Houston Astros: Don’t give up on the Evan Gattis project yet

Astros manager A.J. Hinch decided this offseason that he would utilize Evan Gattis as a full-time designated hitter. The former catcher has yet to exhibit his power, but he’s been solid so far.

Evan Gattis was never dubbed an above-average fielder. He let his bat define his abilities, and the Houston Astros acknowledge that.

With Carlos Beltran hanging up his cleats, manager A.J. Hinch decided to experiment with Gattis as his full-time designated hitter. So far, it’s going pretty well, though he has yet to crack any bombs. 

Gattis has loads of pop in his bat – his numbers verify that fact. The 31-year-old swatted at least 20 home runs in each of his first four seasons. Though he didn’t eclipse that number last year, he now has an opportunity to restart a new trend.

The Astros have yet to place Gattis behind the plate, which is a sign that Hinch is sticking to his word. After going 0-4 against the Orioles on Tuesday, the slugger’s triple-slash is .261/.346/.781.

Compared to other Houston hitters, Gattis sits in the middle of the pack in his amount of impressive performances. Nevertheless, fans have to be happy with his four extra-base hits thus far.

Gattis enjoyed a stellar April in 2017 before slowly sputtering across the following two months. He mashed throughout July before enduring an injury and losing valuable playing time toward the end of the season.

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His Spring Training numbers were not enticing, as he hit .263 with just one extra-base hit across 38 at-bats. But those stats are not great predictors of a person’s success in the regular season.

Coincidentally, Gattis fared best while hitting as a catcher throughout the previous three seasons combined. His .936 OPS as a backstop compared to his .709 OPS as a designated hitter reveals a significant difference.

The reasoning behind this mystery is unknown, but Gattis has an opportunity to debunk the myth this year. Whether he will or not remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, if the experiment fails, Hinch has several options at the DH position since the Astros have remarkable depth.

Houston’s catching carousel remains intact

Brian McCann undoubtedly claimed his starting spot behind the plate for this year after a productive season in 2017. However, Max Stassi had to earn his spot on the Opening Day roster as the team’s backup.

Though it is still very early in the season, the rotation behind the plate looks poised to work until an injury occurs or if Stassi flounders at the dish. Nevertheless, Gattis can also enter the mix in case an injury occurs.

At this point, the front office seems committed to the three players behind the plate. Neither Garrett Stubbs nor Tim Federowicz in Triple-A are on the 40-man roster and have minimal MLB experience.

Stubbs is the better prospect, as he’s just 24 years old, so he has potential. However, the Astros will likely sign a catcher off the market in the future unless he improves substantially.

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McCann and Stassi will hold down the position, and that’s not bad. Houston catchers ranked second in RBIs last season, and they finished in the top 10 in OPS.

For now, there aren’t many issues with this team. And while the catching corps is probably the weakest section of the bunch, it is still above average compared to most of the MLB.