Astros: Bregman, Brantley, Gurriel on pace for impressive numbers

Astros players Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel are on pace for some impressive numbers this season.

The Astros offense has been strong for most of the season, and a large part of that has been the trio of Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel. These three players have managed to remain healthy this season and are thus compiling some nice counting stats.

Gurriel is currently on pace to finish with around 111 runs batted in, and Bregman is on pace to end up with around 108. If they’re able to do this, they’ll become the first Astros teammates to finish with 100 or more RBIs in a season since Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee in 2008.

Brantley is on pace to end up with around 96 RBIs, so he has a shot at joining them. If all three can reach that mark, they’ll be the first Houston trio to do it since 2001 when Berkman, Jeff Bagwell and Moises Alou all drove in 100-plus runs apiece.

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If all three can reach 90 RBIs, they’ll be the first Houston trio since Berkman, Bagwell and Jeff Kent in 2003 to reach that mark. So either way, these three guys are on pace to join some fine company in Astros history.

Some More Stats

Bregman is on pace to draw 119 walks this season, which in and of itself is impressive. That would be the most walks by an Astros player since Berkman had 127 in 2004. He can be the first since Morgan Ensberg in 2006 to draw 100 walks in a season.

Brantley’s batting average sits at .335, which would be the club’s highest for a left-handed hitter since Luke Scott hit .336 in 2006. Scott only played in 65 games that season, however, so he did not qualify for the batting title. Yordan Alvarez is also hitting .335 this season but won’t have enough at-bats to qualify.

If you want to include only those who qualified for the batting title, Brantley’s average would be the highest for an Astros outfielder since Moises Alou hit .355 in 2000. Incredibly, Alou didn’t even come close to winning the batting title, since that was the year Todd Helton hit .372.

Among left-handers, Brantley’s .335 average would set a new franchise record. The current record is held by Rusty Staub, who hit .333 in 1967.

Gurriel, meanwhile, has set new career highs in homers and RBIs in his age-35 season. He can become the first Houston player 35 or older to drive in 100 runs since Kent in 2004. If he can beat Kent’s total of 107 from that year, he would set a new franchise record for RBIs in a season by a player 35 or older.