat the Halos, 10-4. On May 12, he hit a single and two home runs for five RBI in a 15-5 victory over the Texas Rangers. On May 28, he drew a walk and scored in the first, hit a leadoff third-inning home run and a sixth-inning go-ahead two-run bomb in a 9-6 win over the Chicago Cubs. On August 18, he hit a first-inning single, a fourth-inning double, a fifth-inning lead-changing three-run home run, and a ninth-inning single in a 4-1 win over the A’s. On September 2, he hit three singles and a double in a 3-2, 10-inning win against the Milwaukee Brewers. On October 26, he collected five RBI with two singles and a homer in an 8-1, Game Four World Series victory over the Washington Nationals.
On August 6, 2020, Bregman hit a sixth-inning double and an eighth-inning lead-changing two-run homer in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On September 7, 2021, Bregman hit a third-inning RBI-double, a fifth-inning single, and a ninth-inning game-tying two-run homer, in a 5-4, walkoff victory over the Seattle Mariners. Three days later, he hit a first-inning single, a third-inning RBI-single, later scoring the game-tying run, hit a go-ahead two-run fourth-inning double, later scoring again, then added a seventh-inning RBI-sacrifice fly for good measure, in a 10-5 win over the Angels.
On July 28, 2022, Bregman hit a two-run homer in the first, a go-ahead RBI-double in the eighth, scoring on a wild pitch in a 4-2 win over the Mariners. On August 18, he hit two doubles and two home runs with six RBI in a 21-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.
On May 15, 2023, Bregman singled in the fifth and a two-run go-ahead homer in the seventh in a 6-4 win over the Cubs. On July 16, he hit a fourth-inning single, a sixth-inning single, an eighth-inning single with a run scored, and a lead-changing two-run homer in the ninth, in a 9-8 win over the Angels. On August 26, he hit a first-inning double, a fifth-inning go-ahead two-run jack, a sixth-inning RBI-double with a run scored, then drew a walk and scored in the eight, topping the Detroit Tigers, 9-2. On September 4, he hit a first-inning single, a sixth-inning two-run game-tying single, a seventh-inning single and a go-ahead run, and an eighth-inning double in a 13-6 victory over Texas.