House of Houston
Fansided

Houston Astros: Alex Bregman And Preston Tucker Need To Be Promoted

By Yoni Pollak

Jul 10, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; USA infielder Alex Bregman hits a triple during the All Star Game futures baseball game at PetCo Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; USA infielder Alex Bregman hits a triple during the All Star Game futures baseball game at PetCo Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

While the Houston Astros offense has been much better since a rough start to the season, their last series against the Oakland Athletics shows they can still use some improving.

With two lefties on the mound during a four-game series against the A’s, a Colby Rasmus ear infection and a George Springer day off, the Astros spent much of the series using their bench and not scoring many runs.

The Astros’ bench players haven’t been productive to say the least. Jake Marisnick, while being a great defender, pinch runner and clubhouse guy, is hitting only .189 on the season. Their DH spot has been largely ineffective with Evan Gattis struggling when he’s not behind the plate.

Live Feed

Astros appear to be content to let the rest of the league pass them by this offseason
Astros appear to be content to let the rest of the league pass them by this offseason /

Climbing Tal's Hill

  • 5 Astros players that are primed for a much improved 2024 seasonClimbing Tal's Hill
  • Could Ohtani contract deferrals set stage for Astros with Alex Bregman?FanSided
  • World Series Odds: Which Teams Have Value after Shohei Ohtani Signing?Betsided
  • 5 Astros relievers who will have a much bigger role in 2024Climbing Tal's Hill
  • 3 rumors that would be disasters for the Astros with Ohtani off the market Climbing Tal's Hill

    • The fact is, the Astros could use some offensive reinforcements and lucky enough for Houston, they have two players at AAA Fresno that can help immediately.

    Top prospect Alex Bregman has been nothing short of amazing. He’s dominated both levels of Minor League ball this season and just finished a 3-for-5 performance (HR short of the cycle) against some of the top talents at the Future’s Game. As he himself and many scouts at the game said, he’s ready.

    Calling up Bregman for Danny Worth is a fairly obvious move. The Astros need plenty of help against left-handed batters. Bregman would be an ideal fit in the #2 hole against lefties.

    But the Astros shouldn’t be done with callups. Though they’re a fairly lefty-heavy team, the Astros could use a 4th outfielder that could, you know, hit. A Tucker for Marisnick swap would give the Astros plenty of lineup options.

    Here’s how I see the lineups with Bregman and Tucker on the team.

    vs. RHP  (avg/OPS against RHP in parantheses) vs. LHP (avg/OPS against LHP in parantheses)
    Note: Using Bregman (just AA), Reed and Tucker’s 2016 MiLB splits  

    Springer – RF (.276/.928)                             Springer – RF (.257/.801)
    Bregman – DH (.311/.986)                           Bregman – 3B (.200/900)
    Altuve – 2B (.347/.962)                                 Altuve – 2B (.321/.932)
    Correa – SS (.276/.877)                                 Correa – SS (.210/.617)
    Valbeuna – 3B (.264/.854)                            Valbuena – 1B (.283/.786)
    Rasmus- CF (.262/.761)                                Gomez – CF (.260/.713)
    Reed – 1B (.283/.883)                                    Gattis – C (.233/.802)
    Tucker – LF (.308/.975)                                  Reed – DH (.222/.782)
    Castro – C (.246/.844)                                    MarGo – LF (.247/.738)

    Bench
    Gomez (.199/.571)                                        Tucker (.271/.684)
    Gonzalez (.253/.658)                                    Rasmus (.183/.603)
    Gattis (.204/.641)                                          Castro (.123/.394)

    These lineups favor the Astros in many ways.

    Let’s take a look at the lineup against right-handed pitchers. This lineup leaves  out of the lineup. Gomez, MarGo and Gattis. For the most part, Gomez and Gattis are useless against righties. Marwin will likely still see time against righties and can literally be plugged in anywhere. His versatility gives the options tons of options if they want to give anyone a day off against a righty.

    More from Houston Astros

    Against lefties the Astros should sit Tucker, Rasmus and Castro. Castro would be better off just bunting every time at bat. Rasmus isn’t much better. Like Valbuena’s crazy splits against lefties, I expect Correa’s to normalize (bad for Valbuena, good for Correa). The Astros don’t have many good options against lefties, but I believe keeping Reed in the lineup will only help his development.

    The Astros have such great positional flexibility that getting their key guys some off days at the DH spot will be easy. Gonzalez plays all over the field, Rasmus could play all three outfield positions, Bregman and Valbuena can play multiple positions, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

    This is how the Astros should proceed for the next two weeks. At that time the Astros will be able to evaluate to see if they need another right-handed batter against lefties, or if they can focus on pitching at the trade deadline.

    It’s entirely possible Bregman flops the next two weeks. It’s entirely possible Reed’s struggles continues. But both need to be given the chance at everyday at-bats they both deserve.

    How do you think the Astros should fix their offense?

    Next: George Springer Off Day A Terrible Idea

    Click here for all the latest on the Astros.

    Home/Houston Astros