CTH's Houston Astros Players of the Week (May 11

One week after going 2-5 and seeing the 10-game win streak snapped, the Houston Astros turned it around at Minute Maid Park as they played host to the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays. In the two game series against the defending World Series champs, Houston got a split, and they earned a sweep in the four game series against the Jays. The team is back on track and look to continue adding to their 5-game win streak this week.

Of course, this meant that there had to be some spectacular play from the players. A week removed from Jose Altuve‘s team leading .240 batting average, there are several candidates for the players of the week awards. Here goes:

Pitchers of the Week: Chad Qualls/Will Harris/Pat Neshek/Tony Sipp

This must be a week out of the Twilight Zone. Dallas Keuchel looked human and Collin McHugh got roughed up pretty bad against the Giants, meaning they weren’t the front runners for this award for the first time all season.

In the first multi-player award of the season for the pitchers, this goes to the four guys mentioned above because they were lights-out again. Qualls filled in as the closer for Luke Gregerson while LG was out dealing with personal matters, and the other guys all came in and did their jobs with little fanfare. They rarely get recognized, but they did a great job this past week.

The combined line for SiQuaHarShek:

11.0 IP, 1 save, 0 earned runs, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts

The Houston Astros are in good hands with these guys.

Batter of the Week: Jonathan Villar

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This was a REALLY difficult choice because it seems like Preston Tucker is the obvious selection here. However, Villar had a very good week of baseball and contributed more to the victories than Tucker did. In the three games that Villar played in, he made plays in the field (especially in the ninth inning against the Giants to throw out Brandon Crawford) and at the plate, including key RBI doubles that eventually led to him scoring against the Jays. The guy is a lightning rod for criticism, but he earned this week’s award. Here’s his line:

.444/.500/.778 with 3 doubles, 2 runs, 3 RBI, and a walk.

Go ahead. Let me hear it in the comment section. I understand.

Redemption Player: Chris Carter

Carter is the only player that generates more criticism than Villar, and it is probably deserved. This week he had a so-so time at the plate, but he came up big when the Astros needed him most. He hit a 3-run blast in the bottom of the sixth inning of the May 16th game against Toronto that put the Houston Astros ahead for good and allowed Scott Feldman to pick up a victory.

Here’s hoping he’s finally putting it together.

In case you missed it, here are the previous week winners:

Next: First Place Astros Shouldn't Overlook Last Place A's

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