Houston Astros: Max Stassi is trying to become the future

Max Stassi entered the year as a last-minute addition to the 25-man roster for the Astros. Now he’s earned much more attention and solidified a starting lineup spot. But even with his strong season, is he valued as a franchise catcher?

The Houston Astros didn’t expect this – neither did their fans.

Many categorized Max Stassi as a serviceable catcher in the bigs, a solid backup to 14-year veteran Brian McCann. But Stassi proved to be much more than that, especially at the plate.

Yankees ace Luis Severino couldn’t foil the 27-year-old catcher Wednesday. Stassi took the Cy Young candidate deep in the fifth inning – 423 feet deep to be exact. But that’s just one example of his recent progress.

Stassi has five homers through his first 32 games this year. Moreover, nearly half of his hits this season are for extra bases. Coming from a guy who hit .252 in the MLB prior to this year, it’s surprising.

Nevertheless, the catcher improved throughout time. Stassi owned a .893 OPS across 73 games in Triple-A Fresno last year. He was also the Triple-A club’s main catcher for the past four seasons – one was in Oklahoma City.

Stassi ranks third among all catchers with at least 75 plate appearances in average. He also ranks second in OPS among those same backstops.

His fielding is still a work in progress, but he’s demonstrated his strong arm this year. Runners failed to steal bases on 38 percent of their attempts. Considering that McCann has been inconsistent in that category, it’s promising.

Is Stassi the franchise’s future starter?

Stassi has performed exceptionally in the bigs this year. No one can argue against that.

However, his clutch performances seem more ephemeral, rather than a long-standing trend. Stassi wasn’t deemed a high-level prospect throughout the past few seasons. Yet among a shallow class of catchers, he emerged as the club’s best option to back up McCann.

With Evan Gattis’ focus on hitting, it made sense. Gattis won’t be catching any time soon, as his role is now limited to just designated hitting. He’s not complaining.

Houston’s experiences with organization-grown backstops hasn’t been great in recent years. Jason Castro had power, but he also liked to chase balls outside the zone. Also, his defense was somewhat atrocious.

Prior to Castro, the Astros dealt with the offensive inconsistency of Brad Ausmus, who started with the Tigers, and essential no-namers like Carlos Corporan, Chris Snyder and Humberto Quintero.

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The Astros front office sought additional help – and received it – via trades. It grabbed McCann from the Yankees and Gattis from the Braves. Those two boosted Houston’s rankings amongst catchers throughout the league.

In each of the past two seasons, Astros catchers ranked in the top seven in OPS and the top five in runs scored. Why wouldn’t general manager Jeff Luhnow seek help from outside once again?

He would, and he probably will.

Houston laid eyes on J.T. Realmuto this offseason. Also, it seems that trade offers are imminent. Whether the Astros actually acquire the top-tier catcher is a different story.

Houston’s confidence in Stassi surely has increased, but it wasn’t always stable. The Astros waived Stassi last year, but no team claimed him. Funny how things work out.

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Stassi is enjoying his the best season of his career in Houston. Yet even if his numbers regress, Houston manager A.J. Hinch will take what he’s gotten from him.

But overall, he just might not be future catcher material – not for a potential World Series dynasty.