Houston Astros: Evan Gattis: The Forgotten Man of 2017
In Conlusion: El Oso Blanco is STILL very valuable to this Houston Astros team!
Evan Gattis is currently slashing a respectable .267/.326/.424/.750 on the season, as of this writing. He is also has a 6.6 RAA (runs above average), a 4.7 TRPG (team runs per game, or how many they average when he is in the lineup) and a 0.6 WAR, or wins above replacement, which just makes the top 20 in WAR among catchers.
Among backup catchers, specifically, he’s 6th in WAR. Not bad for the second bear-in-chief in command of this Houston Astros pitching staff!
As opposed to the past couple of seasons of slow starts, the bear actually broke out in April with a .321 batting average and .918 OPS. May saw a slight shrink down to a .258 BA and .709 OPS. June has not been kind at all, with Gattis sporting a minuscule .209 BA and .588 OPS this month.
The shrinking stats, like his dip from 141 to 101 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) or a .320 to .285 BABIP (batting average on balls in play), can mostly be attributed to fewer opportunities to play. With Brian McCann in as starting catcher and Carlos Beltran taking the bulk of DH time, it has become the biggest commodity frustration of the entire Houston Astros roster.
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Fantasy owners, as well as Gattis’ personal fan base, including yours truly, are the ones pulling out their hair the most with this diminished role for him. There just seems to be no clear path to consistent at-bats for Gattis, despite the best efforts of skipper, A.J. Hinch.
Sure, like any player, the bear has room to improve some areas. But given how limited of chances he has had so far in 2017 for the Houston Astros, he’s been doing exceedingly well when called upon.
Bear’s Repeating!
His stature may be intimidating, but Evan Gattis has a reputation of being both outgoing and accessible, while also soft spoken. He does have his own Twitter account, but he also is not very active on it or tweets all that often. This humbleness is both an extremely admirable and equally enigmatic, or mysterious, characteristic about him.
So many out there would argue the “don’t fix what isn’t broken” mentality to ignore Gattis completely in this team’s success. And since he has been in more of a secondary backup role, he should just stay there and accept it. After all, there is no “I” in team, and they do still have the best record in the league, right?!
Despite some of the truths to that, I would choose to argue the contrary. Just because he’s soft spoken and a grounded team player, it doesn’t mean he needs to be taken advantage of, either. Trading him away from this team should also be the FURTHEST thing from the minds of those in the front office. If a move must be made for pitching, deplete some of the farm system. It’s just that simple!
Next: Patience is the key with Keuchel's injury
This Houston Astros team has had a lot of success in 2017. Evan Gattis has been a big part of that success given the sacrifices, arguably the most of any player on the roster, to his playing time and stats that he has made. Now, it’s time for him to get his proper due!
GO HOUSTON ASTROS!!!!