Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 4

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Astros in Fantasy: Here is how I did in Week 3:

Week 3 Hitter:
Colby Rasmus– 6/19 H/AB, 5 R, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB, .316 AVG.

Rasmus has been the offensive hero in the Astros lineup for the past week. According to a tweet from Houston Chronicle Astros beat writer Jake Kaplan, Rasmus is tied for the American League lead for home runs with Josh Donaldson. They each have seven even though Rasmus has had 21 fewer at bats.

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These four home runs for him this week were huge for the Astros offense. This offensive outburst woke the Astros offense in the weekend series against the Boston Red Sox where he hit a grand slam to put the Astros up on Saturday and a two-run home run against Craig Kimbrel on Sunday night to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth.

So why should Rasmus still be a fantasy pick for weeks to come? Not only has his power improved, but his ability to get on base has also improved too. With an OPS of 1.147 to start the season, Rasmus should be a starting outfielder in your fantasy lineup for the time being.

Week 3 Pitcher:

Luke Gregerson– 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 W, 0 SV, 3.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP

With only two appearances in the last week, Gregerson didn’t have a real chance to close any games for the Astros as they went 1-5 this week.

However, Gregerson ended up pitching three innings against the Red Sox this weekend. Those three innings did not mean anything for the fantasy owners, recording no saves and giving up his first earned run of the year.

With the Astros struggling for the first few weeks of this season, Gregerson has not played as much as fantasy owners expected out of the Astros closer job. Once the Astros offense helps out a bit in hitting with runners in scoring position and starting pitchers limiting their amount of first inning runs given up, Gregerson will continue to be a valuable closer in fantasy baseball.

Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 3

Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 2

Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 1

Here are my picks for Week 4.

Next: Week 4 Hitter

Apr 24, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros right fielder George Springer (4) scores a run during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Week 4 Hitter:

George Springer (Owned in 98.3% of all ESPN Fantasy Leagues)

Through 3 weeks, the Astros have a record of 6-13 going into two important AL West series’ against the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics. After a three-game sweep by the Rangers last week in the Astros first AL West action of 2016, the Astros offense needs to step up and produce, especially with the big names at the top of the lineup.

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Batting second in the lineup, George Springer will have to have an excellent week offensively for the Astros to succeed in these division road games.

The signs are there. The past week and a half, Springer has been very productive offensively. Since April 16th against Detroit, Springer has hit .578 with three home runs, 6 RBI, and five runs scored.

Springer is having a solid year overall. In 19 games, he is hitting .282 with four home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored.

However, Springer has 22 strikeouts compared to only six walks, which is something you don’t want to see at the top of the lineup. Also, another area Springer is struggling in to start the season is in the stolen base department. Thus far in 2016, Springer is 1-4 in stolen bases and has an American League-leading 3 times he was caught stealing.

What Springer needs to do in these next six road games is to be a consistent two hole hitter. With the two spot comes many responsibilities on starting or continuing a rally depending on what the leadoff man Jose Altuve does. With this role comes the potential of a high batting average and runs scored. With Springer, his ability to be a five-tool player is a fantasy dream. If he cuts down on the strikeouts this week and manages to hit the way the Astros expect out of him, Springer is set to have a monster week offensively.

Next: Week 4 Pitcher:

Week 4 Pitcher:

Apr 12, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Fiers (54) pitches against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

Week 4 Pitcher:

Mike Fiers (Owned in 55.8% of all ESPN Fantasy Leagues)

Fiers is off to a rough start in 2016. Through 4 starts, Fiers is 2-1 with a 5.73 ERA with 27 hits, 17 strikeouts, and 3 walks though 22 innings pitched.

This may not sound like a great fantasy pick. However, Fiers did pitch very well in his last start against the Boston Red Sox at home on Saturday. Through 5.1 innings, Fiers gave up a season-low 2 earned runs on five hits while striking out a season-high six while walking 2.

Astros in Fantasy: Here is how I did in Week 3:

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Week 4 Pitcher:

Schedule