Mauricio Dubón is scorching hot in June for the Astros!

Mauricio Dubón has to be among the most pleasant surprises for the Houston Astros in 2023. The 28-year utility went from being a low-profile player to becoming the Astros’ lead-off guy with surprisingly excellent numbers in his first 50 games of the season.

After a quieter May, he got hot when the calendar turned to June. In nine games so far, he’s got at least a base hit in all of them but one and is 14-for-43 with three doubles, two homers, six runs batted in, and six runs scored. Plus, he’s batting .326/.318/.535 with a .853 OPS.

Even with José Altuve back, Dubón has earned his right to remain in the Astros’ lineup, especially after what he’s shown in June. He’s been used in second, shortstop, and even left field, but Dusty Baker keeps finding playing time for him.

Dubón has been making some adjustments that are notable at the plate. He’s being more aggressive at the hitter’s box and is now using the entire field besides hitting more line drives instead of so many flyballs – updated until Sunday…

• 2021: 33.9 1st pitch swing% | 38.2% LF, 36.0% CF, 25.7% RF | 42.6 GB%, 21.3 LD%
• 2022: 40.8 1st pitch swing% | 34.4% LF, 43.0% CF, 22.6% RF | 39.4 GB%, 20.4 LD%
• 2023: 45.3 1st pitch swing% | 26.0% LF, 42.9% CF, 31.1% RF | 48.6 GB%, 29.9 LD%

Another big difference from last year’s Dubón is his performance against left-handed pitchers. In 2022, Dubón hit .267/.312/.454 over 94 plate appearances, while this year, he’s thriving with a .405/.444/.571. This time, he got over .250 points more in OPS (.765 over 1.016) when facing lefties.

Mauricio Dubón has been an excellent find for the Astros so far and has given the team a big boost this year. Hopefully, he will keep it going.