Hinch, Astros seeking more results from Carter and Singleton
The first base position has been a glaring weakness of the Houston Astros so far in 2015.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com pointed out on Thursday that the club entered the day 13th in the AL in OPS at the position (.680). Astros first basemen also have the lowest batting average of all other clubs in the league at that position.
Fault for this falls squarely on the shoulders of Chris Carter and Jon Singleton, who have left a lot to be desired at the plate. Since being recalled a few weeks back, Singleton entered play Thursday hitting just .130, and while Carter has swatted 15 home runs, he's also hitting just .190.
Manager AJ Hinch spoke about the offensive drought with McTaggart: "We'd like one of them to get hot and they both have the capabilities of doing it and trying to match them up. Chris Carter had spurts. We've seen it in the past. He's played pretty good defense. He's a very balanced player. Singleton, having just gotten up here, hasn't gotten off to a start everyone had hoped for, but that doesn't mean today's not the day he can do that."
Hinch also sounds as if he still thinks Singleton can 'break out' with the bat, though it's taking him a while: "Singleton's the same way. He's early in his career. He's had some impact before. Last year -- I wasn't here to see it -- but he has the powerful swing when he can get a good pitch to hit. I like the potential of both of those guys in that position, and hopefully they start contributing a little more consistently."
If either of them starts playing up to his offensive ability, it'd presumably go a long way toward helping the Astros keep their lead in the AL West.
