A Look at the GCL Astros

Yesterday, we looked at the DSL Astros. It wasn't the best report in the world, but I promised it would get better. The GCL Astros are definitely a step up.

Through Monday's game, the GCL Astros have a record of 12-13. They have scored 3.88 runs per game while the pitching staff has allowed 4.04 runs per game. The average age of hitters is 18.9 and pitchers are considerably older with an average age of 21.

BATTING STATS
Overall, the team hasn't started off as a strong offensive team, but there are certainly some standouts on the team. In particular, Darwin Rivera and Brett Phillips are names that come up time and again when looking at the top performers in the league. This is how the top GCL Astros performers rank versus other players in the league in batting statistics (BA, OBP & SLG are based on 2.7 plate appearances per team game).

Batting Average
1st - Darwin Rivera .391
16th - Yonathan Mejia .283

On Base Percentage
5th - Darwin Rivera .431
20th - Brett Phillips .354

Slugging Percentage
1st - Darwin Rivera .565
19th - Brett Phillips .405

Runs Scored
7th* - Brett Phillips 14
7th* - Darwin Rivera 14

Doubles
4th* - Carlos Correa 7
4th* - Darwin Rivera 7

Triples
1st - Brett Phillips 5

Home Runs
2nd* - Darwin Rivera 3

RBI
1st - Darwin Rivera 18
6th* - Yonathan Mejia 12

Walks
3rd* - Brett Phillips 13

Strikeouts
5th* - Teoscar Hernandez 27
5th* - Brett Phillips 27

Stolen Bases
18th* - Teoscar Hernandez 5

Wallace Gonzalez has also done nicely with a .296 batting average over 18 games, but he doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify as a league leader. Also worth noting is that Carlos Correa is tied for 4th place in doubles despite having been out since July 6th with a slight groin strain (he started on Monday for the first time since then). And Rio Ruiz has only played in two games, but has looked very good at the plate thus far.

As far as how the team numbers rank against the other teams in the league, the news could be better but it could also be worse (see the DSL). Out of 14 teams, the GCL Astros are ninth in batting average, 11th in on base percentage and fifth in slugging. They are 11th in walks and stolen bases and fifth in strikeouts. They are generally in the middle of the pack or higher in most other categories.

PITCHING STATS
There are several pitchers having good seasons for the GCL Astros. This is how the top GCL Astros pitchers rank versus other pitchers in the league in pitching statistics (based on 0.8 innings pitched per team game).

ERA
3rd - Edison Frias 1.27
5th - Agapito Barrios 1.59
6th - Michael Feliz 1.65

WHIP
4th* - Michael Feliz 0.878
10th* - Agapito Barrios 0.926

Strikeouts
14th* - Michael Feliz 21

Saves
2nd* - Erick Gonzalez 6

In addition, there are four pitchers on the team with a 0.00 ERA and WHIP under 1.000 who didn't qualify as league leaders: Chia-Jen Lo, Andrew Walter, Erick Gonzalez and Lance McCullers.

Despite some of these very good performances, there are a number of very bad performances that bring down the team ranking. The team ERA (3.60) and team WHIP (1.399) rank 10th and 11th, respectively, out of 14 teams. They are tied for seventh place in wins and are 13th out of 14 in strikeouts.

*Indicates a tie

Next up: A Look at The Greeneville Astros tomorrow