Houston Astros: THREE Ways Evan Gattis Has Been “Earning It!”

Appearing in only 12 of the first 19 games so far, Houston Astros catcher/designated hitter Evan Gattis is proving time and again that he has “earned” more playing time.

The Houston Astros have the best and deepest lineup in the entire league. When only 3 of your 12 position players are hitting below the .250 benchmark, that is a notion worth celebrating and feeling good about.

The one issue that is still very much alive is who gets to be in the lineup on any given day, much less everyday. The player that has had to endure the most loss of playing time thus far is none other than El Oso Blanco himself, Evan Gattis.

The Houston Astros off season additions of Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran have made it very difficult for the Big White Bear to get any time at his two usual positions: Catcher and Designated Hitter. Beltran is the $16 million dollar man, and is probably the biggest culprit of taking time away from Gattis through DH appearances.

However, Houston Astros skipper A.J. Hinch would do well to take a look at the current 2017 numbers that Gattis currently possesses. In turn, I will help you readers get a glimpse of these as well!

Evan Gattis in 12 games played, 10 of them starts, 42 total plate appearances:

*Batting Average: .294 (10-for-34)
*On-Base Percentage: .405
Slugging Percentage: .441
*OPS: .846
XBH (Extra base hits): 3
*BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play): .300
P/PA (Pitches per Plate Appearance): 3.64
*wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus): 147
*Walk %: 16.7
*K%: 9.5

(*) = Current Single Season All-Time Highs.

Critics will make the argument that this sample size is small. After all, Gattis has not been in enough games as of this point in the season. Additionally, baseball is just under a month in.