Dusty Days Off: Examination of forced days off for Astros players

Michael Brantley

I’m not sure I have much of a case for forced days off in the consummate professional Brantley. Brantley had one scheduled day off after playing in three games, and in the first series, Brantley hit .250 with an RBI and a run.

Nothing earth shattering stat wise, but in only one series of play, it is hard to fully determine the impact. Even more of an impact or perhaps none at all, Chas McCormick started the game in left field Brantley had off, and he went 1-4 with an RBI, so he didn’t really miss a beat from where Brantley was performing.

Post off day, Brantley hit .272 with one home run, four RBI and one run scored, showing a slight improvement from his previous stint. Half of his stats, however, were garnished in one game where he went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI.  So can Brantley be the ‘told ya so’ case for scheduled days off? I don’t think so, as we examine the impact of other key players days off.

Kyle Tucker

Yet to have a day off this season, Tucker is in the April slump of his life, hitting a paltry .087, prior to Saturday. With the second game of the season against the Los Angeles Angels being Tucker’s sole highlight of the season, where he hit both of his home runs and drove in all four of his RBI, he has yet to produce much of anything since.

Maybe Tucker could use one of Dusty’s famous scheduled days off to reboot his mind and get locked back in at the plate? On the other hand, the lefty slashed three hits Saturday, wearing batting gloves for the first time this season.