Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 6

A Look at Fantasy Baseball Through the Lens of an Astros’ Fan

Here is how I did in Week 5:

Week 5 Hitter:

Jose Altuve– 10/25 H/AB, 9 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB, .400 BA

Altuve was very impressive this week. In his seven games played, Altuve recorded ten hits, including five extra-base hits, 5 RBI, and four stolen bases. Through his play this week, he has made a case for an early season favorite for AL MVP.

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Providing a spark at the top of the lineup for the Astros, both of Altuve’s dingers leadoff shots in two straight games. Those were Altuve’s fifth and sixth leadoff home runs of 2016.

Not only has Altuve been getting it done with his power, but he has also been helping the team by getting on base and wrecking havoc on the base paths. Altuve is hitting .393 with a.469 on-base percentage in May. On the base paths, Altuve has stolen 13 bases on 14 attempts including three on Sunday against the Mariners.

Altuve is as complete as you can get from a ballplayer. Although his numbers do recede a little bit when they leave Minute Maid, with a .250 average and a .927 OPS, he will still be a factor in the four-game series against the Red Sox this weekend. Until then, look for Altuve to continue to rake at home against a strong Cleveland Indians rotation. If the Astros want to win, they will need to rely on his bat, and that proves well for fantasy owners.

Week 5 Pitcher:

Dallas Keuchel– 11.1 IP, 15 H, 7 ER, 6 BB, 11 K, 0 W, 5.56 ERA, 1.85 WHIP

This was the week for Keuchel to turn his season around. In two starts, he did almost the opposite. In 11.1 innings pitched, Keuchel gave up 15 hits with seven earned runs and six walks.

His first start of the week, which was supposed to be the easiest, was arguably Keuchel’s worst start of the season. Against an offensively mediocre Minnesota Twins team, he gave up five earned runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings. He walked five batters compared to only three strikeouts.

Keuchel kind of regrouped against the Mariners on Saturday, but faced a different problem. Through 7 innings of work, he gave up eight hits and two earned runs on two solo shots by Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager.

Even though Keuchel had been struggling for the majority of the year, giving up home runs wasn’t a part of the issue, giving up only 1 in his previous six starts. Along with a 1.523 WHIP and 3.9 walks per nine innings average, fantasy owners should be worried about Keuchel’s performance to start 2016.

Keuchel will get another chance to turn his series around Thursday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Keuchel’s away numbers this season is much worse than at Minute Maid. Through 4 starts, Keuchel has a 5.84 ERA with a 1.62 WHIP. Find another pitcher this week to build your team around. The 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner has not been the guy in 2016.

Next: Now on to Week 6:

Week 6 Hitter:

Tyler White (Owned in 31.3% of ESPN fantasy leagues)

Ever since he won AL Player of the Week in the first week of the season, White has struggled mightily against major league pitching. In his last 15 games, White has a .157 batting average with a home run, 4 RBIs, and 11 strikeouts.

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• Just how much better is the Houston Astros playoff rotation than the rest?
• Houston Astros: A Lineup Change to Spark Offense
• Astros prospect Hunter Brown throws 6 shutout innings in debut
• Always faithful Astros World Series champion Josh Reddick defends the title
• Michael Conforto declines Astros’ 2-year, $30 million offer

However, he might be turning his season around after a very successful weekend against the Mariners. In 11 at bats, White has five hits with three runs scored and an RBI. Although he didn’t walk at all this weekend, he only struck out twice. In these three games, White raised his average from.221 to .247.

Why do I think this may be a turnaround for White? His numbers, this weekend, resembled what he did in the minors for the Astros. What is really impressive about White’s bat is the amount of contact he has and through that, how often he gets on base. He also showed off his power with three doubles this weekend including two on Sunday that was put in similar places down the left field foul line.

I also like White continuing to hit near the bottom of the batting order. In my article “How To Fix the Hole in the Bottom of the Lineup”, I talked about the importance of a table setter in the Astros offense and how that is important near the bottom of the lineup because the heart of the Astros order is the first three or four batters in the lineup. White has the contact ability and enough power to become that guy.

However, with the combination of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Danny Salazar this week and the possibility of David Price and Steven Wright at Fenway this weekend, White is going to face some good starting pitching.

I believe though if “The Great White” succeeds this week against this type of pitching, he is going to be a nice fantasy option for the rest of the year for runs, RBIs, doubles, and batting average.

Next: Week 6 Pitcher