Thomas Campbell – USA TODAY Sports
Wesley Wright is probably happy that his unfortunate nickname of “Wesley Wrong” is starting to fade in popularity. The 28-year-old lefty is currently the second-highest-paid player on the Houston Astros‘ roster, a strange figure for a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.
For a while, “Wesley Wrong” was the epitome of the Astros’ bullpen troubles, giving up home runs to lefties and righties alike late in the game. He was one of the main contributors to the Astros holding the honor of having the worst bullpen in the league.
But it seems like “Wesley Wrong” has ‘Wright-ed’ his ship. In Wright’s last 10 outings, he’s thrown 8.0 innings and only given up two earned runs, lowering his ERA below 4.00.
Does this mean that Wright is becoming a staple of the Astros’ bullpen? No.
Wright has done this before, as early as this year. He started out red hot in April and May, with an ERA in the mid-2.00s. It didn’t last long, as his dependency quickly faltered. There’s no reason why it’s believable that the streaky Wright has righted his ship, because he’s never shown any consistency before.
Wright did the same thing in 2012. After giving up just three earned runs in all of April and May, Wright gave up five in June alone. Clearly, consistency is not part of Wright’s repertoire.
This is a guy who the Astros used to be really excited about. He even made some ground towards getting into the starting rotation just a few years ago. Things are different now.
But is his dominance of lefties enough to keep him around? Again, the answer is no. Last year, Wright held lefties under a .200 batting average, as opposed to a .269 mark by righties.
This year could not be more different. In the present day, which is all that matters, Wright is allowing lefties to hit .300, and righties are hitting .253. This completely erases his former “lefty-specialist” title.
Teammate Travis Blackley is only allowing lefties to hit .163, and Triple-A reliever Kevin Chapman is holding them to .193.
As such, Wright really has no place on the team and can hopefully find value before the waiver deadline.
