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Coming into the 2024 season, the Houston Astros were clearing betting on Jake Meyers as their center fielder of the future. Despite his well-chronicled struggles at the plate, he is a tremendous defender, and general manager Dana Brown was steadfast that Meyers would become an asset on offense as well.
Given his offensive track record and all of the trade chatter surrounding Meyers at the time, that was a bold bet to make.
At the start of season, Brown and the Astros looked like geniuses for having faith in Meyers, as he was one of Houston's better hitters the first couple months of the season. Meyers ended the first half of 2024 with a 110 wRC+ and a very respectable .736 OPS. Given how good his glove was, that level of production at the plate was more than enough.
However, Meyers' slump in the second half has been a stark reminder that not only is his presence in the Astros' lineup a weakness entering the playoffs, but Houston still requires a different solution in center for the long-term.
RAKE MEYERS TO THE CRAWFORD BOXES!#Relentless pic.twitter.com/drnKf17UUj
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 21, 2024
Jake Meyers' second half slump is a long-built problem the Astros need to fix ASAP
Let's start with the good news. Despite his offensive struggles, Meyers has 14 Outs Above Average on defense in 2024, and his speed has translated to substantial value as a baserunner despite his relatively pedestrian 11 stolen bases this season. These are skills that have real benefits in MLB, which is why he has been able to accumulate 2.0 fWAR in 2024.
However, it is impossible to ignore just how bad Meyers has been at the plate since the All-Star break. Across his first 208 plate appearances of the second half, he has slashed a truly dreadful .188/.252/.280, which adds up to a 53 wRC+. For reference, Martin Maldonado had a 67 wRC+ in his last year with the Astros, and fans couldn't wait to get him out of the lineup despite the offensive bar for catchers being significantly lower. Houston is basically playing present day DJ LeMahieu in their lineup every day.
Unfortunately, the Astros don't really have any great solutions to this Meyers problem in the short-term. Yordan's Álvarez's injury already likely means that Houston is going to be down an outfielder the rest of the season. The Astros also don't have a great replacement option this season, as Chas McCormick has been worse than Meyers overall, and the options in the farm system don't appear to be ready yet.
2025 is an entirely different story. Top Astros prospect Jacob Melton has shown some signs of life late in the season, got a promotion to Triple-A, and will likely get a long look in spring training, along with Pedro Leon and Kenedy Corona (among others). Based on how 2024 has gone, it would be malpractice for the Astros to do anything other than try to move on from the Jake Meyers experience when given the chance.