Why the Houston Astros' Evan Gattis Will Prove His Critics Wrong

Evan Gattis hasn’t had the ideal start to the 2015 season for the Houston Astros. He’s struggled tremendously after being acquired in a trade that sent three Houston Astros prospects to the Atlanta Braves. Nonetheless, once Gattis settles in, he will be a fixture in Houston’s lineup for years to come. 

To begin his stint with the Astros, Gattis looked uncomfortable and clueless at the plate. In his first series against the Cleveland Indians, he struck out four straight times in two straight games. Through his first 15 games of the season, he was batting a dismal .136 with just three extra-base hits—and only one of them was a homer.  

Gattis surely felt as if he wasn’t living up to the team's or his expectations in the Lone Star State, and he relayed his struggles to Shawn Ramsey of Fox Sports Southwest:

"

I've never been booed by my own fans before. It's embarrassing. I’m pretty sure I've never done [0-for-4 with four strikeouts] in my career before, and then two in a row... Yeah, it's disappointing. I'm just a better hitter than what I've done so far this year.

"

Last Sunday, however, Gattis hit a go-ahead double to cap a series sweep over the Oakland A’s. He has taken that momentum to the West Coast, homering in his first at-bat in a 14-3 win over the San Diego Padres in Tuesday night’s game.

The Houston Astros brought Evan Gattis on board solely for his ability to produce runs and hit the long ball. Judging from his previous seasons, Gattis hits homers in bunches. Of the 20-plus homers he hit in each of the last two seasons, five of them came in the first 15 games.

There isn’t anything really that telling about the stats Gattis has produced in the last two seasons—be it good or bad. As Chris Cwik from FanGraphs wrote:

"

Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis was supposed to tell us a lot this season. After a power-filled 2013, fans and analysts seemed to take two different paths when discussing the 26-year-old rookie. The fans thought he was ready to breakout, while the analysts saw plenty of signs that pointed to regression. Who was right in 2014? After looking at his stats, it’s fair to say no one. Gattis put up mostly identical numbers during his sophomore season. He posted an identical walk rate, a slightly elevated strikeout rate and hit one more home run in 2014.

"

If we are looking at Cwik’s perspective solely from a projection standpoint, his argument is spot-on. In his first two full seasons in the majors, there hasn’t been a massive leap or drop in Gattis’ numbers. In 2013, he hit .243 with 65 RBI. 

The following year, he improved to .265, but his RBI total dipped to just 52. He was also riddled by injury in both 2013 and 2014. Needless to say, there just isn’t enough information or advanced data on Gattis to interpret.

Thearon W. Henderson via Getty Images

However, what it does prove is his ability to get the job done at the plate, and his knack for reaching those numbers on a consistent basis when he is healthy. 

The power for Evan Gattis will come. As ESPN.com Senior Writer Eric Karabell reported, Gattis has had a wrist injury since spring training. He was also a National League player who hadn’t seen the Cleveland Indians or Texas Rangers all spring since the Astros play their spring training games in Florida. 

Moving forward, Gattis absolutely loves the months of May and June—and it will be interesting to see if his future numbers will reflect any from his previous years. In May 2013 he hit .317 with six bombs, and in June 2014 his numbers weren’t that much different, boasting a .353 average—again with six dingers. 

Houston is the hottest team in baseball. They just won their eighth straight game on the road last night, and Gattis hit his third homer of the season—unsurprisingly on the first day in May.

The timing of Gattis’ four-bagger is fitting for a player who thrives as the summer months approach. We should expect more success from the slugger who is just in his third full season in the majors.

He’s just getting warmed up.  

All stats are courtesy of Baseball-Reference and MLB.com