Houston Astros: Why Tyler White deserves to play in October

With the Houston Astros on the verge of a 100 win season, they may need to unleash a shark attack on the playoff opposition!

Tyler White has made sizable contributions to this Houston Astros team. A logjam in the infield and having a player like Marwin Gonzalez around has limited playing time for the Great White.

But as the playoffs fast approach, skipper A.J. Hinch has a lot of decisions to make. He’s already stated to the Houston Chronicle that they plan to carry a third catcher. That spot will go to either Juan Centeno or Max Stassi.

The plan is for the third catcher to be insurance for Brian McCann and Evan Gattis. This will allow for the bear to DH more often for struggling Carlos Beltran. At the same time, a third catcher can also come in late inning situations to pinch run or rest the guy behind the plate.

With talk of the team only carrying 11 pitchers, that leaves 14 spots for position players. Tyler White needs to be one of those players. Here’s why:

Show Me Your Teeth!

Tyler White burst onto the scene at the beginning of 2016. While his month of April saw him put up the numbers to earn him the very first AL Player of the Week, he was unable to make his adjustments. Because of this, White finished his debut season with a shaky .217/.286/.378/.664 slash line.

No surprise, Tyler White had to begin the 2017 season with the AAA Fresno Grizzlies. Solid numbers with that club and an injury to Colin Moran in the midst of a DL stint by Carlos Correa opened up another opportunity.

And boy, has the Great White capitalized on it!

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Tyler White has slashed an astounding .315/.356/.593/.949 in only 54 at-bats so far in 2017. He has 3 home runs and 10 RBI in only 18 games played. Additionally, he is hitting well against both left-handed and right-handed pitching.

More of his stats can be found from his ESPN.com player profile page. All of the numbers show true major league adjustments and tremendous situational hitting. In fact, the only situation he struggles with is the 2 out RISP scenario.

Small sample size? Of course. However, these stats aren’t anything to sneeze at, either.

Out for Blood!

Recent games are allowing the minor league players, like Tyler White, to put on a tryout for A.J. Hinch. There is a good argument for any of them to make the postseason roster. However, only a couple of them will actually be able to make it.

Tony Kemp, J.D. Davis and Colin Moran have all spotted the infield pretty well. Kemp even has some outfield reps to go with it. The Houston Astros certainly have enough options.

Just recently, I did a piece on other viable options than Carlos Beltran at DH right now. The veteran has much on his mind right now with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria devastating his native Puerto Rico. It could also explain one of the reasons why he has yet to find his magic this year.

Next: Astros 2017 Postseason roster predictions

Evan Gattis will likely take a good chunk of DH in the post season against lefties when not behind the dish. Tyler White could be another option to give starters some added rest to keep fresh. Just yesterday, they even had him play some left field. That, along with his numbers, could give him the edge over somebody like Kemp.

Regardless of who is chosen, this team has a number of weapons that can be used. Tyler White is definitely one of them. Perhaps a Sharknado may be just the thing needed to scare off playoff opponents and get the spacemen to a World Series victory!

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