Astros: Welcome Back, Colby Rasmus

The Houston Astros offense received a shot in the arm with the return of a fan favorite outfielder.

Heading into a 13-game stretch against first place teams following today’s game against Oakland, the Houston Astros need all the firepower they can muster. A healthy, and effective, Colby Rasmus could be exactly what the doctored ordered.

One of the highest paid Astros, Rasmus has been on a roller coaster in 2016. The veteran outfielder has struggled more often than not before his recent ear surgery. Though he won an AL Player of the Week in April and had a respectable June, there was clearly an issue. In turn, this struggle has attributed to his overall .211/.286/.352 slash line.

However, the Astros are in need for offensive reinforcements due to the release of Carlos Gomez and their upcoming stretch of games. A reliable veteran bat if you will.

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Even though Teoscar Hernandez has performed well since his call up, the Astros can surely benefit from an effective Rasmus. And he proved that last night in his return from the disabled list.

In his first at-bat back in action, Rasmus made a statement: his famous “Colby Jack”.

He then made a statement with his glove as he threw out a would-be run at home thanks to some impressive heat from the outfield.

This kind of play is exactly the spark that the Astros needed last night. After all, A’s starter Kendall Graveman was solid against Houston last night. There was little offense from either side. Rasmus helped determined the outcome of the game with both his bat and glove. He did the same during last year’s playoff run.

Next: Houston Astros: Hooks Coming Into Form Down the Stretch

His return will impact the playing time of various players on the Astros roster. The two most likely to lose playing time will be Hernandez and Jake Marisnick. And with the outfield becoming more crowded, Alex Bregman and Yulieski Gurriel will likely see more time in the infield than the outfield. But for the Astros, it is a good problem to have too many good hitters on the roster.

**Statistics provided by Baseball Reference**