Carlos Lee
El Caballo delivered peak slugging when Houston desperately needed it, arriving in 2007 and immediately producing the best offensive season of his 14-year career. Lee's 2008 campaign — .314 average, 28 homers, and a career-high .937 OPS — represented the perfect marriage of power and contact that made him such a valuable commodity throughout his prime.
The Panamanian outfielder carved out a remarkably consistent career, topping 100 RBIs six times and never hitting below .260 in any full season. His 358 career home runs tell only part of the story; Lee's real value lay in his ability to drive in runs, accumulating 1,363 RBIs while maintaining a steady .285 career average. Those numbers earned him respect in three different uniforms, from Chicago to Milwaukee to Houston, where he found his greatest success as the Astros' cleanup hitter during their National League years.
Career · Batting
14 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | CWS | 127 | 492 | 16 | 84 | .293 | .775 | 100 |
| 2000 | CWS | 152 | 572 | 24 | 92 | .301 | .829 | 106 |
| 2001 | CWS | 150 | 558 | 24 | 84 | .269 | .789 | 104 |
| 2002 | CWS | 140 | 492 | 26 | 80 | .264 | .843 | 113 |
| 2003 | CWS | 158 | 623 | 31 | 113 | .291 | .830 | 110 |
| 2004 | CWS | 153 | 591 | 31 | 99 | .305 | .891 | 117 |
| 2005 | MIL | 162 | 618 | 32 | 114 | .265 | .811 | 108 |
| 2006 | MIL | 161 | 624 | 37 | 116 | .300 | .895 | 116 |
| 2007 | HOU | 162 | 627 | 32 | 119 | .303 | .882 | 116 |
| 2008 | HOU | 115 | 436 | 28 | 100 | .314 | .937 | 125 |
| 2009 | HOU | 160 | 610 | 26 | 102 | .300 | .831 | 111 |
| 2010 | HOU | 157 | 605 | 24 | 89 | .246 | .708 | 97 |
| 2011 | HOU | 155 | 585 | 18 | 94 | .275 | .788 | 110 |
| 2012 | MIA | 147 | 550 | 9 | 77 | .264 | .697 | 96 |
| Career | 2099 | 7983 | 358 | 1363 | .285 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.