Chas McCormick is turning into a pretty valuable player for the Astros

When Chas McCormick came up to the bigs on Opening Day, he did it with a low profile. There wasn’t fanfare around him or anything. In fact, by the end of April, he had a .160/.241/.360 slash line after his first 14 games as a major-leaguer.

Things have changed for him, though. Weeks later, he’s become a reliable option for the Astros, who have him as a pretty good bench player who starts from time to time and gets regular playing time.

What McCormick’s done at the plate in the last couple of weeks has been outstanding, especially for a man with the role he has on the team.

Since June 6, the 26-year-old outfielder has seen action in 15 games (10 starts). In that span, he’s registered 13 hits in 46 at-bats, with one double, FIVE home runs, nine runs batted in, and 10 runs scored. That’s good enough for a .283 batting average and a .937 OPS.

Over the cited period, those five dingers are tied for second-most on the team with Yordan Álvarez despite having 26 fewer plate appearances than the stellar designated hitter.

And if you’re impressed, I’ll give you one more shocking stat: among players with 49 plate appearances or fewer since June 6, no one in the Major Leagues has five home runs, except for McCormick. Next one on the list are Giants’ Wilmer Flores (4) and 12 players tied with three. How about that?

So yes... Fortunately for him, manager Dusty Baker has found playing time for Chas lately. He’s been the ideal fourth outfielder that plays almost every day and gives a good chance for the regular guys to get some rest.

For example and for you to have a reference, since the 11th-game winning streak began on June 13, McCormick has started eight contests, though it was also due to Kyle Tucker’s being on the COVID-19 injured list.

As for now, the Astros are fortunate and deep enough to rotate McCormick and have a flexible environment in the outfield. With Michael Brantley, Myles Straw, and Tucker securing the yard while McCormick is loose and ready to hit the field anytime, the Astros are just fine.