The Slow Start

After an impressive rookie season in 2015 in which he posted a 135 wRC+ and .233 ISO through 432 plate appearances, the Houston Astros were likely hoping for Carlos Correa to take another step forward in 2016. He had a solid campaign that season, but a 122 wRC+ and .177 ISO in 660 plate appearances could be viewed as a bit of a letdown.

And through April of this year, it was more of the same story. In fact, the struggles got even more pronounced.

The 22-year-old shortstop watched his wRC+ (79), ISO (.116), and wOBA (.287) all take a dip during the first month of play. There was reason for optimism, though -- he posted an 18.8% line-drive rate, 39.1% fly-ball rate, and a 45.3% hard-hit rate in April, yet his BABIP stood at just .290.

The Hot Streak

What's interesting about Correa's turnaround is that some of his peripheral stats don't add up to it. We can't argue with the .357/.434/.635 triple slash he's posted (along with a 189 wRC+ and .446 wOBA) since May 1st, but his batted-ball profile during this time actually pales in comparison with what he was doing in April.

His line-drive rate largely stayed the same (17.0% since May 1st), but his fly-ball rate (34.0%), ground-ball rate (49.0%) and hard-hit rate (37.0%) all went in the opposite direction. Yet, he's still been insanely hot after a sluggish start. Perhaps the Baseball Gods are rewarding him for what they just made him go through.

This isn't exactly new territory for him -- between 2015 and 2016, his ground-ball rate was never lower than 48.0% and his fly-ball rate was never higher than 30.0%. And since he's already collected 11 dingers before the middle of June this year, his single-season career high of 22 from his rookie campaign doesn't look like it'll last much longer.