Astros in Fantasy: Best and Worst Performances – Week Two

Which Houston Astros players had the biggest fantasy baseball impacts in Week Two?

We’re now fully into the fantasy season, and the Astros as a team are taking off. Let’s see which individual players had good and bad weeks for fantasy owners.

Best Hitter: Jose Altuve

What a difference one week can make. Altuve was awful in Week One but quickly turned things around. Despite the team playing only five games this week, Altuve notched nine hits and walked seven times. He had three doubles and four stolen bases in that span and only struck out twice.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill

• 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

In short, he looks exactly like the first-round pick he was in most leagues, though he’s still looking for his first homer. Honorable mention goes to Nori Aoki, who posted three straight two-hit games. He’s hot right now and could be a useful pickup until he cools off.

Best Pitcher: Dallas Keuchel

Keuchel continued his excellent run on Friday, giving up one run in seven innings. He struck out seven while earning his second win in three starts. He looks like 2015 Keuchel and is providing excellent value for those who drafted him. Whatever you do, don’t bench him.

Worst Hitter: Evan Gattis

This may not be entirely fair, as Gattis only started in two games this week. The strong play from Aoki and Brian McCann is squeezing Gattis’ at-bats right now. But in fantasy, you provide no value if you’re not playing.

Gattis also didn’t help his cause by going hitless in his two starts. He did have a pinch-hit three-run double on Tuesday, but that’s it. He was often drafted higher than McCann but is taking a back seat to him now. This is a fluid situation and should be monitored going forward.

Worst Pitcher: Ken Giles

It’s been another rough start for Giles. He pitched just twice this week and surrendered runs in both outings. He did not earn a save in either, meaning it was a bad week for his fantasy owners.

Next: Astros in Fantasy: Best and Worst Performances - Week One

Most notably, he pitched the eighth inning on Saturday with the Astros holding a three-run lead. Luke Gregerson pitched the ninth in a non-save situation after the Astros scored twice in the top of the inning. This may not mean anything, but it’s worth monitoring if you have him on your team.

***Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference***