The Pecan Park Eagle

Carlos Correa, SS ~ 2015-16 Houston Astros

2015 AL Rookie of the Year

Carlos Correa could not have come into this 2016 MLB season with more expectations resting upon him. The AL Rookie of the Year was only around for 99 games from June 9th forward in 2015, but, in spite of a two-month late start he played well enough to win the honor he deservedly earned. When a player hits the big time running like lightning that’s just been released from the bottle, people simply don’t forget you, nor do they fail to put all kinds of expectations upon you for ongoing production on the greatness level. And Carlos was every luminous blip – that fabled luminous flying force in Houston’s 2015 return to promise season. With his bat, his arm, his glove, his athleticism, and his baseball maturity, this then 20-year old man showed up in Houston last summer looking like the greatest dad gum ballplayer to ever come out of Puerto Rico since the until recently incomparable Roberto Clemente. – And that widespread Houston wish may still prove true over time.

But that doesn’t stop some of us from wondering early – about his early 2016 down slide.

So what’s happened this year? Is it simply too early to speculate on his less than stellar downturn at the plate? Is Carlos caught up in the same team malaise that now finds the AL Cy Young winner, Dallas Keuchel, now struggling – and even beatable at home? Are we now in the adjustment phase of Correa’s early career, at a time in which the pitching book has caught up with what Carlos got away with last year? Is it time for Correa and his mentors to counter-adjust to whatever the pitchers are doing differently – and more effectively in 2016? – Is it just me – or does he seem to be striking out more often on falling-off-the-table-sliders out of the zone? Would it help to give him a rest away from the #3 hole for now – or would that simply hurt his confidence to move him down, or even up in the order – maybe shifting places with Springer in the #2 hole for a while?

Here are the major comparative offensive stats for Carlos Correa from 2015 and the limited early season of 2016:

Since any of us can be Astros Manager Hinch on paper, what do you think? Is it too early to tell; is it simply a mountain birthing up from limited data in the 2016 mole hill to even infer that something needs to be done – or does something really need to happen to help Carlos Correa adjust to the way pitchers are handling him these days? If I were a pitcher with a wicked falling away slider, I know I’d be throwing that one to Correa and any other Astros batter I knew who could not stay away from swinging at a two-strike pitch.

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Bill McCurdy

Publisher, Editor, Writer

The Pecan Park Eagle

Houston, Texas

https://bill37mccurdy.com/