Good News for Michael Bourn Fans

Everyone agrees, Michael Bourn was pretty much a disappointment last year. He was, I believe, one of the worst, if not the worst, qualifying offensive player in the game last season. Since Bourn will be our starting center fielder next season (unless something drastic happens) his production will make a difference to an Astros team looking to compete.

It looks like he could be making some progress. Bourn has been playing winter ball for the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. I know it's a small sample size, but it's all we have to go on at the moment.

In 12 games and 50 at bats, Bourn is hitting .360 with an on base percentage of .458. He is OPS'ing .978.  He's got 4 stolen bases and 15 runs scored in 12 games, so he's pretty much turned into the Carlos Beltran of the Domincan League. Well, it is Winter Ball so who knows what that means for his game in the majors, but it should be noted that he hit .255 with an on base percentage of .323 after the All Star Break. And while, that's not exactly good, it IS an improvement over the .218 average and .273 OBP he was sporting before the break. It's a step in the right direction, at least.