Houston Astros: Pitching and fielding have been interdependent

The Houston Astros are well-known for their intimidating offense. Their pitching staff has posted absurd numbers thus far. And now the team’s defense has shown up, leading to another successful start.

Good pitching doesn’t necessarily create a good defense. Yet hurlers’ more glamorous numbers can come as a result of good fielding. The Houston Astros haven’t necessarily experienced this in each of the past few seasons.

But they have in 2018.

Thanks to a combined effort to improve and, frankly, with some help from its elite staff, A.J. Hinch’s squad sits atop the leaderboards in the category.

Houston boasts the second-best fielding percentage in the MLB, committing just 14 errors altogether. Strangely enough, Alex Bregman has accrued half of those mistakes in the hot corner.

Despite the youngster’s issues in the field, the Astros as a whole have improved substantially. They accumulated 30 errors through 46 games last year, a significant blemish on paper.

While the Astros’ roster isn’t significantly different from last year’s team, the pitching staff has been much better. Its performance resulted in a more efficient defense throughout the first 46 games.

A notable reason for that centers on starters’ strikeout spectacles almost every evening. Four of the team’s starting pitchers are whiffing more than 27 percent of the hitters they see. Just one of Houston’s starters with 20 or more starts eclipsed that number in 2017 – Brad Peacock.

Fewer balls put in play means fewer plays need to be made. Plays still must be made without many blunders to ensure success on the mound. Good defense and good pitching aren’t mutually exclusive.

And the result thus far for the Astros is a league-leading 2.44 team ERA, nearly one run less than the Diamondbacks’ 3.31 ERA.

Who are the team’s elite defenders?

Fans are aware of Jake Marisnick’s skills with a glove. His double-digit defensive runs saved every year from 2014 to 2016 provides evidence for that fact.

Even in a limited role, the outfielder exemplifies his value on the field. And he’s been the team’s most efficient center fielder. He’s saved four runs thus far.

However, Marisnick isn’t Houston’s only defensive-minded outfielder.

During his short stint with the Astros so far, Josh Reddick has shown his value. Though fans expected him to contribute primarily at the dish, he’s been much more useful in right field.

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But the 31-year-old has always been an asset with his glove throughout his career. Across seven full seasons, he’s saved 65 runs in total. He also ranks 85th in active defensive WAR leaders, along with Kolten Wong – who would have guessed?

Possibly the biggest surprise in this category has been Max Stassi. The 27-year-old is known for his arm and blocking abilities. But he’s been more impressive than expected from that standpoint.

He’s played in just 21 games thus far, but he’s saved four runs for Houston in that span. The last catcher to register more than four runs saved was Carlos Corporan in 2013 – back in the rebuilding days.

Compared to Brian McCann, he’s a young Yadier Molina in a sense. At this rate, Stassi will surpass Brad Ausmus for the most defensive runs saved by an Astros catcher since 2003. He’s not even a pure starter.

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Stassi, Reddick, and Marisnick head a team continuing to improve on defense. And that’s just another reason why Houston is a prime contender once again.

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