Astros catcher Max Stassi ready to unleash full potential

By Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle

Updated

10:46 am CST, Saturday, February 16, 2019

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Forty-seven games into his first full season as a major league catcher, Max Stassi afforded the Astros what they previously did not have.

Stassi’s stellar first half last season was a boon for Houston’s offensively challenged catching corps. He accrued an .866 OPS and slugged nine extra-base hits in first 74 plate appearances against lefthanded pitching. His name appeared on American League Rookie of the Year watch lists across the sport.

“He’d worked really hard to get on plane and produce the power,” manager A.J. Hinch said recently, “and, for whatever reason, it went away a little bit.”

Such a promising start faded to a forgettable finish. Stassi’s power numbers disappeared and, with it, his playing time. He started only 18 games after the All-Star break, was usurped by trade-deadline acquisition Martin Maldonado and did not make either of the Astros’ two postseason rosters.

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“Absolutely it was frustrating, getting off to such a good start and fading off,” Stassi said Thursday. “But it’s a game of learning, you constantly get knocked down and have to get back up.”

The work Stassi put in to remaining level in his swing dissipated during the second half. The problem, according to Stassi, was in his legs. He’d “come out” of his legs in his batting stance and, therefore, not be  able to cover all parts of the strike zone.

While his offense waned, Stassi remained among baseball’s best pitch framers with above-average defensive skills, placing him in high regard within the organization. Now entrenched alongside starter Robinson Chirinos to begin this season, Stassi must discover a way to carry the offensive aptitude he showed for one half through an entire season.

“I got into some bad habits,” Stassi said. “It’s a constant adjustment, the league adjusts to you and you have to adjust back, it’s a cat and mouse game. I feel like I got to the root cause and I’m excited about this year.”

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