Astros: Three players trending down as mid-June approaches

Three Astros who are trending down following a sweep of the Rangers and a short two-game bout with the Mariners.

The Astros have again found their winning ways. Winners of 5 of the last six, the offense has provided a boost. They scored 32 runs in six games and allowed 27 to notch five wins, including a split with the then-AL West-leading Mariners and a sweep of the in-state rivals Rangers.

As always, week to week, some players stand out in recent successes. And some don’t. Luckily, there are some more juicy match-ups ahead if these three players want a chance to rebound from bad performances.

Trending Down: Jake Marisnick

An all too familiar face on this list, Jake is back on here. He has played in four games, seen 8 at-bats and managed no hits. His last hit came on June 1st. In this span of those four games, Marisnick has struck out a whopping six times in limited at-bats. His batting average is a miserable .153. Marisnick could not manage a hit at all against the Rangers, a team that gave up 40 hits in four games. The opportunity was there and he did not connect. Manager AJ Hinch has stuck by him, interchanging players in and out of the line up. I do not know how much longer he needs to get out of this funk.

Trending Down: Josh Reddick

Josh Reddick’s bat has been cold since his return to the line-up. In the past four games, Reddick is a mere 2-for-12 with three strikeouts. He’s batting a low .222 after a .167 June thus far. He scored two runs when he was on-base but failed to drive any runs in. As with fellow trend mate, Marisnick, Reddick is interchangeable for the skipper as the team has plugged in Max Stassi, Tony Kemp, Brian McCann and Tim Federowicz in the 6-9 slots until someone can claim a starting position. Of these aforementioned names, Reddick will ideally be the fixture in the 6th or 7th slot but 2-for-12 isn’t going to punch him a ticket.

Trending Down: Dallas Keuchel

With a 4.45 ERA in 14 starts, we’re not sure whats going on with Dallas Keuchel these days. Just when he showed some life back in early May, Keuchel has lost three of his last five starts. More notably, in his last two games on June 5th and June 10th, he allowed 13 runs on 20 hits while striking out only six batters. He pitched 6.2 and 4.1 innings in those starts, and threw 107 and 106 pitches. Keuchel’s ERA has continued to climb and he currently has more losses than the other four starters combined. Yes, combined.

Next: Do the Astros have a new closer in Hector Rondon?

Could the issues lie within the release point? How about velocity? Pitch location? At this point, it could be a combination of multiple issues. Regardless, Keuchel has not pitched up to par and it is fair to wonder when the turnaround will come. If it is not soon, the Astros may have to start exploring contingency plans until he does.

*** Statistics and information courtesy of Baseball-Reference and MLB.com ***