His ability to put the ball in play remains valuable. Problem is Fisher is probably a better every day option, and only two position players aren't carrying their weight (Beltran & Aoki) and only one of those 2 would the team axe.
He will be up again soon. For sure Houston is waiting to see how the trade deadline plays out; Fisher very well could be on the move. If August 1st arrives and Fisher hasn't been traded (and there hasn't been an injury to an OF), then they'll have to decide if they want to cut Aoki to make room for Fisher.
Thinking Astros may wait until September if both Aoki and Fisher on 40 man after deadline. Astros may want Aoki as a pinch hitter in playoffs and with extra rest can carry an extra hitter in playoffs.
He's literally batted about .285 with a .350 OBP and has struck out in less than 10% of his plate appearances every single season. That's the definition of "consistently solid".
Generally, I agree with you. But he's not putting the ball in play at his usual clip - his strikeouts are up and his walks (which he doesn't get many of, anyway) are down. And he had a decent start to the season, too. He's been flat awful since May 1 (though he's been a bit better lately). At 35, he has no place here if he's going to carry an OB% >.325-.330. He's not an exceptional defender and he has limited power. If the idea is to showcase Fisher, cool. But right now, Fisher and Marisnick should be getting the bulk of the ABs.
Aoki was consistently solid. Guys age. At around Aoki's age, guys start dropping in performance quickly and it doesn't take much of a drop from solid to bad. He's not batting over 0.285 with a 0.350 OBP and has struck out 13% of the time this season. He's not expected to do any of those things you mentioned the rest of the season; though, he will likely be closer than he has been this season so far.
Aoki is a great pinch hitter. High pitch counts. Solid contact against higher velocities. Like. I trust him in that role and filling in after Marwin. He's someone you can trust in the world series when called upon to put up a battle in a key at bat.
To show how close he is to his typical stats, taking the same number of plate appearances, if he had 3 more hits and if 3 of his 3-2 strikeouts were walks, he'd be at .285, .350 and 11% K rate. Also, even with Aoki's relatively limited playing time, he is second in the AL in outfield assists. It would be nice if they could get their pitchers all healthy and they could afford to carry 12 instead of 13. With their big lead, they could experiment for a bit with Fisher getting 5 starts a week in the outfield to see if he progresses or regresses.
His Ks are up, but still low. Love having him as a potential pinch hitter. Not really as comfortable with Beltran or Marisnick unless we are looking for a HR. Marisnick will come back to earth, though his defense and speed will continue to add value. He should probably remain the regular starter even when Reddick gets back unless they want to commit to Fisher. It is too bad our pitching staff is beat up, because I'd like to carry an extra position player for a while to see if Fisher can be the everyday LF while holding onto Aoki.
And if you took 3 walks and turned them into Ks and took away 3 hits, he would be 0.241 BA with a 0.267 OBP. Considering BA and OBP are measured in tenths of a percent, taking 4% of his outs and turning them to a hit or a walk is huge.
He's batting .267 in 50 games. Saying he has regressed because of age is a little ridiculous right now. If he got consistent playing time the rest of the season he would be right back to his career average numbers. Regardless, he is a veteran that has been consistent his entire career. He also has the experience of going to the World Series. Fisher will be back up at some point, and who knows, maybe he will establish himself as one of the three outfielders but you don't get rid of a guy like Aoki to make it happen.
Not that batting average is terribly important (although, for Aoki, it's more so because he doesn't walk very much) - but .267 is a career low by some 20 points. And his OB% (.313) is down 40 points. He's 35 with a ton of miles. And he's on pace for ~420 PAs, which isn't too far below where he's been that past two years. Moot point as they sent Fisher down, and I get the veteran/PH role that he could likely fill. But he's been a tad disappointing so far this year.
Must be frustrating to be sent back down after playing well. But, I'm sure he understands it's all part of the process. But still.
He was hitting .246 at this point last year and ended up with a .283 avg. The OBP is down for sure (he was at .322 at this point last year), but acting like he is declining so drastically is not exactly true. He'll end up at his career average. To be perfectly honest, I'm good with either one, but keeping Aoki makes all the sense in the world.
Just caught up in the numbers game. The Astros want to give Aoki a chance to return to his standard level. He will be back up in September at the latest, possibly sooner. Did nothing to warrant getting sent back down.
It's just annoying bc Aoki doesn't hit for power, walk much, or hit for that great of an average (at least so far). He doesn't offer much except veteran leadership. Fisher in every aspect seems like the better player, and although this is temporary I'm tired of watching Aoki with his ridiculous batting styles.
