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ANALYSIS: Myles Straw forgot to unpack his 2020 struggles before kicking off 2021, and over 81 AB so far he's managed only three XBH (one triple, two doubles) and a beaten-up slash of .222/.304/.272, though he's still collected five steals in six attempts, tying him with a handful of MLB stars at fifth in the league. The Astros currently rank sixth in the MLB for runs-scored and eighth in team OPS, so if Straw turns his play around and works himself into scoring position consistently, he could start to stuff the stat-sheet wall-to-wall. It's also a welcome bonus that he's eligible as an unusual SS/OF combo, because the extra flexibility provided makes sure that you don't have to stare at vacant starting spots while your bench players have no where to fit, and it increases Straw's chance of continuing to see the field during an offensive slump.
Straw was never a highly-touted prospect, but his bat kept up with 2,143 minor league plate appearances, pretty evenly distributed among the levels; and at each wrung he was able to figure out how to reach base, collect hits, attack the bases, and achieve steady success without slugging. Straw spent the most time at Triple-A, and in 542 AB over two seasons, he netted 28 XBH (one HR, one triple, 26 doubles), 70 walks against 110 strikeouts, a slash of .290/.370/.356, and 54 stolen bases out of 61 attempts. Even when viewing his MLB showings as a whole with his poor numbers from the past two years, Straw still accumulated 14 XBH, a .321 OBP, and 21 swipes out of 25 tries over 280 total AB.
He's not a guy that'll ever be sporting a beefy ISO or ridiculous exit velocity, but his hard hit rate has gradually climbed to 24.6%, and he's putting himself in position to find green with his swing as demonstrated by his 81.6% combined rate of line-drives and grounders. He's brought his strikeout rate down by 7% and his walk rate up by 5%, where they both need to be. If those batted balls start dropping, Myles Straw and his 6.25-second 60-yard dash are at their most lethal, and every base-running figure (RS% and XBT%) illustrates that he takes more bases on a given hit and is far more likely to score than the average runner. If you can exercise an iota of patience and need a little bit of everything that Myles can offer, he's a potent option for medium-sized leagues and beyond. Act quickly though: I heard he was the last Straw.
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