Houston Astros: Why The Young Core Of Players Don’t Need To DH!
4. Any combination of Josh Reddick or Yuli Gurriel
This option should only be considered a wild card move. The reason for that is these two players should at least see 120 games at their respective positions in right field and first base.
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But in an emergency pinch, you could stick either Josh Reddick or Yuli Gurriel in the DH spot for the occasional game or two. Either option gives you a fairly decent chance of winning on any given day.
Should Hinch want more contact and RBI opportunities out of his DH, then he need look no further than Reddick. Over his 10 year career thus far, the Savannah, GA native has tallied 346 RBI and has posted a consistent contact rate anywhere between 80-85% throughout.
Reddick will see a majority of right field starts, with the occasional shift to the other corners. He is projected to start anywhere between 110-120 games in 2017.
However, if Hinch is craving power at the DH spot, Gurriel is the one to go to. As a late season acquisition in 2016, the Cuban native had already crushed 250 home runs across 15 seasons in international leagues. His slugging percentage in that span also topped out at .580.
Neither player should really see much DH time, but both remain viable options if a need arises.