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Few outfielders can match Lee's level of consistency. This marked his fifth consecutive season of reaching the the century mark in RBIs and the fourth straight year of batting at least .300. History says he's peaked, but there's enough left in the tank to scoop him up with an early-round selection on draft day.
No word yet on whether Lee will be back in the lineup Friday, or if he will return at all this season. Long out of the postseason hunt, the Astros may elect to shut down Lee to avoid risking any further damage.
Lee snapped out of a brief 1-for-12 slide with the multi-hit effort, which was just his second in the last 12 games. With the pair of runs he plated on Monday, the veteran slugger surpassed the 100-RBI threshold for the fifth consecutive season.
It has been a disappointing season for the 'Stros, but Lee just keeps on chugging along. He now has a .304 average and 98 RBIs on the season, putting him on pace for his fourth consecutive season with a batting average of at least .300 and 100 RBIs.
Lee batted only .295 during the course of his streak, so it shouldn't take long before he's back in a groove. In fact, sooner rather than later, considering the Astros slugger has gone 13-for-29 (.448) with five extra-base hits against Tuesday's scheduled starter, Cards righty Joel Pineiro.
Lee's reputation as a workman-like thumper could not be more perfectly illustrated by his first-half/second-half splits this season. Lee went deep 13 times and plated 49 runners before the break and has dialed in 13 dingers and driven in 47 since returning from the mid-season intermission, proving that you can never go wrong with El Caballo.
Lee has turned up the power in the second half. After a first half in which he swatted 13 homers and posted a .485 slugging percentage in 87 games, the veteran left fielder has gone for 12 blasts and a .532 slugging percentage in 54 games since the break. With 92 RBIs, Lee is closing in on the century mark, and his 25 jacks leave him with a chance of reaching 30.
Lee notched his second home run in four games, and it was no surprise that second jack occurred at home. The outfielder has accumulated 14 of his long balls at home, where he sports a .586 slugging percentage compared to a .429 mark on the road.
Lee's clutch performance marks an end to a 2-for-20 slump, putting him on strong ground with August in the books. Among the game's most reliable run producers, the veteran outfielder enters September hitting .308 with 22 homers and 85 RBIs, putting him on track to reach the century mark for the third straight season.
A three-hit performance on the road wouldn't normally seem likely for Lee. Despite a seemingly effortless .342 batting mark in Houston, the outfielder held a .275 batting average on the road heading into Wednesday. That figure is at .283 after the trio of base hits.
The rest of the Astros offense has been up and down, but El Caballo has continued to do what he does. His average is up to .313, which is the eighth-highest in the NL, and a recent five-RBIs-in-five-games surge has given him 79 ribbies on the year. He's on track to top 100 RBIs for the fourth time in five years.
There are few big leaguers that rake with the kind of consistency that Lee does. Since first cracking the .300 average barrier back on May 7, El Caballo has spent just seven days hitting under that mark en route to his typically great year at the dish. On the year, Lee is hitting .312 with 21 long balls and 78 RBIs.
After a mediocre first half by his standards, Lee has turned it on since the All-Star respite, batting .328 with seven dingers and 27 RBIs. He’s knocked in 76 runs so far this season, putting him on track for his fifth consecutive 100-RBI campaign.
Lee has slipped a bit in the power department this season, slugging at a .507 rate, a slight drop from his .569 mark from last season. And while it might be a stretch to suggest that the veteran can return to the the 30-homer club this year (he's currently stuck on 19), Lee is still a great bet for 25-plus bombs and upwards of 100 RBIs.
Over his last nine games, Lee is batting .410 to go along with one homer and nine RBIs, further entrenching himself as a must-start down the stretch. While he's not getting any younger, his ability to hit for both power and average on a consistent basis easily renders him a Top 20 outfielder.
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