Most productive Astros hitters of the first half

About a year ago I invented a stat called PA/RP (plate appearances per run produced) in an attempt to measure run production for individual hitters. With the first half of the season in the rear-view mirror, I thought it might be interesting to break out that stat once again and see how the Astros hitters have performed. The results might surprise you.

With the historic first half delivered by Jose Altuve, one could only assume that he has been the team’s most productive player. Not exactly. Not only are there several Astros players that rank ahead of him, Altuve’s PA/RP number actually comes in below the league average.

Using the formula PA / (R+ RBI – HR) Altuve is producing one run for every 5.64 plate appearances. The American League average is one per every 5.28 PAs. Despite his league leading hit and stolen base totals, Jose is tied for 21st in the league with 49 runs scored. Even though he has been getting on base at a tremendous clip, Altuve just hasn’t scored as often as we would like.

Six Astros have produced a better PA/RP than Altuve so far this year — although a few of them provide only a small sample size. George Springer is the team leader with a mark of 4.49. Here’s the entire list.

George Springer 4.49

Carlos Corporan (Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

Carlos Corporan 4.61

Kike Hernandez 4.77

Jon Singleton 5.00

Dexter Fowler 5.47

Chris Carter 5.61

Jose Altuve 5.64

Jonathan Villar 5.74

Jason Castro 5.77

Robbie Grossman 6.16

Matt Dominguez 6.21

Marwin Gonzalez 6.29

Marc Krauss 6.94

L.J. Hoes 7.13

Alex Presley 8.50

Jesus Guzman 10.57

That adds up to a 5.84 average for the team, one of the lowest in the league. Meanwhile, the Angels boast a league best mark of 4.40 buoyed by the 3.51 mark of superstar Mike Trout. By the way, our old friend J.D. Martinez, who was my inspiration for creating the stat, is currently producing one run in every 3.59 plate appearances for the Detroit Tigers.