Carter is neither a scrub nor a star. He's a decent hitter who happens to derive most of his value on something that on average, only happens 1 out of every 5-6 games. And just like everything else with such low odds, the value is going to be very unevenly distributed even if we assume Carter is the same hitter throughout the year. It's just like if you roll a dice 20 times and only get a '6' once, it doesn't mean the dice is loaded. It's just randomness at work. Same with home runs. They're not going to be spaced out evenly. I think he's a prime candidate to be a trade chip for a team desperate for some power in their lineups.
Sure; he hits a lot of HRs so 24 of those RsBI are him rounding the bases. Not insignificant. And it's not like he has Biggio, Berkman, Bagwell hitting in front of him (or even poor man's versions of those guys... or really poor man's versions) so I recognize it's not entirely his fault that the team is lousy at getting on base. But when he doesn't hit a HR? Here's what he's done this year if we remove the dingers: .166/.252/.229/.481 with 33 RsBI in 357 PAs. If he's not hitting HRs, he's almost literally not doing a single thing to contribute to the success of the team, especially when you factor in he doesn't play the field. The non-HR PAs need to start being more productive is all I'm saying. Otherwise, he's far too one-dimensional to be anything other than a late-inning power bat off the bench, IMO. I hope the last month-ish is the start of him putting it together.
Imagine if he was on this tear with a healthy Fowler and Springer batting in front of him. He may be at 70 RBIs. I think this hot streak earned him another year of starting. The problem is Dominguez and Castro have regressed remarkably. Even if Carter keeps this pace, we can't be a good team with just Altuve, Fowler, Springer, Carter. Need the bottom of the lineup to hover around .250 not .200....Really hope Singleton picks it up and Castro can go back to at least being above avg hitter.
It seems like he is having better at bats lately, even the ones where he isn't hitting HR's. The rbi a couple of nights ago when he shortened his swing and punched a ball into left was one example. And although I never, ever, want to see him in the field again....I don't think it's fair to knock him for that, since his "position" is DH and doesn't require playing the field. Whether we like it or not, we have a DH spot on our team now
Carter leads the team in OPS http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/stats/batting/_/name/hou/cat/OPS/houston-astros Didn't think id ever see that.
Well, all I can do is hope that you are wrong I'm not confident that you are wrong But I sure hope you are
Carter hasn't? OPS of over 800 and will hit 40 homers Dallas K hasn't? An era of sub 3 and virtually all quality starts? Colin McHugh hasn't? George Springer? Quite a few Astros have emerged and most the good prospects are not ready yet.
