Astros: The Resurgence of Carlos Gomez

When Astros hitters are involved, patience is sometimes required.

Today’s culture has programmed the majority of the populace into wanting results now. Literally, right now. If it doesn’t happen, then it is better to cut your losses and move on. That was how “some” of Astros Nation treated outfielder Carlos Gomez in 2016.

Let’s be clear for one second: Gomez struggled badly to start the season. His .182/.238/.248 slash line from April 5th to May 15th was just downright cringe-worthy, especially from a starting outfielder.

But since that assignment, Gomez has become the force that the Astros expected in the lineup.

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From May 31st to July 3rd, Gomez has responded a .265/.345/.439, effectively making him one the most effective hitters in the Astros lineup not named Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and George Springer. In fact, he has been above average in his production at the plate with an 112 wRC+ and .361 BABIP.

Gomez has also seen a power increase as he has hit all four of his home runs since May 31st. There are also five doubles in that same time span. And sure, while a .173 ISO isn’t anything to brag about a lot, this is a much better ISO than his .066 ISO over the first six or so weeks of the season.

So what has caused this sudden resurgence, albeit a small sample size, so far?

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For one, Gomez seems relatively healthy. The various nagging injuries that hung around in the early going seemed to sap some of his athletic ability which made him such a dynamic player in years past. And it appears that he is seeing the ball better now and not pressing near as much. So all of that combined has led into a productive outfielder for the Astros.

That is huge for the Astros as it has been almost one calendar year since acquiring Gomez and Mike Fiers from the Milwaukee Brewers for multiple highly regarded prospects.

The fact remains that we will not know if the Astros got the better end of the Gomez deal with the Brewers for a few more years. Gomez may not even be a member of the Astros by then. But if he can produce a solid 2-3 WAR pace the rest of the season then the Astros would have to pleased with that type of play.

Next: Astros Hitting Needs as the Trade Deadline Approaches

Going forward the Astros will continue to use Gomez with confidence as his resurgence has helped fuel the return of a formidable Astros lineup. In combination with Evan Gattis, Luis Valbuena, and Jason Castro, the bottom half of the lineup has carried their fair share of the offense since the end of May. And by no coincidence, the Astros have been playing much better since then.

**Statistics provided by Fangraphs**

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