How The Astros Fared In Fantasy Baseball

When you prepared for your fantasy baseball draft in March of 2013 (or earlier), you likely didn’t see many Astros on your draft guides. Maybe Jose Altuve was a potential target at second base or maybe you thought Jason Castro would breakout this year and you waited on him. Odds are you could count the amount of Astros on the teams in your league on one hand. Now that the season is over, let’s take a look at how the Astros fared in fantasy baseball this season.

Note: We will use Yahoo rankings based on a standard 5×5 league – RUNS, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, S, K, ERA, WHIP. Only batters with over 150 at-bats made the list. Starting pitchers over 60.0 IP, and relief pitchers over 15.0 IP were eligible.

Catchers:

Jason Castro – 63 Runs, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 2 SB, .276 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 214)

Carlos Corporan – 16 Runs, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 0 SB, .225 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 1110)

Castro was actually pretty good for fantasy catchers and would have been a good starting option in 12-team leagues when healthy. He finished 11th for all catchers, and provided nice power from the catcher’s slot. Corporan was not an option.

Infielders

Jose Altuve – 64 Runs, 5 HR, 52 RBI, 35 SB, .283 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 120)

Matt Dominguez – 56 Runs, 21 HR, 77 RBI, 0 SB, .241 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 274)

Carlos Pena – 38 Runs, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 1 SB, .207 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 1036)

Brett Wallace – 35 Runs, 13 HR, 36 RBI, 1 SB, .221 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 904)

Jonathan Villar – 26 Runs, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 18 SB, .243 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 1021)

Marwin Gonzalez – 22 Runs, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 6 SB, .221 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 1091)

Altuve was the 11th ranked second baseman (including anyone eligible to play 2b). Altuve was a good source of stolen bases and a solid average, something people may have targeted if they drafted other positions earlier in the draft. Dominguez finished 19th amongst all third basemen. Pena/Wallace were never really options as their power did not justify their low averages. Villar may have been a late season option for people if they needed a stolen bases push.

Outfielders

Chris Carter – 64 Runs, 29 HR, 82 RBI, 2 SB, .223 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 191)

Brandon Barnes – 46 Runs, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 11 SB, .240 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 671)

J.D. Martinez – 24 Runs, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 2 SB, .250 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 987)

Robbie Grossman – 29 Runs, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 6 SB, .268 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 976)

L.J. Hoes – 24 Runs, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 7 SB, .282 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 1048)

Trevor Crowe – 18 Runs, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 6 SB, .218 Avg (Yahoo Rank: 1137)

Carter was both 1B/OF eligible and was likely owned in 12+team leagues. He provided lots of power though his Avg likely scared off many owners. Barnes/Martinez/Crowe were never rosterable in fantasy leagues. Grossman’s second stint in the major leagues was good enough to put him on fantasy teams. He was a top 100 player for much of his second stint up with the Astros. Hoes may have been added by some teams but he didn’t provide enough of anything to actually start on teams.

Starting Pitchers

Lucas Harrell – 6 W, 0 Sv, 89 K, 5.86 ERA, 1.70 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 1461)

Jordan Lyles – 7 W, 1 Sv, 93 K, 5.59 ERA, 1.51 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 1118)

Dallas Keuchel – 6 W, 0 Sv, 123 K, 5.15 ERA, 1.54 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 1108)

Erik Bedard – 4 W, 1 Sv, 138 K, 4.59 ERA, 1.48 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 989)

Bud Norris – 10 W, 0 Sv, 147 K, 4.18 ERA, 1.49 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 836)

Brad Peacock – 5 W, 0 Sv, 77 K, 5.18 ERA, 1.38 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 802)

Paul Clemens – 4 W, 0 Sv, 49 K, 5.40 ERA, 1.47 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 938)

Brett Oberholtzer – 4 W, 0 Sv, 45 K, 2.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 287)

Jarred Cosart – 1 W, 0 Sv, 33 K, 1.95 ERA, 1.35 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 397)

Harrell and Norris were possibly drafted in fantasy leagues. Harrell owners were likely disappointed and cut him early on in the season. Peacock’s second stint was good enough to land him on rosters or at least as a spot-start starter. When Oberholtzer was put into the rotation people didn’t scramble to pick him up or claim him, but Oberholtzer was probably owed in many leagues before the season was over. Cosart had a high WHIP, low K-rate, and small chances for a win but his ERA was low enough that he was probably owned in many leagues.

Relief Pitchers

Jose Veras – 0 W, 21 Sv, 60 K, 3.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 231)

Josh Fields – 1 W, 5 Sv, 40 K, 4.97 ERA, 1.29 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 517)

Hector Ambriz – 2 W, 2 Sv, 27 K, 5.70 ERA, 1.76 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 915)

Kevin Chapman – 1 W, 1 Sv, 15 K, 1.77 ERA, 1.28 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 427)

Josh Zeid – 0 W, 1 Sv, 24 K, 3.90 ERA, 1.37 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 691)

Travis Blackley – 2 W, 0 Sv, 40 K, 4.83 ERA, 1.35 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 756)

Chia-Jen Lo – 0 W, 2 Sv, 16 K, 4.19 ERA, 1.40 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 684)

Jose Cisnero – 2 W, 0 Sv, 41 K, 4.12 ERA, 1.63 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 797)

Rhiner Cruz – 0 W, 0 Sv, 10 K, 3.38 ERA, 1.69 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 800)

Philip Humber – 0 W, 0 Sv, 36 K, 7.90 ERA, 1.74 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 1160)

Wesley Wright – 0 W, 0 Sv, 55 K, 3.69 ERA, 1.36 WHIP (Yahoo Rank: 570)

Veras was a solid closer when he was on the Astros. Chapman was a decent option for good ERA/WHIP numbers later in the season. Lo and Fields were the closing options later in the season and were likely scooped up by a few fantasy owners. 

In short, very few Astros should have been on your fantasy teams. Jason Castro and Jose Altuve had solid fantasy seasons and Robbie Grossman had a nice run. Next year we may see a few more Astros roster able on fantasy teams. We will have the Astros 2014 fantasy update closer to spring training.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports