Astros: A trade idea that solves the Ken Giles situation

Does Giles have any trade value?

Giles is still just 27-years-old and is under team control through the 2020 season. He has a 0-2 record with a 4.99 ERA while striking out 31 hitters in 30 2/3 innings. While Hinch doesn’t seem to have confidence in Giles in close game situations, he has 12 saves in 13 save opportunities. When Giles is on, he can be one of the most dominating relievers out there. All stats and contract info from Baseball-Reference.

What is going on with Giles is in his head, in my opinion. After what happened in the playoffs last year, he is trying too hard to prove that he can do the job.

Giles is just a two-pitch pitcher. He throws a fastball and a slider.

Last season, Giles averaged 98.1 mph on his fastball, throwing it 52.7% of the time via Fangraphs. There is a reason his nickname is 100-miles Giles. He complements the heat with a wipeout slider, which averaged 87 mph in 2017. He threw the slider 47.3% of the time to keep the hitters on his toes. Some would say that Giles had his best stuff during the 2017 season, but that changed in the playoffs.

There is something wrong this year as his fastball has dropped to 97.4 mph. What is also interesting is that he is throwing fastballs 57.7% of the time. That is a 5% increase from last year and could signal that he’s not as comfortable throwing the slider. A change of scenery could be what’s best for Giles. His trade stock may be down a little, but he still has value to another team. Let’s work on the framework of the deal.

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