Star Performer of the Week: May 12 thru 18

The Astros had their best week of the 2014 season, taking two of three games from both the Rangers and White Sox. The bats heated up. The starting pitching was solid. Heck, even the bullpen was better than terrible. There were quite a few candidates for the Star Performer Award, but one in particular that I felt was most deserving.

Before we get to this week’s winner, let’s give some love to a couple of guys who were in the running but didn’t quite come out on top. Representing the much maligned Astros bullpen, Tony Sipp deserves some recognition. Sipp pitched in two ball games, both Astros victories, and retired all eight batters that he faced.

All Dallas Keuchel did this week was throw the Astros first complete game shutout of the season. And he did it against the arch-rival Texas Rangers. The Astros lefty scattered seven hits while striking out seven without walking a batter. Keuchel will be back in action Monday night in Anaheim when the Astros take on Garrett Richards and the Angels.

Hitting was the big story in Houston this week. Jose Altuve, L.J. Hoes, George Springer, and Matt Dominguez all had outstanding performances. But Dexter Fowler was the most productive of the Astros’ hitters and is the recipient of this week’s Star Performer Award.

Fowler had nine hits in 20 at-bats for the week — including a double, a triple, and a homerun. Dexter also reached base nine more times via the walk, giving him an impressive .450/.621/.750 slash line. Fowler scored six runs and drove in three. Fowler, who was hitting .238 coming into the week, raised his batting average to .267 and now sports an on-base percentage of .375.