clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Astros Player Performance Rankings - May 24, 2012

By Timothy De Block
May 23, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro (15) and relief pitcher Brett Myers (39) celebrate after defeating the Chicago Cubs 5-1 at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE
May 23, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro (15) and relief pitcher Brett Myers (39) celebrate after defeating the Chicago Cubs 5-1 at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE

For an explanation of the methodology for these rankings go to the inaugural post of the Player Performance Rankings. Also for pitchers check out this post.

I didn't get any complaints last week about the images so I will be using them again. One change is that I made Meltdowns a negative number to better identify why a Regulators net SD/MD is negative.

My question this week is: Should I add a WAR ranking board?

Hitters23may12_medium

Starting_pitchers23may12_medium

Regulators and Fielders after the jump.

Regulateors23may12_medium

Fielders23may12_medium

Observations

  • Jose Altuve and Jed Lowrie are tied at the top in terms of wOBA, however, they have two different BABIP. Lowrie may be a little unlucky on BABIP because his Line Drive Percentage (LD%) this season is 23.5 so far. His career is 19.7% so I expect that to regress a little, but he could still finish about .300 in BABIP. Jose Altuve's LD% on the other hand is 18.4% and he has a career 19.6%, albeit in 416 plate appearances. What works in Altuve's favor is his speed which is rated at a 7.5 so far this season; Lowrie has a 3.2 speed rating. Both speed and LD% can help a player sustain a higher than normal BABIP. Jose Altuve might be at or near his mark while Lowrie still has some regression to do. I expect both players to flip-flop through out the rest of the season at the top of the hitters board.
  • Still a lot of players with low BABIP, mostly with reserve players who you can expect some volatility in BABIP numbers.
  • Some shuffling going on at the back end of the rotation for the starters and it actually looks like what many projected the rotation to be in terms of expected results. Wandy Rodriguez, Bud Norris, J.A. Happ, Lucas Harrell and the fifth spot in the rotation. Norris made a strong push last week and closed the gap that's between him and Wandy.
  • Brett Myers and Wilton Lopez still lead the regulators.
  • Brandon Lyon and Wesley Wright have begun to establish themselves as reliable options out of the bullpen.
  • Lowrie took back the top spot on defense.
  • Jose Altuve, Matt Downs and Brian Bogusevic made small positive movements upwards in defense.
  • The layout of the names for fielders looks like wave. It's quite mesmerizing.
  • Your observations and thoughts?

More From The Crawfish Boxes