Astros in Fantasy: Best and Worst Performances – Week 16

Which Houston Astros players had the biggest positive and negative impacts in fantasy baseball in Week 16?

This was a bit of a rough week for many Astros fantasy owners. The biggest story, of course, is the loss of Carlos Correa to injury for the next few weeks. Correa was having an MVP-caliber season, so his owners will struggle to replace his production. On top of that, many Astros players posted decent fantasy weeks, but few really had a great week. Owners will be hoping for more going forward.

Best Hitter: Jose Altuve

Altuve had a nice week, capped off by a four-hit game on Sunday with a three-run homer. He currently sports a 15-game hitting streak and leads the league in batting average. It seems he’s getting even better and could factor into the MVP race if he keeps up this production.

Best Pitcher: Brad Peacock

Peacock owned the Mariners on Tuesday, holding them to one run on three hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings. He’s surrendered one or fewer runs in five of his last six starts. And he might get bumped from the rotation soon.

With Dallas Keuchel due back soon, someone has to go. With Peacock’s prior success in the bullpen, he may be the one who gets the short end of the stick. His fantasy value would take a hit in such a scenario, so owners will want to pay attention.

Worst Hitter: Josh Reddick

Reddick didn’t necessarily have an awful week, but he didn’t have a good week either. He went a combined 5-for-24 in the team’s six games this week with no homers, two RBIs and one run scored. It’s not any cause for alarm, as he’s still hitting over .300 on the season.

Worst Pitcher: Lance McCullers

In his last three starts, McCullers has failed to complete five innings. He’s given up at least four runs in each start while allowing a plethora of baserunners. Whatever the trouble is, McCullers is not commanding his pitches and will continue to struggle until he gets back in order. Owners should at least consider benching him until he turns it around.

Next: Astros: Let's admire Marwin Gonzalez for a moment

The Fantasy Impact of Correa’s Injury

Colin Moran took Correa’s roster spot, and now Tyler White is replacing Moran. Neither was or will be a full-time player, so their fantasy value is minimal. Marwin Gonzalez should get fewer days off, as will Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel, most likely. There’s no one who will replace Correa’s production by himself, so the biggest impact fantasy-wise is the loss of Correa.

***Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference***