Happy Easter!
Yesterday was a good day.
The Astros had their first consecutive win and reached .500 for the first time since the second series of the year.
And in their two victories over previously MLB’s best, the Padres, they won with their #6 starter in Game One, and in Game Two the Astros beat the Padres ace with their #5 guy.
Today the Astros have their own ace, Framber Valdez against Dylan Cease. That’s normally pretty scary, but Cease is having a slow start with a 6.45 ERA in the young season. Valdez got hit pretty well in his last start, so let’s see how these pitchers recover from slow starts.
So far, this weekend has made Dana Brown look a lot smarter. He made three big moves this off-season: Trading Kyle Tucker, acquiring Christian Walker, and promoting the green prospect Cam Smith who was part of the Tucker trade.
In Friday’s win, the main firepower came from Cam, who blasted two homers. Yesterday, the third baseman who came in the Tucker trade, Isaac Paredes, had the game winning hit. Meanwhile, the BOR starter who came with The Trade, Hayden Wesneski, looked sharp holding the potent Padres offense to two runs, keeping the game within reach. And Christian Walker finally showed up, bashing the crucial two-run homer that tied the game and saving the game in the ninth inning with a Gold-Glove worthy, over-the-shoulder catch.
The Astros are on ESPN tonight at 6:10. With a win they will have achieved their first series sweep of the season.
The Astros are now tied with the Angels for third in the AL West, a half game behind the Mariners and 2.5 games behind the Rangers.
Despite a slight recent uptick in hitting, the Astros are still 22nd in MLB in wRC+ at 88. Jose Altuve leads the team in BA at .305. Surprise, the team leader in wRC+? Isaac Paredes at 119, Altuve at 118, and Cam Smith a close third at 115. War leaders? Jeremy Pena: 0.7 and Paredes, 0.6. Paredes leads the team in RBI with 11, followed by Yordan Alvarez and Cam Smith, each with 10. Altuve, Paredes, Smith and Pena all have three homers.
Here’s a surprise. Or maybe not for those who trust the eye test. Isaac Paredes has an overall Def rating from Fangraphs of 1.0. Alex Bregman is at -0.4. But weep not for Bregman. His wRC+ is 143.
Considering the chronic slow starts of the Astros and the stratospheric performances of Kyle Tucker and Bregman since leaving the Astros, plus the demise of the free agents the Astros bring in, you can’t help wondering if there is something wrong with the way the Astros train hitters.
Pitching is why the Astros are treading water at .500. ERA is eighth in MLB at 3.66 and xFIP is 5th at 3.55. Hunter Brown’s 1.50 ERA is seventh among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched and his fWAR of 0.8 is third.
See ya on the Thread.