Astros Report Card: Grading the infielders’ 2019 season

In this second installment of issuing out report cards to the Astros’ players, I’m grading the infielders, and what a great group they’ve been this season.

The crew of infielders the Astros have trotted out onto the field the last few years have been a talented bunch. But this season, they seemed to have something special. They’ve become more of a tight-knit group, and in times of injury, moved around playing multiple positions quite often with seamless transition

They include a possible MVP, another that seemed to really come into his own this season, and one that fought back long and hard from injury and had a great second-half comeback. Let’s go around the horn and delve into the season of each player and issue some grades.

Alex Bregman: A+

There’s not much you can say about Alex Bregman that already hasn’t been said. A strong contender for the American League Most Valuable Player of the Year, he had his best year yet in his young four-year career. The scary thing is, he keeps getting better each season, year after year. I can’t imagine what we might see from Bregman in 2020.

Bregman slashed .296/.423/.592 with an OPS+ of 162 which are all career highs. That OPS+ was good enough for third in the league and his 8.5 WAR ranked second, just a hair below Mike Trout‘s 8.6. Bregman also had the second-highest wRC+ with a 168.

His 41 home runs tied for third in the league and was 10 homers higher than his previous season-high. Bregman topped the century mark in both runs scored and runs batted in with 122 and 112, respectively. That run total was fourth-best in the league and the RBIs were fifth. Bregman led the league with 119 walks and was second behind Trout with a BB% of 16.2%.

Bregman was a crucial player on the team during the periods that Carlos Correa was out with injuries. He played 98 games at his usual position 3rd base, but also played 61 games at shortstop. He tied for second in the rdrs (defensive runs saved above average) category with a 7 while playing his normal position at third. Bregman was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award but just missed out winning.

He was selected to represent the AL in the 2019 All-Star Game and was also named Player of the Month for August. The Astros recognized the importance of keeping Bregman on the roster for the long-term by signing him to a 5-year/$100 million contract. If for whatever reason he doesn’t get the MVP Award this season, I think we’ll see his name at the top of the ballot for years to come.

Jose Altuve:  B+

Now before anyone jumps all over me for the B+ rating, hear me out. Altuve finished out the 2019 season with a flurry, playing like we’re accustomed to seeing from him. The rating is a result of the two different seasons Altuve had this year. In the first half of the season I would have given him a C and the second half he clearly had an A+, therefore, I’m averaging it out to a B+.

Altuve suffered a knee injury in the middle of last season and continued to play on it the remainder of the year. In October, he had surgery to repair a broken kneecap. I don’t think he was at full strength and was a little tentative at the beginning of the year. When he went out for 35 days on the Injured List in May, they made sure he was completely ready to go before bringing him back.

At the beginning of the season up until the All-Star break, he was batting .262 with 25 RBIs and an OPS of .781. In the second half of the season, his BA was .325 with a .995 OPS and added 49 RBIs. Altuve doubled his home run output from 10 in the first half to 21 in the second for a total of 31 homers, a career-high number. But most of his other stats were all below his career average.

As we’ve seen year after year, Altuve is no slouch in the field either. He was also a finalist for the American League Gold Glove Award, losing out to Yolmer Sanchez. That would have been his second Gold Glove, winning one in 2015.

The six-time All-Star missed out on the July Classic this year for the first time in six years. But you can bet he’ll be back next season battling for that batting crown once again, which by the way, he has won three times already.

Yuli Gurriel:  A-

A popular player among the Houston fans, Yuli Gurriel is affectionately called the “Pineapple Express” or “La Pina” derived from his signature haircut. Although Gurriel had successful campaigns in 2017/18, his first two full seasons, he found a little more oomph in his bat this year, which he credits to advice courtesy of Carlos Beltran.

He had a slash line of .298/.343/.541 with an OPS+ of 126. That BA is only .001 behind his career-high .299, but every other number is his best ever. The .541 SLG is far better than any of his previous seasons due to the 31 home runs he hit versus his season-high 18  in 2017.

Gurriel also eclipsed his season highs with 85 runs and 104 RBIs, the latter good for second-best on the team behind Bregman’s 122. He has been a constant that Houston could rely upon, as evidenced by his 564 at-bats second only to Brantley. He was also second behind Brantley with his 168 hits on the year.

Like Bregman, he has been very utile on the field when needed. Although he played 108 games at 1st base, he filled in at third in 40 games when Bregman was filling in for Correa at short. Along with fellow infielders Altuve and Bregman, Gurriel was also a finalist for a Gold Glove Award among first basemen.

Gurriel was named the American League Player of the Month for July, the month prior to Bregman’s Award, giving Houston the award in back-to-back months. Next season he will be Gurriel’s last year on his current contract and will be a free agent in 2021 at the age of 36. But if he keeps playing like he’s 26, he might be around here in Houston a few more years.

Aledmys Diaz:  C

Diaz arrived in Houston with a strike against him already. He had the unenviable position of replacing Astros fan-favorite Marwin Gonzalez. But barring an injury or two, Diaz did alright for himself. Nothing flashy, but what you might expect from a backup utility player.

He slashed .271/.356/.467 with an OPS+ of 114. By the way, all better numbers than the output of Gonzalez this year, and $10 million cheaper. This season’s performance by Diaz is pretty close to his career average.

His home run and RBI production were down, but mainly due to missed time with a couple of trips to the Injured List, one of those stints for 47 days. Diaz got in only 69 games this season. Unfortunately, he was out almost the entire time Correa was also on the Injured list and that’s exactly the reason you have a backup utility player, to fill in when needed.

When Diaz was healthy, he did come in quite useful, playing five different positions, not including when he acted as the designated hitter. He manned 1st and 2nd in 23 games each, 3rd 19 times, and SS and LF a couple of games. So it’s safe to say he’d be a valuable player on the roster if he can be durable enough. He was on just a one-year contract with the Astros and is now a free agent. We’ll have to wait and see if they bring him back.

Please keep in mind, these are the grades that I have given these players. So before you beat me up, just realize that they are based on my opinion. As always, I’m sure there are as many opinions out there as there are readers. Be sure to stand by for the next report card installment as I dive into grade the pitchers in the Astros starting rotation.