Houston Astros Ink Outfielder Michael Brantley
The Houston Astros made a move late Monday to sign free agent outfielder Michael Brantley, the contract is for 2 years and worth $32 million. This move adds another veteran bat to an already stacked lineup and another left-handed hitter to slot into left field.
As you see from the great Ken Rosenthal, Brantley hasn't exactly been healthy of late during his career, however, the 143 games played last year for Cleveland was an encouraging sign. He's 31 years old and should still have enough left in the tank over the next few years to be an integral part of this potent Astros lineup.
One thing Michael Brantley has excelled at in his career is making contact, something Houston already does extremely well. Brantley swung at 1,008 pitches in 2018 and only swung and missed an astounding 111 times! Doing the math, that gives him an 11% wiff rate which ranked 3rd lowest in the majors last season. The Astros as a team ranked 2nd in that category:
As you can see from Darren Williams that the Indians ranked as the team with the lowest wiff rate in the league and that was in large part due to Brantley's contact hitting style.