Houston Astros Will Harris: Unsung Hero
It stings doesn’t it?
The Houston Astros have now dropped five straight which certainly doesn’t bode well for us in the standings.
As you probably know, the Los Angeles Angels are breathing down the back of necks as they have strung off quite a few wins during the past stretch of games.
With the Angels about a half game back behind the Astros, you can almost assume that these teams are currently locked into a virtual tie.
Yesterday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays was a perfect example of how this losing streak came about.
What is it you may ask?
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It’s the Astros feeble attempt to convert the guys that are already on-base for the score.
And you know what?
That has even been a task as of late.
Normally we’ve been quite good at getting on-base but that has been a struggle as of late.
In fact, Hank Conger, our backup catcher was the only guy that had close to an exceptional OPS for the week ending this past Friday.
He was holding at a .904 and the rest of the team was slightly below that.
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Under usual circumstances, there would be a plethora of guys who’d be nailing the OPS stat as if it were going out of style.
The Astros will get it together though.
This team is too good to flounder but something has to give and I see a move — a minor tweak of sorts — to keep this team humming along with precision.
Despite the Astros woes at the plate, there’s one guy who continues to crush day in-and-out and barely makes a peep about it.
Just who am I talking about?
Reliever and often long-man Will Harris.
His name doesn’t get mentioned as profusely as the stars do but when you hear his name being called, you know the game is going to be in good hands.
The 30-year-old right-hander that’s also a Bayou City native has easily proven himself that he is one of the shining stars of our bullpen.
He rarely makes mistakes and when he does, it makes your jaw drop but then you come to realization that he’s human.
General manager Jeff Luhnow, assistant David Stearns and the rest of the talented Astros scouting staff must’ve saw something in him when they picked him off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
They made the right call as well.
Another man’s trash is another man’s treasure and he certainly could be categorized as such for the Astros this season.
To put things in perspective — Harris boasts a 4-1 record, 0.89 ERA and 0.74 WHIP through 40.1 innings pitched with 41 strikeouts.
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He has appeared in 35 games.
How does he do it?
He has a killer fastball that sits in the low 90s that creates just as much whiff than you could possibly stand.
It’s quite hard to hit too.
I use the term boast lightly because I see his persona as humble as the rest of the roster that precedes him.
But the way he plays the game, yes, you could say that’s boastful.
I’m just thrilled that this guy is on board and he needs to continuing to maintain the high level of poise that seems to be his modus operandi.
Keep it up Willie H — go ‘Stros!