Coming into the 2021 season, the Astros’ center field job was Myles Straw’s to lose. He performed well in spring training and has been Dusty Baker’s guy ever since. Baker recently reaffirmed his belief in Straw, who is struggling to hit, noting how difficult it is to judge a player based on 100 at-bats. The trouble is, it’s not just his at-bats that are worrisome.
Through 150 plate appearances, Straw is slashing .214/.295/.260, with 5 steals in 8 attempts. On the surface, this is non-existent production. A wRC+ of 68 — the 20th-worst in baseball among qualified hitters — confirms that.