3 Astros players who’ll be better in 2023, and 2 who won’t

Why Astros catcher Martin Maldonado will not have a better year in 2023

Martin Maldonado works so well with pitchers that his batting average looks like something a pitcher might have. He hit .186/.248/.352 for the Astros in 2022. It was close to the .172/.272/.300 performance from the year before with a few differences.

A lifetime .209/.285/.349 hitter with some surprisingly occasional pop, Maldonado is the ultimate one backup catcher who actually starts. Getting anything from him on offense is a bonus. He somehow managed to set a new career-high with 15 home runs and 45 RBI last year which didn’t feel so sweet considering how rare it was for him to even get on base at all.

It’s obvious why the Astros didn’t go out and sign a more offense-oriented catcher. Why pay for that when you have enough offense in other places? Maldonado has worked with the pitching staff regularly since 2019. There’s little need to upgrade when he’s serviceable enough and one of the finer defensive backstops they can find.

Maldonado could see his playing time reduced with some of those starts getting handed to Korey Lee. Regardless of how often he plays, Maldonado is going to be another weak bat in the Astros lineup with the occasional chance to show off his home run trot.