Astros Are Eliminated, Play A.J. Reed for Rest of Season

Unfortunately for the Houston Astros, the playoffs are not in the cards this season.

With the success of 2015, expectations were sky-high this season. The team was ahead of schedule reaching the playoffs in 2015, but they digressed in 2016. There are plenty reasons why the Astros struggled this year, but we have all offseason to discuss these reasons.

With the Baltimore Orioles winning last night versus the Blue Jays, the Astros have been officially eliminated from the playoffs. No more talk about, well, if we win the rest of the games, there is a chance. There is not any outcome that would have Houston reach the playoffs. In my opinion, the Astros were eliminated when they lost three of four

In my opinion, the Astros were eliminated when they lost three of four to the Angels at home last week. Losing two of the three games to the Mariners was just the icing on the cake. We will discuss some things this offseason, but let’s focus on the last three games of 2016.

Give Reed a Chance.

Despite his struggles in 2016, the Astros brass and baseball experts believe that A.J. Reed is still the real deal. Given that Double-A pitching is easier than hitting MLB pitchers, I saw an impressive approach at the plate by Reed. He represents the power from the left side of the plate that the Astros missed with Colby Rasmus and Luis Valbuena sidelined this year.

Also, I don’t want this to be a stats heavy post. We know that Reed has struggled this year. Let’s look beyond the stats.

While I am a big Tyler White fan, especially this supermodel version of White after losing 20 pounds in two months, we need to see what Reed has. Only three games are remaining this season, let’s see what Reed could potentially offer in 2017.

Play the Kids.

Let’s hope Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve both reach 100 RBI’s, but for some of the other positions, let’s play the rookies. No offense to Marwin Gonzalez, but let’s let Reed play at least two of the last three games. Let’s give Tony Kemp a couple of more starts. We know what we have in Jake Marisnick. Give White a chance at DH or first base for a couple of starts.

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Reed is the big unknown for 2017, let’s give him an opportunity to have some success this year. Reed has been relatively invisible in September with the Astros seeking the playoffs. They went with the more proven Gonzalez or Yulieski Gurriel at first base, with White getting a few starts here or there.

Despite Reed’s unimpressive 2016, he is still part of the future for the Astros. I don’t think he is the next Jon Singleton, but he needs to work on conditioning in the offseason. He is a great player, we have not seen the best of him yet. The team might be less patient with him with their recent experience with Singleton. However, this team has not given up on Reed. He will get another chance in 2017.

Next: Astros AM: Team Officially Eliminated From Playoffs

I asked some people on Twitter which players they would like to see play more in the final three games on Twitter. The main answers were Reed, Kemp, Moran, and White as the hitters. The pitchers included some wanting Chris Devenski or David Paulino getting a start. However, I don’t see that happening. Let’s still support the Astros, the offseason is long.

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***