Houston Astros Spring Training Battles: First Base

MATT DUFFY
(written by Colin Gay)

As the new generation of Astros continue to come into the major league clubhouse, another option at third base is Duffy. Duffy has had a consistent bat throughout his five seasons in the Astros organization and his 2015 in AAA Fresno proves just that. Duffy hit .294 with 20 home runs and drove in 104 RBIs. Duffy was rewarded for his consistency with a September call-up last season. In his limited amount of playing time, Duffy had 3 hits in 8 at bats in which he drove in 3 RBIs. Now, Duffy comes into Spring Training as a candidate for either the third base or first base starting job.

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Duffy’s advantage in this potential position will be his consistency. Not only has his offensive presence been consistent, averaging over 20 home runs per season and 75 RBIs, his on-base plus slugging percentage has been stellar too. He has a career OPS of .838 and consistently has an on-base percentage over .330. Duffy, coming into his age 27 season, has earned his big league shot. Yes, minor league statistics do not always convert to big league success.

However, Duffy deserves a shot more than anyone. He may not get the starting spot on Opening Day, but if he performs well this spring, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a spot on that bench in New York come April 4th.

Next: A.J. Reed