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Five Astros Who Need to Be Better in May
The Astros made it through the month of April with a 15-13 record, a win by all accounts after having to navigate injuries to Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley and Lance McCullers Jr. They won their first game of May, but have already been dealt some crushing injury news, losing both José Urquidy and Luis Garcia to the 15-day IL. They then dropped last night's contest after getting three-hit by the Giants.
With multiple key pieces missing, five Astros need to step it up in May. Some are stars that need to take their game to the next level. Others are regulars that have vastly underperformed. And some are unproven pieces that will now be heavily relied on due to injury.
Let's take a look at the five Astros players that need to be better in May.
#1 Astro that needs to be better: Alex Bregman
There isn't a bigger fan of Alex Bregman than I. I expected him to regain MVP form this season and still think he has it in him. If there were ever a time, it's now. Without Jose Altuve or Michael Brantley, with Yordan Alvarez nursing a nagging neck injury, with José Abreu bringing little to nothing with his bat, and with the starting rotation now nursing a bevy of injuries, 2019 Alex Bregman needs to take the field.
His defense has been great right now, but his OPS and OPS+ are both below league average. His .211 batting average is especially unsightly.
He's been somewhat unlucky, with a .258 xBA and a .446 xSLG (.325 actual), but as Dusty Baker once articulated so well, "I want exit hits."
Breggy needs to start driving the ball gap-to-gap and bring more to the table than a multitude of walks for the Astros to pick off wins over the next month.
#2 Astro that needs to be better: José Abreu
Don't look now, but the calendar has turned to May and Abreu is showing signs of life. In Monday's 7-3 victory, Abreu picked up two RBI. Abreu hasn't struck out in either May game, and even in last night's 0-3 showing, he looked comfortable at the plate.
Two of his outs recorded had the potential to do damage, with both a 101.4 mph and a 107.7 mph lineout. The first had an xBA of .510 and the second was .670. If Abreu can find his form of old, Houston will be fine.
But he hasn't yet. As of now, he's hitting .230 with a .522 OPS and 47 OPS+. That just won't cut it. The Astros need one of the premier run producers of his generation to begin playing like one. Abreu has batted cleanup 25 times and had more than his fair share of opportunities to drive in runs. In 37 at-bats with RISP, Abreu is hitting .216 with a .554 OPS and seven strikeouts.
$19 million a year is far too much for the production they've received. If they're going to give up more runs down three starters for a period of time, they're going to need to score more. Their cleanup hitter needs to play his part.
#3 Astro that needs to be better: Martín Maldonado
Expecting wild offensive production from Martín Maldonado is just naivety. His value goes well beyond the offense. It's well established his prep work is unrivaled and the pitching staff loves him.
That being said, the Astros catchers of the future are currently stuck behind him. Yainer Diaz is playing once every fifth day while Korey Lee is blocked in AAA. Diaz is supposed to get 300 at-bats this season, but is on pace to take 167.
If Houston is going to sit their catchers, and in particular Diaz, they need more from Maldy. His .162 average and .485 OPS are porous even by his standards. Defensively, he hasn't looked the same as years prior. According to Statcast, his framing has dropped from the 62nd percentile in 2022 to the 10th percentile this season. He also has a league high three passed balls, one that cost them a game against Minnesota.
Yainer Diaz is the catcher of the future, but he also hits right now in a lineup that desperately needs runs (.258/.306/.355). He just threw out two base runners last night with his howitzer cannon of an arm and has guided rookie Hunter Brown through five starts with a 2.60 ERA.
Maybe this is actually an indictment that Dusty Baker needs to be better and actually write the young star's name into the lineup. Houston is 6-3 in game's started by Diaz. They're 9-13 in games Maldy starts. Maldy is beloved, and I hope he's one day on the Astros coaching staff. But he either needs to step up his production, or Dusty needs to start playing Yainer more.
#4 Astro that needs to be better: Ronel Blanco
Hopes were high for Ronel Blanco entering the season. He was otherwordly dominant in the Dominican Winter League before looking great in Spring Training. The Astros front office had high praise and spoke about stretching him out as a starter.
The regular season rolled around and he hasn't been the same. Over 12 innings of work, Blanco has given up 16 hits and walked seven. His 1.92 WHIP and 4.50 ERA aren't going to get the job done.
With the Astros now down LMJ, Urquidy and Garcia, Blanco is going to need to provide them length out of the pen or in spot starts, and be effective while doing it.
#5 Astro that needs to be better: David Hensley
If David Hensley doesn't find it and soon, he may not make it through May on the roster. With Michael Brantley, Chas McCormick and Jose Altuve coming back soon, Hensley's days are likely numbered.
He was supposed to be the better hitting utility option, but the emergence of Mauricio Dubón has proven that theory incorrect. But even if Dubón weren't producing at the clip that he is, it would be hard to be worse at the plate than Hensley has been.
Hensley is hitting .143 with a .399 OPS and 15 OPS+, both which are boosted by an incredibly generous double that could easily have been scored an error in his last start. Though it sounds like Brantley and Chas will be back soon, Houston needs Hensley to at least string together competitive plate appearances in their absence and help turn the lineup back over.