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Houston Astros: Player Milestones to watch out for this season.
The Houston Astros are out to repeat as World Series champions again. While the players will focus on team goals, there are a few milestones to watch for.
The 2018 Major League Baseball regular season is here. And just as history was earned last season, there is plenty more to be earned this season. Baseball is all about numbers. A stat, formula or projections determine everything. Nothing will ever top the celebration after winning the first-ever championship in franchise history. Individual measurements and accomplishments are victories along the way that cause for celebrations throughout the season. Players rally around their teammates, heckle them, give them a hard time and encourage each other to reach the next rung on that ladder.
Here are a few milestones to look out for when watching your defending World Champion Houston Astros this season. And keep track of these milestones here.
2018 Milestones that can be reached:
Milestone: 200 wins, 2,500 strikeouts, and 400 games started.
It’s exhilarating to watch him throw heat. But these are three feats worthy of cheering him on that much more.
Justin Verlander is only 12 wins shy of 200 career wins, 84 strikeouts away from a whopping 2,500 and 15 games away from starting 400. Verlander may have cemented himself now as a future hall of famer with the recent title. The Astros are certainly lucky to have lured this darling in the 2017 free agency which led them to their first championship in franchise history. It was a history-changing moment when he and Kate Upton decided to say yes.
Last season, after being acquired by the Astros, Verlander won all 5 of his starts. I projected him to win 20 games this season. Fangraphs fans project Verlander to have roughly 32 starts. They have him going 16 – 7 this season.
When should we expect him to reach these milestones?
The earliest we could see him cash in on his 200th win would be Memorial Day weekend. In all likelihood that accomplishment may not come until mid-August. Verlander would join the 200 win club with only two other active players. Bartolo Colon and CC Sabathia. 200 is far from CY Young’s 511 total wins, but Justin has at least 300 wins in sight.
Additionally, he only needs 84 strikeouts to reach 2,500 for his career to move him from 41st on the list to 33rd, just under Christy Mathewson. With projecting roughly 200 Ks this season, he could find himself in the top 25 all-time amongst the greats like Tom Glavine. That’s nice company to keep if you ask me.
Lastly, projected to start over 30 games this season, Verlander is expected to be the first if not only active pitcher to start over 400 games this season needing 15 started games.
Jose Altuve
Milestone: 100 home runs and 600 runs scored
MVP Jose Altuve is 16 homers away from 100 on the career and 39 runs away from 600.
After smashing 24 home runs in back to back seasons, first pitch swinging Jose Altuve is projected to hit another 20 plus this season. He will reach 100 this season needing only 16, and the buildup to that mark will be worth watching. I hope it’s at home and wishing it’s a grand slam in grand fashion.
He could reach this milestone by early August if not sooner. Locked in for the next seven years as an Astro, we could witness him locked into to the top 5 amongst Astros legends like Jeff Bagwell (449), Lance Berkman (326), Craig Biggio (291) and Jimmy Wynn (223) but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay?
Jose Altuve scored 108 runs in 2016 and 112 runs last season. In 2018 they are projecting him to score 101 runs on average. That being said, he needs only 39 to get to 600 runs for his career. To reach that, he would need 1.5 runs per game. He could easily get there by late April or May.
Brian McCann
Milestone: 1,500 hits, 1,000 RBI, and 300 doubles.
Catcher and veteran Brian McCann is 19 hits away from a career 1,500. He’s had a rough spring training but not to worry says one CTH writer. He may be saving the good stuff for the regular season. Baseball reference has him right around 93 hits this season. With 84 hits last season and three straight 100 + hits seasons before that, 93 seems attainable. He may hit that mark by early September.
McCann is also 50 shy of 1,000 RBI on his career. He batted in 62 runs last season and could easily get to 1,000 this year too as Baseball-Reference has him driving in 64. We will have a clearer picture once we figure out which McCann we are getting this season.
Not to mention, Brian is also 18 doubles shy of 300.
Other Notables:
500 runs scored:
Josh Reddick at 440 runs scored needs only 60 to make the 500 runs club. He scored 77 last season and projected to have 66 this season. It may come down to the wire but he could join the 500 club by the last month of the season, if not before.
The 100 doubles club:
The Astros find themselves with three guys nearing the 100 doubles club.
Evan Gattis at 99 career doubles needs 1. I hope he doubles in his very first at-bat.
World Series MVP George Springer is 15 away and teammate Carlos Correa is not far behind him at 83, needing 17. Both hit 25 double last season so 15 and 17, respectively seems like a good bet.
Games Played:
Newly acquired reliever Joe Smith’s Milestone is to reach 700 games played. He needs two. Just two. Hector Rondon, also a new member needs four games played to reach his 300 games played milestone.
Next: Astros make J.D. Davis their choice for first base
If I forgot one or have another milestone you’re looking for, drop it in the comments. As these players near their marks, I’m sure Climbing Tal’s Hill will cover these accomplishments.
*** Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, Fan Graphs, and MLB.com***