Top Players of the Month (2) (May)

Hitters of the Month (2) (May)

1 – Kyle Tucker (121 PA, Min 63 PA, 9 Astros, 248 MLB Players Qualified)

No shocker here. It has been no secret that Kyle Tucker has been extremely dominant, finishing in the 90th Percentile in 13/26 Statistical Categories, in the 75th Percentile in 19/26 Categories. He even finished in the 98th Percentile in ISO (0.381, 99th), xISO (0.321, 98th), and the 100th in Walk Rate (19%). Tucker had 9 positive plays with a WPA of at least 10%, including 3 clutch Homers while the game was either tied or the Astros were down 1 with upwards of a 20% WPA Swing (5/1 vs CLE down 2-1 v7 Solo 22.5%, 5/21 vs LAA/ANA down 5-4 v7 Solo 23.5%, 5/12 at DET tied 0-0 ^6 2 Runs 25.7%). On the Season, Tucker is still near the top in a number of categories, including 3rd in Walk Rate (13.5%), T-5th in fWAR (3.2), and 2nd in ISO (0.324), while posting a T-6th in the Majors 175 wRC+ and 2nd in the Majors 18 Homers, 12 of which were mashed in May.

2 – Jake Meyers (96 PA, Min 63 PA, 9 Astros, 248 MLB Players Qualified)

After OPSing just 0.718 in the Months of March/April, Meyers flipped a switch and finished May with an OPS of 0.924. Jake finished in the 75th Percentile in 15/26 Categories, and above average (50th Percentile) in every Category, only Astro to do so. Meyers’ best stat group has to be his ability to get on base, as he ranked in the 95th Percentile in BA (0.329, 95th), xBA (0.322, 96th), OBP (0.406, 96th), and xOBP (0.399, 97th). Meyers' most impactful play came on the 17th vs Milwaukee, a 2-Run Homer to flip the advantage from down 1-0 to up 1-2, worth a 20.9% WPA Swing. His 2nd most impactful play was a rally-capping 3-Run Homer in Oakland on the 24th, to make the game 6-1 with 15.6% in WPA. This is all without mentioning his excellent defense out in Center, as he is currently 7th in Statcast Outs Above Average, and is tied for 1st in 4 Star Catches (OF).

3 – Mauricio Dubon (64 PA, Min 63 PA, 9 Astros, 248 MLB Players Qualified)

Dubon coming in with (in my opinion) the 3rd best May by Astros Hitters, despite having just enough PAs to qualify. Dubon did what he usually does, not strike out often, use that to make hits and get on base. This can be seen in his 90th Percentile xBA (0.302) and OBP (0.375), 98th Percentile BA (0.356), and 100th Percentile K% (6.3). Other highlight stats are his 2nd on the team Batter Run Value/100 (1.9, 90th), 3rd on the team WPA/LI (0.41, 83rd), and 3rd on the team Slugging Percentage (0.475, 79th).

Pitchers of the Month (2) (May)

Starters

1 – Justin Verlander

In his 6 Games Started in the Month of May, Verlander gave up 16 Runs, nearly half of which came in an unfortunate start during the first week of May. Other than that, though, Verlander did great, posting 4 Quality Starts, including a 7 Inning Shutout vs his former team, Detroit. His .211 xBA allowed sat in the 87th Percentile of all Starters in the month with at least 50 Batters Faced. His 26.7 Hard Hit% was also great, ending in the 97th Percentile. He closed out his month on Wednesday with 7 Innings of 1 Run Ball, in an eventual loss, though. Lastly, Verlander averaged a 55 GameScore and contributed 26.9% in WPA.

2 – Hunter Brown

In an extremely close decision, Hunter Brown edged out Ronel Blanco for the 2nd Starter Spot. Hunter gave up 9 Runs (All Earned) in his 21.1 innings as a starter for a 3.80 ERA or RA/9. In the 2 starts following 5 Innings of 4 Run ball on the 17th, Hunter Pitched 6 Innings in both, giving up 2 Runs in one game and 1 Run in the other. This is all without considering the day he basically started without getting credit for it, covering 5 Innings after a poor Javier start, giving up only 1 Run. As for stats, Hunter finished in the 90th Percentile for 4 stats, xBA, Whiff Rate, Hard Hit%, and Exit Velocity. Brown also had the best ISO and xISO against among Astros Starters. Despite all this, he had a net WPA of 5.1% and an average GameScore of 55.

Honorable Highlight – Ronel Blanco

3.42 ERA in 26.1 Innings Across 5 Games Started, 55 Average GameScore, 21.6% Net WPA.

Relievers

1 – Josh Hader

Since he’s started performing to what was expected after the big signing, he’s been a lock at #1 on the Relievers part of this list, appearing at #1 in 3 of the 3 Players of the Weeks since I overhauled how I did this. Players of the Month for May is no different, as according to WPA, Hader has been worth well over a win, at 137.3% in WPA during May (100% in WPA is worth a full Win, according to Fangraphs). Hader struck out a whopping 22, while only allowing 4 Walks, and 2 Homers (where his 2 R came from) in his 13.1 Innings. Among Relievers in May with at least 2 Saves, Hader Tied for the Most Innings, 2nd in Strikeouts, and 4th in WPA.

2 – Seth Martinez

This spot was very contested among Seth, B. Abreu, and Tayler Scott. Martinez took the spot for the good timing of his runs allowed. Martinez gave up his only 3 Runs of the Month in a game in Detroit already out of reach, in the bottom of the 9th while up 9. This means that he only gave up runs in 1 of his 11 outings during May. He also claimed a Save on the 15th vs Oakland. Martinez has been a reliable guy to go to when we need multiple innings, as evidenced by 5 of his 11 appearances being at least 2 innings, and a 2.01 ERA on the season, including a 1.69 ERA during May. His appearances culminated in 37.0% in WPA.

Honorable Highlight – Tayler Scott

Honorable Highlight 2 – Bryan Abreu