Houston Astros fans, please be patient with Carlos Gomez

During the trade deadline, the Houston Astros decided to make a move to acquire Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Astros felt like this year was the best year to go for it with no one in the division running away with the division. When teams make trades sometimes, the players don’t always make a positive impact on the new team right away. Plus, Gomez is having a down season all-around, or else the Astros would not have been able to acquire him.

Had Gomez been hitting for power and stealing bases like crazy with the Brewers, the Astros probably couldn’t have obtained him. Jeff Luhnow saw the advantage to acquire this ‘toolsy’ player who was having a down season while knowing that it was a risky trade. Gomez’s stats show that he has historically struggled in the second half of the season.

Let’s take a look at a comparison of Gomez’s splits in the first half versus the second half of 2015 and previous three years. (Stats from Baseball-Reference)

I remember owning Gomez in the 2013 season in fantasy baseball, and he struggled in the second half to replicate the stats from the first half. Could his energy he plays with drag him down later in the season? Last year while Chris Carter was leading the Astros with his power run, Gomez was slowing down for the Brewers. Looking at the stats, you might be asking if there is any good news about his 2015 second half? Gomez is a two-time All-Star as well.

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There is, he has a proven track record for the past three seasons of having an OPS in the mid-.700’s. The fact that even at his worst, he should have a better OPS than he currently has. The laws of averages will eventually catch up for Gomez. When they do, some of the other stats will increase as well before the end of the season. A hot streak Carlos Beltran style could be in store for the Astros soon with Gomez if they are patient with him, to finish the season.

Another positive about Gomez’s historical stats is his August versus September/October stats. Let’s take a look at the table below, looking at the slash line between the two time periods. (Stats from Baseball-Reference)

As you can see, despite struggling through August most of the time, he tends to heat up during the final leg of the season. The stats in August 2013 are very similar to the stats in August 2015, but look at how he rebounds in Sept/Oct all three years. Even if he struggles all of August, when the Astros need him the most, he might be on a hot streak in September.

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All season long, we have waited to see Carter start hitting in the second half. Astros fans are probably tired of having to wait till certain time periods for a particular player to heat up. However, all these things will be forgotten if Gomez produces down the stretch. Gomez was thrown into the playoff chase with the trade; he is trying to do too much, and you can tell he is frustrated.

It was good for him to break his hitless streak last night with the drag hit. Hopefully, this will help him get back on track. Gomez will be okay Houston, let’s worry about other issues in the lineup.

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