Astros in Fantasy: Fantasy Players of the Week- Week 18

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

Here is how I did in Week 17:

Week 17 Hitter:

Jose Altuve – 6/21 H/AB, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, .286 BA

Like the rest of the Astros offense this week, Altuve had a relatively quiet week. In his six games against the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers, he had six hits in 21 at-bats, lowering his average four points to .356.

However, why it was a down week for him was because of his lack of power. Except for the one home run, he hit on Friday, the rest of Altuve’s hits were all singles. This prevented him from driving in runs, only driving in the two from the homer. Also, to show the lack of offense overall for the Astros, Altuve only scored twice all week.

There is not question whether Altuve should be in a fantasy owner’s lineup come playoff time. However, Altuve sets the offensive tone for the rest of the lineup. If he is struggling, do not look for any of his teammates to pick up his slack offensively. This might affect his run totals.

The Astros are coming into a defining point of their season. Six games out of the AL West and 2.5 games out of the AL Wild Card race, the offense is going to have to step up for the Astros to make up what they lost the last week. Altuve is going to have to be a big part of that. Look for him to continue to put up MVP-like numbers at second base.

Week 17 Pitcher:

Dallas Keuchel– 12.2 IP, 13 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 0 W, 6.39 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

As one of the most disappointing fantasy pitchers this season, Keuchel has struggled mightily in 2016. He began the month of July with very solid numbers. From June 18th to his first start of the week against New York, Keuchel gave up less than three earned runs in all seven of his starts. He lowered his ERA from 5.54 to 4.57 in that span.

In his last start of July against the Tigers, Keuchel was back in his 2016 form. In his five innings of work, he gave up seven earned runs on seven hits, including two home runs, and three walks.

With owners expecting similar numbers to campaigns in 2014 and 2015, Keuchel did not meet those expectations this season. In 22 starts, he has a record of 6-11 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

His fantasy value for 2017 may be unknown, but at least for the rest of 2016, keep Keuchel away from your starting rotation.

Next: Now on to Week 18