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Houston Astros: Mid-Season Awards for the 2021 season

By Matthew Kunkel |
Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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As we prepare for the second half of the baseball season, it’s worth looking back on how the Houston Astros fared throughout during first half of the season. With the exception of a few brief losing streaks and some injuries, the Astros are having a very successful 2021 campaign thus far and have asserted themselves as a World Series favorite.

What have been the best moments of the season? Who have been the best players? Let’s look back and give out our CTH mid-season awards.

Performance Awards:

Best Hitting Performance: Yordan Alvarez – July 6th vs. Oakland As

There have been a ton of great hitting performances by individuals, but Yordan Alvarez’s performance against the Oakland A’s on July 6th was something special. The left-hander had just rejoined the team back home after a brief stint on paternity leave. The new daddy came back hitting like “Big Papi.”

Alvarez started the game with a massive three-run homer in the bottom of the first off Chris Bassitt. Then after a single in the bottom of the fourth, Alvarez struck again in the bottom of the fifth with another two-out three-run blast to left center that tied up the game – again off Bassitt. Alvarez finished the game 3-for-3 with two homers, five RBI, one single and one “please don’t hurt us again” intentional walk. Let’s hope he can tap into that new dad bat power even more in the second half.

Best Pitching Performance: Zack Greinke – April17 @ Seattle Mariners

Zack Greinke was just amazing in this early season road start against the Mariners. Greinke came out and threw eight innings, giving up only four hits and had six strikeouts with 91 pitches.  What was impressive with this performance was the timing. The Astros came into this game having lost six straight games. This was during this disastrous April road trip where the COVID-19 IL claimed a handful of players and the remaining players were in a deep slump. Greinke stymied the Mariners and gave the Astros a much-needed victory when things were not going well.

Best Team Hitting Performance: Opening Weekend Series, April 1-4 @ Oakland A’s

There was a ton of anticipation to this opening day series, and A’s fans came out in droves to boo the Astros and assert their team as the best in the AL West. Boy, did that backfire.

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The Astros hit .320 during a four-game sweep in series where they generated a .962 OPS – AS A TEAM! Houston produced 47 hits in 36 innings that weekend, including 12 doubles, eight home runs and approximately 30,000 continual groans by the home crowd. Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa, and Jose Altuve all homered that weekend. Yuli Gurriel went 7-15 at the plate (.471) and Michael Brantley went 6-9 (.667 BA).

Kyle Tucker hit a massive bomb against Sean Manea that may still be floating in the orbit. Everyone was hitting the baseball at will. By the end of the weekend, Oakland was humbled and clearly wanted to part of this lineup.

Best Team Pitching Performance:  June 21 @ Baltimore Orioles

Houston came into Baltimore for a three-game set against the Orioles, and this dominating performance set the tone for what turned out to be a road sweep. It all started with Jake Odorizzi, who pitched five innings of no-hit baseball with nine strikeouts and only one walk in 86 pitches. Cristian Javier continued the trend, throwing two no-hit innings in the sixth and seventh and struck out All-Star Trey Mancini.

The Astros took a no-hitter into the eighth inning where, after a missed third strike call by Angel Hernandez, Brandon Bielak gave up a home run that ended the no-hitter bid. Brooks Raley came into the ninth and struck out both Ryan Mountcastle and DJ Stewart to close things out. The Astro staff struck out 15 Orioles and gave up only two hits and one walk. A dominant flex by the pitching staff.

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Individual Awards:

Most Improved – Myles Straw

Most improved goes to the new starting center fielder Myles Straw. In prior years, Straw was seen only as a speedster with a subpar bat that didn’t have the upside to be an everyday player. But Straw is proven to everyone in the league that he’s a Starting center fielder with maybe even more potential.

Straw finished the first half hitting .268 BA with and on-base percentage of .345 to go along with two HRs, 28 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Straw hits for contact, he gets on base, he makes great defensive plays and as always is dangerous around the bases. His consistent solid performance at the bottom half of the lineup gives the Astros another level of potency with this batting order.

Best Bench Player – Chas McCormick

The Astros are loaded with surprising bench talent that’s been able to produce, but the best non everyday player so far had been Chaz McCormick AKA “The Chazmanian Devil.” McCormick was disappointed that he couldn’t make his big-league debut last year, so he’s made the most of his opportunities so far this year. McCormick is hitting .250 BA this year with 10 home runs, 35 RBIs and an OPS of .829. Although he does strike out more than you’d like (35% strike out rate in 140 AB), McCormick makes up for that with bat power, defense in the outfield and confident energy. It’s hard to tell what you’ll get from guys who are not everyday players, but you know what you get with McCormick – the guy is a winner.

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Most Disappointing – Andre Scrubb

I am giving this award to Andre Scrubb – the surprise stud reliever from last year has been more of a dud thus far this season. Scrubb is posting a 5.30 ERA in 19 innings pitched, with 19 strikeouts and (gulp) 14 walks. Some of his low-lights for the season include a four walk outing he dealt in one inning against the Dodgers, and the two home runs and two walks he gave up in the ninth against the Padres on May 30 where he nearly blew Houston’s six-run lead.

Granted Scrubb has been was dealing with some injuries early on this season, but when he’s been healthy he has not been sharp on the mound. He has the highest walks per nine at anyone on the team (7.2) and has struggled with his fastball command.

This is only his second season as a professional, but as someone who anticipated him being a solid 7th inning or 8th inning option, I was expecting more from Andre Scrubb. Let’s hope he can find that same groove on the mound he had in 2020 – the Astros bullpen needs it.

Gold Glove – Carlos Correa

Carlos Correa was robbed of his Gold Glove last year but looks to be the favorite to get the award at shortstop this year.The shortstop has turned 35 double plays and has a fielding percentage near 99% – ranking among the best in the bigs. The right-hander has saved eight runs defensively above replacement, which is second in the majors only behind Isiah Kiner-Falefa (11).

But that’s just his numbers – the eye-ball test tells even more. Correa covers the infield like a cat – able to get to any ball on the ground – and has one of the strongest arms ever for the position. If he doesn’t win the Gold Glove this year, it’ll be a travesty. He’s been simply amazing.

Cy Young – Zack Greinke

Houston has perhaps the deepest rotation in all the majors, with many pitchers very deserving. But let’s give the team Cy Young Award to the guy who has an actual Cy Young Award: Zack Greinke.

The 37-year-old is putting together a solid campaign – 8-3 with a 3.59 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 115.1 innings. Greinke has a WHIP of 1.11 in 19 starts, well below the 1.30 league-average for 2021.  Some of Greinke’s highlights include a scoreless six innings on opening night against the A’s, the fore mentioned eight inning shutout against the Mariners on the road, and his one-earned run, six-hit complete game he threw against the Blue Jays.

This is a guy that generates outs and strikeouts without throwing pitches anywhere near 95 miles an hour – he does it all with placement, his amazing skillset, repertoire and mental toughness. His stats and performance are not near his peak 2009-2015 playing days, but Greinke continues to remind everyone he’s still among the best in the game.

Silver Slugger – Yuli Gurriel & Michael Brantley

This award is a tie between Yuli Gurriel and Michael Brantley, who have both been terrific in 2021. How terrific? The two combined are hitting .322 from the plate for a .851 OPS and have anchored the best offense in the game. Michael Brantley is second in AL in batting average (.326 BA), third in doubles (23) and has the lowest strikeout rate in the AL (12.2%).

Meanwhile, Yuli Gurriel is fifth in the AL in batting average (.313), eighth in doubles (19) and led the AL is batting average for the months of April (.344 BA) and June (.366 BA). Combined these players are some of the toughest outs in all of baseball sitting in the heart of the order– both Brantley and Gurriel hit better with two strikes against them, they hit for average and they cash in with runners on the bases.

Jul 11, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) prior to the game against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 11, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) prior to the game against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /

MVP – Jose Altuve

This is a team with stars all over the field, but for MVP there is really only one choice: Jose Altuve.

Jose Altuve has a certain zest and energy that elevates everyone’s level and makes this Astro team very special. After an unusual down year in 2020, Altuve is come back with a strong 2021 season (so far) – .278 BA with 20 HRs, 55 RBIs, .860 OPS and 3.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

Altuve is also responsible for the three biggest moments of the first half – the walk-off grand slam against the Rangers on June 15th, the go-ahead homer against the Yankees on May 6th, and his amazing walk-off home run this last Sunday (also against the Yankees).

Jose Altuve has dominated the Yankees in years past, and both New York players and fans or trying to deal with it the best way they can — by bullying him. This past weekend was no different. The Yankees came in won the first two games of the series by shutting out the Astros offense. During the Saturday game, Aaron Judge smacked a homer and then mocked Jose Altuve while rounding third by covering his jersey, referencing the 2019 ridiculous buzzer conspiracy.

The Yankees continued to mock Altuve deep into Sunday’s game when Gary Sanchez did the same “cover my jersey I’m cold” move after he hit his three-run home run. The fourth place Yankees were talking all sorts of crap the entire series, and mostly at the expense of Jose Altuve. And, with true poetic justice, it came back to bite them in the face.

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In the bottom of the ninth inning – the same inning where Altuve-wannabe Aaron Judge misplayed a deep fly ball and where Aaron Boone opted against using closer Aroldis Chapman – the Astros rallied and scored three runs to make the score 7-5 New York. Then, with two men on, Jose Altuve hit a no-doubter off Chad Green into the Crawford Boxes – Astros win in miraculous fashion and Minute Maid Park goes into a frenzy.

But here is why Altuve is a true MVP – He hit the biggest home run of the season, then simply ran around the bases and didn’t mock the Yankees. He didn’t show his chest, he didn’t mock the Yankees ridiculous home-run coat celebration, he didn’t stare down anyone. He just smiled. Yes, his teammates did the smack-talk for him – Maldonado and company met him at home plate and ripped his shirt off for him for all to see his chest tattoo – but again, all Altuve did was give high-fives, jump in jubilant celebration with his teammates and smile.

There’s a stark difference between Yankee MVP Aaron Judge and Astro MVP Jose Altuve. Aaron Judge puffs his chest, takes veiled shots at Altuve whenever he can and when it’s winning time with the stakes high – he shrinks. Jose Altuve doesn’t engage the smack talk (at least not publicly), he lets his play do all the talking and when it’s winning time with the stakes high, he stands twenty-feet tall.

That should be the theme for the 2021 Houston Astros, a team that is loathed by the other 29 fan bases and most major media outlets. Let guys like Trevor Bauer and Aaron Judge and twitter know-it-alls do all the petty smack-talking – the Astros will continue to do all the hitting and winning. I’m excited for the second half. You should be too.

Next. Will pitchers make adjustments vs. Chas McCormick?. dark

More post-draft signings:

RHPs Ray Gaither of Dallas Baptist University and Jacob DeLabio of Carthage College signed with the Astros on Wednesday.

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