Climbing Tal's Hill
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Astros: Three Underperformers Thus Far in 2017

By Cody Poage

Apr 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Astros manager A.J. Hitch address the media after the game against the Oakland Athletics is postponed due to rain at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Astros manager A.J. Hitch address the media after the game against the Oakland Athletics is postponed due to rain at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Astros
Apr 12, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Carlos Beltran (15) hits a two-RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

Struggling Player #1: Carlos Beltran

One of the Astros noteworthy acquisitions was the signing of Beltran. You may remember him from his first stint with the franchise way back in 2004. In between these two stints, the roster has totally changed, new ownership is in town, the team is now in the American League and the color scheme has improved.

Anyway, the 2017 version of Beltran hasn’t been effective for the Astros. Entering Wednesday, the 40-year old veteran had a 71 wRC+, which was the lowest mark on the team. Believe it or not, but there have been worst hitters with at least 50 plate appearances heading into yesterday. 34 hitters to be exact. So, there is something that could be construed as a positive. Can I call that a positive? Sorry, I am a glass half-full type of guy.

So, Beltran has seen his batted ball profile change. His current hard hit percentage is a meager 14.6%. The same metric at the end of last season was 35.8%. In turn, his medium and soft hit percentages have jumped by 14.2% and 7.1%, respectively. Mind you that this is still a small sample size. But the early results haven’t been good for a batter that Houston has been penciling in the heart of the lineup most games.

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