Yes, this may be a sign of the Astros not being that interesting on the major league level so far this season, but here is this blogs’ early season grading of the top 30 Houston Astros prospects as they were ranked by Jim Callis of mlb.com in March with stats through May 10th.
1. Alex Bregman SS / 22 y.o. / AA – .314 BA/.422 OBP/ 1.093 OPS – 7 HR/17 RBI/2 SB – 10 BB / 7 K
Grade A+ He is doing everything you could wish with the bat – time to promote.
2. A.J. Reed 1B / 23 y.o. / AAA – .229/.333/.790 – 6 HR/21 RBI – 17 BB/26 K
Grade B- Reed is hitting with power, knocking in runs and walking – he needs to K less and raise that BA.
3. Francis Martes RHP / 20 y.o. / AA – 7.89 ERA / 1.892 WHIP – 7.1 K/9 IP – 6.6 BB/9 IP
Grade D This would probably be an F, but heck he is only 20 years old pitching at AA.
4. Kyle Tucker OF / 19 y.o. / A – .299/.379/.809 – 1 HR/14RBI/ 14 SB – 14 BB/ 23 K
Grade A Those are solid numbers, the OBP and the 14 SBs really stand out for the kid.
5. Daz Cameron OF / 19 y.o. / A – .143/.221/.442 – 0 HR/6 RBI / 4 SB – 8 BB/ 33 K
Grade D To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, “I knew Mike Cameron and you are no Mike Cameron”. So far….
6. Colin Moran 3B / 23 y.o. / AAA – .276/.325/.686 – 1 HR/17 RBI/2 SB – 8 BB / 29 K
Grade B- Good on the BA and RBIs, not so great on the power and K numbers
7. David Paulino RHP / 22 y.o. / AA – 2.08 ERA / 1.038 WHIP – 11.1 K/9 IP – 2.1 BB / 9 IP
Grade A Love that he is striking out more than 5 batters for every walk.
8. Joseph Musgrove RHP / 23 y.o. / AA – 0.34 ERA / .835 WHIP – 10.3 K/9 IP – 1.0 BB/ 9 IP
Grade A++++ These look like video game numbers – move this man up in a hurry!!
9. Derek Fisher OF / 22 y.o. / AA – .227/.344/.780 – 5 HR/17 RBI/3 SB – 20 BB / 28 K
Grade C+ Decent power and OBP – needs to get that BA up.
10. Michael Feliz RHP / 22 y.o. / MLB – 7.84 ERA and 1.527 WHIP, but…. In last 3 appearances he has 5 shutout innings and 8 K’s.
Grade C- (but on the rise) – The numbers aren’t great, but it is at the MLB level and he has looked more and more like a horse with each appearance.
UPDATE: Mr. Feliz earned the win on Wednesday with 3 innings of one hit, no walk, 5 K, shutout ball and lowered that ERA to 6.08.
11. Albert Abreu RHP/ 20 y.o./ A – 3.70 ERA/1.11 WHIP – 14.1 K/9 IP – 4.4 BB/9 IP
Grade B Needs to knock those walks down, but 14.1 Ks per 9 IP – that is strong.
12. J.D. Davis 3B/ 23 y.o./ AA – .207/.308/.656 – 2 HR/12 RBIs/ 0 SBs – 14 BB / 26 K
Grade D+ He has to either show better contact or more power as a 3B.
13. Tyler White 1B/3B / 25 y.o. / MLB – .240/.304 / .764 – 5 HR/ 15 RBIs – 9 BB/ 26 K
Grade B It is too bad they have not given him more opportunities to work out of his slump. But not bad for his first big league shot.
14. Tony Kemp OF/2B/ 24 y.o. / AAA – .304/.423/.835 – 1 HR/ 9 RBIs/ 4 SBs – 19 BB/20 K
Grade B+ Little power, but very good bat work with BBs and Ks almost even.
15. Jonathan Arauz SS/2B/ 17 y.o. – His short season has not started yet
16. Gilberto Celestino OF/ 17 y.o. – His short season has not started yet
17. Miguelangel Sierra SS/ 18 y.o. – His short season has not started yet
18. Franklin Perez RHP/ 18 y.o. – His short season has not started yet
#15 thru 18 get an incomplete
19. Jandel Gustave RHP/ 23 y.o./ AAA – 3.00 ERA/ 1.00 WHIP – 9.0 K/ 9 IP – 1.2 BB / 9 IP
Grade A- A guy throwing this hard and walking this few could end up special.
20. Riley Ferrell RHP/ 22 y.o. / A+ – 1.80 ERA / 1.10 WHIP – 12.6 K/ 9 IP – 1.8 BB/ 9 IP
Grade A+ He is doing this at Lancaster – look at those K vs. BB numbers. Wow!
21. Jon Kemmer OF/ 25 y.o./ AAA – .192/.280/.623 – 1 HR/8 RBI/1 SB – 8 BB/27 K
Grade D- His age and his performance are doing him no favors here.
22. James Hoyt RHP/ 29 y.o./ AAA – 2.60 ERA/.981 WHIP – 14 K/ 9 IP – 3.1 BB/ 9 IP
Grade A- Being 29 y.o. is the only drawback – love those K’s.
23. Brendan McCurry RHP/ 24 y.o./ AA – 3.63 ERA / .981 WHIP – 13.5 K/ 9 IP – 2.6 BB/ 9 IP
Grade B+ ERA a little high for a reliever, but his K’s vs. BB’s are sweet.
24. Chris Devenski RHP/ 25 y.o. / MLB – 1.72 ERA/ 1.085 WHIP – 7.8 K/ 9 IP – 2.0 BB/ 9 IP
Grade A+ He has been all you could ask of a young man in his mlb debut.
25. Alfredo Gonzalez C/23 y.o./ AA – .103/.308/.311 – 0 HR/ 4 RBI – 9 BB/ 21 K
Grade F Let’s face it, he has to climb up to see bottom with his hitting.
26. Teoscar Hernandez OF/23 y.o./ AA – .267/.362/.778 – 3 HR/ 8 RBI / 9 SB – 15 BB / 28 K
Grade B- Has decent power and speed, but still strikes out like an……Astro.
27. Matt Duffy 3B/1B/27 y.o. / AAA – .173/.296/.509 – 0 HR/ 3 RBI – 12 BB / 31 K
Grade D Very disappointing so far for the 2015 AAA MVP.
28. Andrew Aplin OF/25 y.o./ AAA – .177/.286/.564 – 1 HR/ 4 RBI/ 5 SB – 12 BB / 22 K
Grade D Likely to drop off the list soon
29. Akeem Bostick RHP/ 21 y.o. / A+ – 5.06 ERA/ 1.969 WHIP – 4.2 K/ 9 IP 6.8 BB/ 9 IP
Grade D+ It is only 10 innings, he is only 21 and it is Lancaster where pitchers struggle – so not F.
30. Michael Freeman LHP/ 24 y.o. / AA – 4.15 ERA/1.615 WHIP – 4.7 K/ 9 IP – 4.7 BB/ 9 IP
Grade C- He probably deserves a better grade for being the only LHP on this list, but you can’t walk as many as you strike out and go too far.
So…..
- What do you think of the grades?
- Who should be dropped from the list?
- Who should be added (like Thomas Shirley) to the list?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
329 responses to “Quick Look at the Astros Top 30 Prospects”
Valbuena…..you can be my best friend today.
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Yeah that was a big hit for Valbuena and so far this season we have not used Valbuena and big hit in the same sentence very often.
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So how many of the 4 runs the Bosox scored in the 2nd would have scored if Gomez catches the can of corn in the sun.
The ball was up there a long time why didn’t Gomez run around it to get a better angle?
At least he was using his sunglasses.
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‘The ball was up there a long time why didn’t Gomez run around it to get a better angle?’
Because that would have required effort. The only thing he puts effort in, is his tantrums.
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It happens, but because it’s Gomez we feel the need to blame him for something. He’s not the first player to lose a ball in the sun and he won’t be the last.
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A real shame……….on to Chicago, I just hope they don’t get swept…….because I don’t have much hope for the guys against the Arlington *jerks*. Yep….a real shame.
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These comments on here lead me to believe I have been re-routed to the Chron website.
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Sometimes Tim, you just have to call it like it is.
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There’s a difference between calling it like it is and bashing someone jus for the sake of bashing him. It’s getting ridiculous, but if it makes you feel better then go for it. Heck, bash on me if you want. I’m used to it.
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I don’t see ant undeserved bashing. This just a bad team with no direction.
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It’s a good team that is struggling, but I was talking about the incessant Gomez. Let’s give it a rest.
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Incessant Gomez bashing.
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It’s called frustration with a player who many of us didn’t want to come here in the first place. I didn’t like him when he was a Brewer , but at least he had decent stats (not $9 million worthy, but ok). He doesn’t even have that now. Not the friendliest guy in person, either. If I was ‘bashing him just for the sake of bashing him’ I’d have plenty more to share, but just concentrating on his terrible play and the fact that right now he’s swinging the bat like a little leaguer (referring to his mechanics).
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He’s not the only one, Billy, yet he gets more bashing than anyone else. Some on here have even stated Marisnick and his sub-interstate batting average and OBP should be starting.
Gomez had his glove up, shades on and lost the ball in the sun, yet we want to blame him for doing everything he should have done to try and catch that ball. That’s incessant bashing, in my opinion.
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Tim, there’s a reason for why he gets more bashing than anyone else on the team. People can look past a player being a huge jerk if they at least produce or aren’t a clubhouse terror (I’m not saying Gomez is with the Astros). When they don’t, though, yeah it’s more likely said player would get it harsher than another player on the team.
As far as Marisnick and Gomez…not much difference in stats this year so far (apart from at bats) so I guess it would come down to defense.
Personally, I think Springer should be in center, but that’s neither here nor there.
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Fine…that guy Tim…what kind of effort is he showing if he won’t even go full out and be Timothy. Even Tim Duncan goes by Timmy…he’s just coasting and collecting his likes.
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Listen I complained about one of my favorite players Correa for not wearing his sun glasses yesterday and missing a popup when the Sox already were struggling with the sun. I am an equal opportunity complainer.
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But Gomez had his sunglasses on and used his glove to try and block the sun. I’m not sure what more he could’ve done there.
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We’re trying to make it a game, aren’t we? Valbuena having a big day so far.
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Tim – I bash the guys who are not pulling their weight. Gomez ain’t pulling my grand daughter’s weight. I wanted Fields sent down. I don’t think JFSF should be up right now. I think they should sit Gomez for a series. I thought they should be sitting Valbuens more often (just not this game – haha) and let MarGo play 3rd.
If Gomez wants to not be complained about – he needs to hit something – hey hit anything.
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Valbuena
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It’s fine to rail on him when he dies something wrong, but now we’re blaming him for everything besides ISIS, which I’m sure some on here can find a way to blame him for ISIS as well.
He’s struggling mightily and has done much to deserve our frustrations, but the bashing just for the sake of bashing has gotten out of control. He’s not the only one, but he’s getting bashed much more than anyone else. PTuck is killing us at the plate and can’t even provide good defense to make up for it, but he is receiving very little criticism.
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does
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With Gomez, a lot of it stems from his personality and attitude. Personally speaking, I’m basing that on first hand experience, and again I could look past that if he was producing (just like I’ve looked past that with other players in the past). Again, right there I’m just speaking for myself.
And yesterday I certainly did criticize Tucker, and I feel he should be in AAA big time. Should be on page one of this thread. Wasn’t the first time either.
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PTuck has been playing badly but he still has 3 HR more than Gomez, .100 higher OPS and $8.5 million less in salary.
I think PTuck could be sent down and play everyday – but I am not going to rag on him as hard as the overpaid veteran.
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Speaking of Tucker, to add a little bit to what I said yesterday…I commented on his swing and his batting stance, but neglected to mention that there doesn’t seem to be any change from last year, so in his case it’s not like something is mechanically different. He just has a lot of holes in his game, and he’s been figured out.
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Tim….if you want to leave this blog, thats uP tO you…but as far as Gomez goes it’s not just a missed flyball today. There have been too many pick-offs, too many caught stealing….too many strike outs for the majority of us on this blog. The same could be said for Springer and Correa……. but THEY are hitting. I have no earthly idea how to “fix” him………but we can’t carry three outfielders the rest of the season that aren’t getting hits. Marisnick, Tucker, and Gome all THREE are not getting it done. I do believe Valbuena gets HIS fair share of disrespect as well as Castro.
So I don’t see where you have a beef when it cmes to Gomez…he’s just sticking out like a sore thumb.
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I’ll just stay here and annoy everybody. It’s what I do best.
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Really?
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I really, honestly, love your attitude. I would miss you if you left.
But Gomez still needs to go.
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Sandy,
My strong personality and comments definitely rub some people the wrong way, but I have never seen you get frustrated or annoyed at my abrasive comments. You just take it in stride and let it roll off you like water on a duck’s back. Kudos to you, young lady.
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Tied up!
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I might add that committing *3* errors in a game is a recipe for disaster.
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That SHOULD be *4* errors……..Gomez and Spfinger. JEEZE.
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Another fly ball drops in – this one looked like Springer’s fault – unless Gonez called him off but I don’t think so.
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Someone in the stands was yelling “I got it”…..but that’s unacceptable. You HAVE to know who your team mate is. PERIOD.
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This club keeps doing dumb things that major league baseball teams should not be doing. Way too many mental mistakes.
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No leadership.
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On the other hand, Gomez doesn’t deserve all the blame. Who ever is putting him in the lineup every day deserves half.
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Exactly
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This is getting ridiculous
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And another winnable game turns into a loss.
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This loss really, really stings. I’m not sure what happened on that fly ball between Gomez and Springer, but that has to be caught. Gomez just looks skittish and nervous out there. I think that was Springer’s fault, but Gomez is not being the aggressive OFer we know he can be. I think he will get released very soon. It’s just not working for him in Houston.
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I know it’s hard to see, but there are some positives from this series. The offense is really picking up and they are getting some big hits with runners on base. They could’ve been swept and they could’ve won 3 of 4. A split would’ve been very nice, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. This was just a gut-wrenching loss and there’s no way to sugarcoat it, but I’m trying.
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I agree. I don’t have a problem with these three losses. Two were games we should win. Ultimately, if we miss the postseason I’m going to look back at the previous games against bad teams that we gave away.
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I won’t say that MarGo should have pinch hit for Gomez for the last out. I won’t say that Gomez had as much chance of hitting Kimbrel’s fast ball as I do. I won’t say that Gomez has been producing at the plate like a pitcher the last couple of weeks. I won’t say it but I will think it.
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Ktatz was available to PH as well, lol.
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*Kratz
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Marwin hit a ball off his ankle yesterday, and could hardly put any weight on it today.
That’s the only reason he was in for Gomez that inning. Take away the errors and we probably win this game.
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I think he has to be released and very soon. I see a player with lost confidence and I don’t think he gets it back while playing for the Astros. It’s time to part ways with Gomez, in my opinion. I don’t think his career is done, but I just don’t think he’s going to figure it out in Houston.
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Tucker to AAA, Gattis up, Kratz out.
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Will know tomorrow who is taking Tucker’s spot. Kemp?
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Good moves…but there’s one more spot open on the roster. Any ideas?
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Wait a minute…if Gattis is the catcher, we need a DH. And if Gattis is DH, we need a backup catcher. I know it’s not going to be Max, but I wonder whom else we’re looking at.
And was Kratz sent to AAA, or did he get DFA’d?
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Is this a suggestion or did this just happen?
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It happened…I just can’t find any more details on it other than what Nance said.
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My thought is that Luhnow will just release Gomez. He probably doesn’t have any options left, and I doubt Crane can get anything for him. Just makes me sick to see the amount of guys we had to give up for the guy. Looking at the options in Fresno, Kemp is playing well, but doesn’t have the power this club needs. Also he’s not on the 40 man. I don’t know the answer……but good LORD it feels like it’s 2013 all over again. I’m serious.
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Removing Kratz opens a 40 man spot.
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Haven’t specified if it is DFA or outright release.
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I think you’re right on Gomez. Reminds me of Mitch Williams in 1994.
I don’t get the 2013 vibe with this team…1) we’re starting to play better minus some really stupid mistakes and 2). Back then when we’d lose, it was no biggie. We expect more this year because we do indeed have the talent.
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Billy…..they are what they are.
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A whole team of talented players who can’t hit, run, throw, or catch.
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It does not surprise me that we lost 3 of 4 because we are not a good team, no matter what anybody says, and Boston is a very good team.
Gomez took the blame for the mess up in the outfield that cost us the tying run. He said he called Springer off which is what a CF is supposed to do, take charge. Again, George Springer should be the Astros center fielder.
The Red Sox look exactly like the Royals did in the playoffs last year. The entire lineup hits.
Our pitching was lousy today. They fought hard but kept getting hit.
I never felt like we were going to win this game, even when we were ahead. Good time for a day off.
I’m not discouraged, even though I hate to see my team losing. Now that I know that the system Luhnow has in place and the coaching staff he has hired cannot win, I feel that this thing could be turned around next year if the right moves are made. I think that a great group of coaches and a manager hired by the right GM has a terrific core of young players to work with and can get this team going in the right direction.
I just hope the owner has the sense to tell Luhnow not to trade any more prospects and to trade the older guys who are expensive and can’t possibly be considered part of this club next year.
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McTaggart and Kaplan tweeting the moves by the club mentioned above.
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Good teams put up with nothing. Boston just DFA’d today’s starting pitcher. The guy who got lit up by Boston for the Astros didn’t. You gotta believe Boston will be even better with that move.
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You’re not suggesting they DFA Devo, are you?
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No
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What I am suggesting is that good teams make moves because they don’t keep bad players. We aren’t a good team so we settle for mediocre because that’s what we are. We’re settlers. We kept Castro, Gomez, Gattis, Valbuena, Marisnick, Fields and Singleton, even though they sucked. We settled for players who sucked last year and as a result, we suck. The GM was hoping they wouldn’t suck as bad, but they are. And they are dragging the rest of the team down with them.
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Teams don’t just cut under-performing players with a past history of success until they realize that player just isn’t going to get better. The Astros didn’t release Morgan Ensberg in 2005 when he started off slow and they were rewarded by it. The Yankees, during their World Series runs, held onto a struggling Paul O’Neill and were rewarded by it in the playoffs. The pitcher for the Red Sox today is someone that has no future with them and has no prior track history. Sometimes you have to be patient with players. It doesn’t always work out, but many times they finally get it going.
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Everyone is frustrated b this star, but this is a good team, no matter what anyone else says. They are just in a funk, but the talent is there. I still think they are going to get back into this race. It may be blinded optimism, but I really think this team is about to turn it around.
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by this start
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A good core of players. A bad team. What do I have to back it up? 15-24.
The team that was 24-15 last year and made the playoffs was a good team. This is not that team. This is a different team. This is a bad team.
Every year you have to evaluate teams based on how they play, not how the group of players who made up the team last year played.
Would you call the Nationals a bad team this year, since they are winning, based on how they played last year? No. So why would call the Astros a good team this year, based on how they played last year?
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You can’t panic after 39 games. It would be a huge mistake. Some players need to be changed or let go and I believe Gomez will very soon, but we have limited options for the OF and the Astros were probably hoping Gomez would get it turned around eventually. He hasn’t and I don’t see much hope for him, but to just get rid of all the players you mentioned would not be smart. Valbuena and Castro are already showing signs of improving and it would be a shame to miss out on their hot streak when we know they aren’t as bad as they showed the first month.
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I didn’t say to get rid of all those players. I said they should have gotten rid of them last year, after their poor performances last year. Getting rid of them now would be panic.
But, there will be a time to get rid of them and that is June and July.
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Wow some great stuff here way better than these 4 games. The last time I checked its only about winning and we aren’t. I love my stors, but I have to take my heart out of it.and right now overall we are a streaky hitting under achieving team and our picthing sucks. Whatever Strom did last year he has lost him Mojo this year. I’m think we may have got so excited last year, we miised the fact that AJ may not be very good at his job.
We need new leradership, direction, culture, strategy. Thanks Unlce Jeff for moving us from the worst franchise in baseball, to what better than Braves and and HMMM, thinking??????
If you think Uncle Jeff and AJ are turning this thing around, not seeing that.
Bummed, but I sensed a 1-6 road trip.
Dang it hurts be an Astro die hard these days, again.
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Sorry on typos, I’m on the move.
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Kevin…..go back to spring training. The pitchers weren’t getting through 4-5 innings THEN…..so everyone of them have had to recreate their starts the beginning of THIS season. Slow, and case in point the bullpen has had to literally be the extended arm of the starting rotation. Which is why it was pretty smart keeping a starter like Feldman as the long man……but you can’t use the bullpen every single game to take over from the 3rd inning on, without KILLING your relievers! Now, we have an entire bullpen that looks and performs exhausted……and it’s May 15th!! The rest of these guys (for the exception of Altuve and Rasmus) are sleep walking through this point. And….I have to disagree with some of you folks that think Hinch needs to be fired. He’s as perplexed as we are why these guys are under performing. These are the same guys who had the best record in the league last year, why all of a sudden are they bad? All Hinch can do is play ’em. Who knows maybe Gomez took up all the oxygen in the room……or is it someone else, or SOMETHING else. We play the idiots in North Texas this weekend….and my hope is Odor will be out of the lineup. After punching Joey Bat’S today….Odor SHOULD be suspended for several games. I have NO respect for any player on that team, or their manager.
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Interesting analysis by all. For what it’s worth there’s something going on that’s not good. I agree that Gomez needs to be cut loose. i don’t care if he becomes a superstar for someone else. He’s been a ZERO here. Gattis gets another chance. Marisnick down, If everybody was hitting he could stay as a defensive specialist but the bottom 4 -5 in the order can’t get it done. Maybe Valbuena is turning it around but if it’s true, trade him for a decent prospect or two. Yes he was cut loose because of Kris Bryant and that turned out to be a great move for the Cubbies. However, the Astros would never do that. It’s against their credo which is to provide a half ass team on the field while making money.
We were a year away from having the best team on the field and JL managed to destroy half of it awaiting their turn to play. A bunch of young hungry guys who showed us last year what they could do. There appears to be no single leadership voice with the players. This tandem pitching in the minors is a disaster as no one knows how to go more than 5 -6 innings. We do not groom specialist relievers as closers and the like. If so we wouldn’t have traded 5 for 1 to Philly for a one year wonder and we gave away a TOR player because of our impatience and somebody’s dedication to “their boys”. Our hitters do not know how to hit for contact save Altuve. Maybe he should become the hitting coach.
Time to regroup, reassess, and retool and maybe we can get things back in order by 2018. This year is not going to stellar by any means so it’s time to get busy changing the scene.
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Astros need 1-2 more hit for contact position players and a #1 and #2 Starting pitchers we currently have are all performing like 3-5s. The contact hitters may not be within the organization now. The #1 and #2 starting pitchers were supposed to be on the roster and are underperforming because the league has adjusted to them. The GM and his staff should have foreseen this possibility and planned accordingly. The GM and his staff assembled a group of position players that do not make enough contact to put the ball in play at a high enough rate. There is not enough balance in the lineup. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole and to succeed the team needs to be better than the sum of the parts.
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Sorry for typo, I’m mobile. First sentence should read :….and a #1 and a #2 starting pitcher.
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Good post Nance. Pretty much says it all…….Luhnow and company are 100% to blame.
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This is all good stuff and it all has merit..but..there is still something very wrong within this organization. It can not be a coincidence that players perform we’ll, come here and forget everything they knew about baseball, leave here and all of a sudden contribute to their new team.
Crane, Luhnow, Hinch, coaches, or all the above?
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It’s not Hinch…this has been going on way before he got here.
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I’m more apt to put it on the GM and the front office, and Jim Crane not wanting to open his wallet. Hinch only manages the team he was provided with. The guys REALLY like Hinch and the feeling is mutual.
My hope is something will click and they will start playing better baseball, before guys like Correa lose the desire and give up.
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I think Hinch has to take some of the blame. Why wasn’t the OF playing ‘no doubles’ defense with Hanigan on 1st and 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th? There are several instances that I just don’t think Hinch knows what he is doing. I watched John Ferrel make so many correct decisions this weekend and Hinch make mistake after mistake. We seem to want to give HInch a pass, but I don’t think he’s a good manager.
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So then Luhnow should deal with that issue, right?
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This shipwreck has been an organizational effort. Every level of the organization has contributed to this year’s debacle of a season.
Is there nobody here that knows how to play this game?
Are there no leaders in this organization? Are there no creative minds? Are there no team players? Are there no coaches with a vision and a plan? Has the GM gone brain dead? Is the owner lame-duck-year-ing with Barack Obama in whatever exotic resort he can find at which to play golf?
How about some self-less leadership from SOMEBODY? How about a PLAN to right this ship, element by element? That means veteran players, coaches, managers, GM and owner. I have never been a Carlos Gomez fan, as you all know, but I give him kudos for stepping up and admitting the blame for the gaffe in the outfield. Admitting failure – and that you have let down your teammates – is a key to getting past it and turning things around. Are you listening, A.J. Hinch? How about you, Dallas Keuchel? How about you, Mr. Strom? And you, Mr. Hudgens? How about you, Mr. Pettis? How about you, Mr. Hillman? How about you, Mr. Luhnow? How about you, Mr. Crane?
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Crane, no explanation needed here.
Luhnow, I thought ” the plan” was to draft the best, teach them well, bring them up, and add good free agents to the mix. Over all it appears they drafted well. After that I think Luhnow dropped the ball.
Hinch, the chemistry between the manager and the team last year was obvious. Its been missing this year from day one. The Astros need a veteran manager with a good record. Hinch gets out managed regularly. One day he may become a good manager but he’s not there yet.
Coaches, they’re all just bad.
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I’m so afraid if things didn’t get turned around soon, good players, managers, or coaches will never consider coming here.
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That may already be the case and the reason we ended up with the likes of Scott Feldman and Doug Fister instead of say, Cole Hamels.
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We are 7.5 games back in the West
TOR is 5.5 back in the East
KC is 5.5 back in the Central
DET is 7.5 back in the Central
NYY is 7.0 back in the East
MIN is 13.0 back in the Central
In the NL Central, where we should play, the Pirates and Cardinals are both 8.0 games back.
Every one of those teams (or their fans at least) expected to be in contention come September. We’re losing for silly reasons. Some of it is on Hinch. Some is on the players. Ultimately, all of it is on Luhnow. However, it wouldn’t shock me to see Correa catch fire, Keuchel put together some 2014-2015 starts, and the bullpen plug the leaks. It really wouldn’t surprise me for the FO to replace the coaching staff and see immediate improvement not because of a new staff, but because you almost have to try to fail in some of the ways we are losing…and we have been in every loss but 3 this season.
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Mostly. I agree with what you’re saying, but, of course, I think you’re dead wrong putting all the blame on Luhnow. He isn’t the owner and, alas, has to defer to him on most financial decisions including free agents and when to start the clock on prospects. No doubt, Luhnow takes some blame, but he’s a long way from taking all the blame.
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You know maybe Uncle Jeff’s plan started out right. We got a ton of decent picks from the draft and trades, we became the best farm system in baseball, we started playing better and winning. Then the curse of winning sooner than he thought and then the curse of thinking, wow I am really a smart dude, lets see if I can make a couple big trades and get those last few pieces were there.
” A man has to know his limitations”, he has failed miserably. He should have stayed the course. Here is what pisses me off , sorry, admit your bone head deals and move on, cut your looses for the benefit of the good guys on this team, the fans, and especially us here ay Chipalatta (-:
Misguided EGO is a killer!
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Well said
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Ty Sandy not quite Obie I OP (-:
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Astros called up Tony Kemp.
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Tony Kemp got on an airplane this morning……..flying to *CHICAGO* !!!!!!
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I’ve talked about Luhnow’s inability to develop young pitchers and the unbelievably poor paths he has laid out for young pitchers. Here are some amazing things about his top young pitchers:
Michael Feliz is in the major leagues and has only 78 innings at AA level and 8 innings at AAA.
Vincent Velasquez is pitching in the major leagues and has only 33 innings at AA and 0 innings in AAA.
LMJ has 35 innings at AA and 5 innings at AAA in a rehab assignment
Chris Devenski has 161 innings of AA pitching and has never pitched in a regular season AAA game. He has that one playoff start for Fresno last year.
My question is why have these pitchers not pitched in higher levels in the minors? The answer is that they have been blocked at the higher levels by other, lesser pitchers. Why is that? Look at who the Astros have had pitching in AAA the last two years blocking the younger pitchers from coming up and where are those pitchers now?
I tell you, the Astros don’t know what to do with their pitching.
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Amen!
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Maybe that’s why DB is now the PC in Arlington. he said enough of this Uncle Jeff crazy crap!
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Probably as close to a damning accurate assessment I’ve read of their philosophy.
I’ll add that this philosophy of pitching up in the zone at the major league level has damned this bullpen to terrible results, notably Giles, who was a downhill hard thrower who kept the ball lower in the zone before arriving to Houston. Did some computer program show them that major league hitters hit .240 up and .250 down so they switched their philosophy, individual pitcher be damned? I don’t know where to find the numbers for it but I am betting pitch trax probably shows Giles at 60%+ for the upper part of the zone. I did see him pitching down in his last outing and had some success, but he needs to find last years pepper of 98 and not this years of 96.
That trade is going to be Luhnow’s waterloo. He has given the Phillies 1 already major league quality starter and a 1-1 that is finally pitching like a 1-1 at AAA for a piddly reliever that isn’t anywhere near as good as advertised. Couple that with the Conger trade, heck any trade he has made at the major league level. I know everyone thinks he is this sabermetric genius, but even sabermetrics suggest these are bad moves.
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I’ve heard Strom preaches pitching up in the zone. It worked well for DK and McHugh last year. Not so much this year. Fister has already given up on that theory maybe Giles will too. It didn’t work for Kazmir here but he’s back to being a 500 pitcher in LA.
We just need to start over from top to bottom.
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Neshek was never, ever up in the zone in St Louis. he gets bombed when that underhand comes up near the eyes now.
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