Astros bullpen: So many choices, but too many choices?

With pitching it is probably better to have more choices than fewer. If that is true then Manager A.J. Hinch and pitching coach Brent Strom are in great shape in regards to the 2017 Houston Astros bullpen.

The bullpen could be a seven man or eight man set-up; seven man will be assumed for this post. In general, the bullpen would consist of a main closer, four or five relievers (including at least one lefty) who share the 6 thru 8 innings and one or two longer relievers who could also be swing men for spot starts. Here is a look at each of these areas.

Closers.

Last season, Ken Giles and Luke Gregerson both saved 15 games for the Astros while Will Harris saved 12 games. It is no doubt that the Astros are hoping that Giles, who they traded for in a 5 for 2 trade a year ago, grabs this role. But there are other options, such as Harris, Gregerson or even Michael Feliz and Chris Devenski. Giles was bad then very good, then not as good last season.

  • Likely Closer. Giles – time to give him the job and step aside
  • Next Men Up. Gregerson and Harris
  • Wild card. Lance McCullers Jr. Hey if the Astros decide he can’t hold up for 200 innings, could he hold up coming out of the bullpen 50 times for the close?

Lefty Specialist(s).

The best reliever against LH batters last season was probably righty Will Harris. Tony Sipp had pitched well for the Astros for a couple seasons, was given a 3 yr/$18 million contract and immediately pitched poorly with a 4.95 ERA and a 1.603 WHIP. Other options are Ashur Tolliver (a 29 year old who has had good success in the minors and a poor 5 game cup of coffee at the majors), Reymin Guduan (a big armed 24 year old with control problems) and Kevin Chapman (who has never stuck in the majors since a good debut in 2013).

  • Likely Lefty. Sipp. The Astros are not going to pay him $6 million to pitch in the minors or $12 million to pitch elsewhere – at least starting the season.
  • Next Men Up. Tolliver or Chapman though both could be released and gone
  • Wild Card. The Astros pick up someone from elsewhere

Sixth thru Eighth Inning.

This is where it will get interesting to a point. There is no doubt that Gregerson and Harris will be here. Now with Pat Neshek gone, and Josh Fields gone and forgotten, there are questions about who else will rotate in and out of these spots. Michael Feliz would seem to be in one spot. Does Devenski move from long relief to a 7th or 8th inning role? Is James Hoyt given another shot after some up and down in his cup of coffee last season? How about Tolliver or David Paulino or Jandel Gustave, who all made their mlb debuts last season?

  • Sure Things. Gregerson, Harris and Feliz
  • Likely Fourth. Hoyt
  • Next Men Up. Gustave, Paulino
  • Wild Card. Devenski

Longer Relievers.

Scott Feldman (4-1 and 2.41 ERA after he was moved to the bullpen), Chris Devenski (3-2 1.61 ERA and 0.83 WHIP out of the ‘pen) and Michael Feliz (8-1 including some critical extra inning games where he shut the door until the Astros scored) were weapons as long relievers last season. Will Devenski be moved to the rotation? Will Feliz move to the late innings? Will Mike Fiers, Brad Peacock or even Charlie Morton end up here?

  • Likely Long Reliever. Not sure how likely, but Devenski for this spot until they move him to the rotation
  • Other Spot. Peacock/Fiers whichever man is still standing or not traded/released
  • Next Men Up. Paulino, Brady Rodgers or Francis Martes
  • Wild Card. Charlie Morton if his curve ball spins him out of the rotation

Where do you think the bullpen is headed and who do you think will be in it?

←
→

106 responses to “Astros bullpen: So many choices, but too many choices?”

  1. This isn’t easy but I’ll give it a shot.
    I think they will go with their long range plan to have Gives as a closer and let Harris and Gregerson set up a lot of games.
    I think Feliz and Sipp are probably locks, but Peacock could steal a job from Feliz, were Peacock to pitch ten perfect innings in the spring with tons of Ks and not have any BBs. In other words, if Peacock could be a pitcher unlike the pitcher he’s always been.
    I agree with you that Hoyt has the inside position on the seventh bullpen spot, especially if he has success retiring LH batters this spring, but Fiers hurts Hoyt’s chances because what are they going to do with Fiers?
    I believe Devenski will end up as the swing man.
    I think Chapman has almost no chance of making the team or staying with the organization.
    I think Fiers is excess if the Astros are truly all in for this year because he will suck out of the bullpen and makes the team as a starter only if someone is hurt. The thought of him making this team and Musgrove being optioned to the minors just blows me away. Fiers not having options and making the amount of money they settled for makes me wonder about the health concerns the team has in it’s rotation.
    The situation with Fiers and Peacock having no options left means that they could end up on this team, while a better pitcher, such as Musgrove, starts off in the minors. That thought alone makes me sick!

    Like

    Reply

    • Yeah, op my thoughts of Fiers being traded are almost a blind hope at this time. He seems to be in the way. I sure do want Musgrove in the rotation.
      You did a good job but it sure feels like our best guesses may not be in alignment with the front office.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. We can hope that all starters pitch into the 7th inning and we only need the better relievers. If Fiers, Chapman, and Peacock both are on the team out of ST, they can’t possibly be all in for 2017.

    Oh and when we get to the last 2 innings, the other team has an all-righty batting order.

    Like

    Reply

    • I’d be shocked if Peacock keeps a job in the organization. He’ll be 28+ with a mediocre minor league career and a 1.426 WHIP in 263 MLB innings. Even if there is feeling of warmth for the guy, that he might finally put it together, there is no room left. We have too much other much younger talent. Correct OP.

      Like

      Reply

    • Good question, Larry!
      I have a list of about 10 more guys that we can add who just don’t figure in here. Guys who deserve a shot somewhere, before they become a minor league fixture (Brignac, Worth) but while retaining some value (Mike Hauschild 565 IP 3.5 ERA – we have a lot of C+ prospects that may stick elsewhere…) When we determine that even their ceiling is lower than our current player’s floor, that’s a good discussion ahead if the Astros ever talk trades again.

      A fansided article appeared yesterday claiming that Devenski and Feliz are suited for relief.
      climbingtalshill.com/2017/01/27/astros-musings-the-importance-of-chris-devenski-and-michael-feliz

      On the Astros relief (Feliz), this appeared May 31
      http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-astros-have-a-new-weapon-and-a-decision/

      The fastball sits 94 and touches 98, and while it’s always the heater that makes itself most visible, it’s Feliz’s slider that’s really stuck out. He says he’s been focused on working on the pitch, pitching coach Brent Strom says the shape and power of the offering make it a completely different pitch than the one he first saw in 2013, and manager A.J. Hinch agrees that it’s a “full grade better” than it was last year. The numbers can’t speak to what it was before, but they can paint a pretty good picture of what it is now.

      Take every pitcher with at least 100 sliders thrown this year, and sort them by swing-and-miss rate. Feliz shows up fourth, right behind Andrew Miller and right ahead of Corey Kluber. Feliz has thrown 102 sliders, gotten 40 swings, and on more than half of those swings, the hitter’s come up empty. Nobody’s gotten a hit off it in more than a month. It’s worth pointing out, too, that on that same slider whiff rate leaderboard where Feliz is fourth, Feliz’s teammates, Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles, are one and two. As far as the slider goes, Feliz shows up to work surrounded by good company.

      Like

      Reply

      • I think it was Brady Rodgers who said that Gregerson helped him learn that slider last spring and it was the pitch that helped him be the PCL Pitcher of the Year. I am really hoping that Gregerson could help more Astros pitchers with that pitch, but especially David Paulino. Gregerson’s slider is almost the equal of Sergio Romo’s and that is saying a lot.

        Like

    • Nobody would make that trade because all three players would have to be put on their roster because they have no options left. There’s no use trading for three players if they are going to end up on waivers soon.

      Like

      Reply

  7. having trouble posting. that took an hour or so to show up. others havent posted at all. tried on my fb login (which i hardly ever use) it said waiting for approval or something like that

    Like

    Reply

    • I’ve been saying it all along: The damage done to the Astros has always been understated. After reading the total package of intrusions, the Astros should get the Cardinals first round pick, #19, AND the fine the Cardinals pay is the amount of the slot money for that pick! That’s right, we get the pick and the Cards pay the slot. It’s the only fair way to pay for the damage done to the Houston Astros organization by the director of scouting of the St. Louis Cardinals.
      The only other fair compensation would be for the Cardinals to repay our total scouting budget for the two years worth of information they stole. We had to pay our scouts and the Cardinals accessed all the info that those two years worth scouting delivered.
      But, to be fair, the Cardinal should pay the Astros the first alternative, and then pay the second amount of money to the other 28 MLB clubs in baseball that the Cardinals had an advantage over in those two years. This way, the Astros would be compensated for their losses and the other clubs would be compensated for having a disadvantage to the Cardinals by not having as much info as St Louis did.

      Like

      Reply

      • In other sports, teams lose their first round draft choice for something as minor as tampering – like saying they’d really like player X on their team outside the free agency window. I’m trying to remember if baseball has anything similar, but to me it seems like STL should at a minimum forfeit their first rounder and pay reparations to Houston. I like Becky’s idea.

        Like

  11. this wasnt a small incident. it was deliberate, planned and timed for maximum information and effect. and was done repeatedly to multiple accounts. to me the penalty needs to be severe to set a precedence for any subsequent violations of this sort. this from what i have read was not an organization planned or sanctioned event, done by an individual for revenge and to make himself appear as if he was at the top of the heap doing his job in baseball. but the team is still where the buck stops and whether they knew or didnt know this was purloined information, they must be held accountable for their employee’s actions. how is this done in such a way that stl is properly punished and the astros get proper recompense? in most of sports that i have seen when a pick is forfeited, it just disappears. in this case i think that stl should forfeit their #1 & #4 picks and the slot money to pay for them to the astros., along with an additonal fine to compensate the league. this is a bit more severe, therefore less likely than op’s plan above, but if ever there was a time to set an example to nip this kinda stuff in the bud it is now.

    Like

    Reply

  12. Wow, this whole story with the Cardinals in the right hands could be the next generation baseball movie. What happens in this new world of electronic baseball when the jealousy and larceny of others intervenes?

    Like

    Reply

  14. The other day – mlbtraderumors was saying the Astros were interested in C Matt Wieters. Does that make any sense? I mean only if Evan Gattis was getting dangled as a trade chip somewhere else – right?

    Like

    Reply

    • Dan, I agree that Wieters does not make any sense for us. Maybe as trade bait but since no clubs has signed him to date, that would not work out either.

      On another note, I went to the WTHB site this morning, for the first time in months, and was shocked by the political statement made by Jayne. I went to be distracted from the immigration stuff and she writes a full article about how the immigration situation shames her and how bummed she is and cannot concentrate on baseball for now. Like most, she has misunderstood the connotation.

      Meanwhile… 19 days until pitchers report!!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I didn’t see that, but it makes some sense as they lost Castro who was considered one of the better defensive catching options in the league. Wieters has lost some luster, but was once expected to be the premiere defensive catcher in baseball. He’s big and a switch hitter. Having McCann and Gattis is a problem, but 32 HR and a .508 SLG make Gattis attractive to someone via trade. Another possibility is trying to use McCann and/or Wieters at 1B and pushing Bregman/Gurriel to the outfield.

      My opinion is the Astros are being mentioned after checking in with no serious interest. It is possible, however, that they have concerns about late game defense at C and/or the ability of any of their 1B options to hit.

      Like

      Reply

    • So that’s 5 picks of the Top 100 this season:
      15
      53
      56
      75
      91

      On the day they announced we have 5 of the Top prospects in the minors already..

      Like

      Reply

  18. Everything has become clear to me. mlb dragged their feet on this decision, because the Cards had a 1st round and 2 compensation picks (#23, 33, 34) in 2016 and by waiting until now they can give us two much later picks. mlb should take away the signing of Dexter Fowler from the Cards and give the Astros that 1st round pick as compensation.
    Oh right – that ain’t happening.

    Like

    Reply

  21. The prosecutor, Chu, said there were $1.7M in damages. If the Astros were awarded much more, it may have been *more unfair to our division than the rest of the league perhaps? The award couldn’t have exceeded the damages much more, but Incan see the timing now helps all parties move forward. Luhnow has already publically commented that info taken is obsolete, and that is the very nature of rankings changing every half season.. I did read a hilarious article yesterday though about replacing computers with human scouts, something almost unheard of these days in the world of blogging😉

    Like

    Reply

  22. This establishes the precedent for punishment for spying among MLB trams. My guess is that this issue will be revisited by the owners or in a future CBA. I think they’ll want harsher punishment agreed on before the next crime is discovered.

    Like

    Reply

  23. My son, Thomas had the best suggestion for punishment – move the Cards to the AL West and move us back to the NL. (Wait a minute we finally have a professional DH).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. Honestly, I am just glad it is over. Now we can move on, and the owners can deal with the fact that spying on other teams – at least by hacking them – will have some harsh consequences. If it happens again, I suspect the penalty will be significantly worse. Unless, of course, it is the Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, or Yankees who get caught.

    Like

    Reply

  25. We get the 56th overall pick. Oh wowie!!! The last time a 56th overall pick made it to the major leagues was in the 2009 draft. Blake Smith, a pitcher in the White Sox organization who threw 4.1 innings in 5 MLB games last year, was the Braves’ pick at that level in that year.

    Hold on though. Back in 2001, JJ Hardy was the 56th overall pick. Others having come from that slot include Scott Linebrink (1997), Jason Bourgeois (2000) and Richie Zisk (1967).

    The 56th and 75th slot in 2017 probably won’t net us anything, but it’s better than nothing.

    Like

    Reply

    • And as for the 75th overall pick, did you know a guy named A.J. Hinch was once the 75th player taken in the draft? Ditto with Yunel Escobar, Wade Davis, Grady Sizemore, and Tino Martinez.

      Like

      Reply

    • I know we’re going for humor and outrage that the Cardinals weren’t hammered more on this, but there will be quality players available at 56 and 75. The question remains whether our FO and the scouting brain trust are are good enough at evaluating/predicting high school and college aged players who will develop. Just having those picks does give us an advantage. Every team has to fill a certain number of MILB slots for their affiliates each summer. As a result, you sometimes see guys taken much higher for signability reasons than their talent would really indicate. We can still play those games AND roll the dice on some live arms or tremendous athletes later in the draft.

      Like

      Reply

      • I agree, Devin. It’s better to have the 56th and 75th picks than not to have them. And while I am by no means convinced that this FO is really very good at picks in that range of the draft [which is a big crap shoot for any FO, to be fair], at least theoretically we could get lucky. And better US have the shot at getting lucky with those picks than the Cardinals having that shot!

        Like

  26. Last year the Astros took Ronnie Dawson with the 61st pick. In 2015 we took Riley Farrell with the 79th pick. In 2014 we took J.D. Davis with the 75th pick. In 2013 we took Kent Emmanuel with the 74th pick. In 2012 we picked Nolan Fontana with the 61st pick.

    The point is, the level of talent our FO has taken has been interesting in some cases, but none have panned out as major leaguers yet. These are all guys with some good tools but also big holes in some portion of their game, that the FO hopes they’ll either grow out of or overcome with seasoning. Your odds are probably just about as good at the roulette wheel.

    Like

    Reply

  27. Statistics was never my strong suit, but the chance of hitting a home run in the draft are better today than yesterday. And they cost nothing. A Mulligan off the first tee helps a lot of golfers. For me, it gives me the general idea of where I will be hitting my second shot all day.

    Like

    Reply

    • My “B Player” is always better, too, Astrocolt45.

      That quick adjusting (don’t-do-what-I-just-did) swing makes me think of the days/months Luhnow felt like the ‘for Giles haul’ was a mistake. And then the night in June I saw Giles enter the 8th inning. The opposition could have had tennis rackets, no more could they have touched him – the slider devastating.

      I thought, “Jeffy, maybe you got us the guy?!”

      And what I realize is, games are dynamic. Ya can’t say this guy is the Closer, that guy is our set up … the Mgr’s main job is like a magician pulling the bunny out of the hat. Just like that, the moment is gone.

      With a close ear to the ground, Hinch will have a bevy to choose of hot hands. It helps knowing you have an Ace in the hole mulligan like Gattis on the bench, or any number of guys Garner was brilliant at standing-by for Astrolaunch!

      T-minus Keuchel’s first bullpen…

      [nobody has written an article about the incredible rise, with very little warning, of the prospects who made an impact last season. Devenski alone basically came out of nowhere! And for nat’l moo’s to keep cowing all offseason about pitching – I can see where that slight will be HUGE fuel to Musgrove, Martes, Feliz and Devo. It won’t surprise me to see a facelift throughout this upcoming season of guys ya never saw coming. Well, the Chipsters see them!]

      Like

      Reply

  28. I still think the Astros should have gotten the Card’s top pitching prospect! LOL!!
    I honestly thought we would have received a lot more from St. Louis for the amount of hacking Correa did. I understand the guy went to prison for this, and he won’t ever be able to have anything to do with MLB…..but (maybe it’s just me)…..I think the Card’s got off pretty easy. I sure hope Martes turns out to be that pitcher Luhnow thinks he’s gonna be, ’cause he was the one guy Luhnow absolutely would not include in any trade or the winter. I’ve never seen the kid…..have any of you guys seen him? I’m half way done with chemo….as soon as Dr. Khouri tells me it’s ok, I’m raising a toast to myself for having to go through the vile stuff again😢😢
    By the way, has anyone seen my girlfriends? Sandy, Diane, Nance….where are you??!!

    Like

    Reply

    • Sandy gave me a like at the top of this post. That was a couple of days ago. I think everyone’s saving their energy for the start of spring training.

      Like

      Reply

    • Hey Becky hang in there – you’ve certainly earned a cold one some where along the line.
      I was wondering the same thing about Sandy, Diane and Nance. These are the baseball blogging dog days and I know the content is not as compelling. Hope everyone comes back strong during ST.

      Like

      Reply

    • I’m here everyday. Waiting patiently for ST and feeling pretty good about this team. I’m glad Luhnow didn’t make a desperate move to get a pitcher. As for St Louis, they got off easy.

      I’m thinking of you Becky, when you raise that toast I’ll be joining you, at least in spirit.

      Moving into our new house in Pearland the 24th. Hopefully things will slow down a bit and I can concentrate on my passion as April draws near.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      • I’m here every day too, just don’t know anything about subjects discussed. And yes, I heard you: “Did she ever?” 🙂

        Like

      • My girls are back!! Time to start getting our gear out ladies, pitchers and catchers report in two weeks! Our weather has been nearly perfect, so I can’t say it’s been a long wither…..but I’m ready to start listening to some baseball games!!! Sandy, my late husband was in the oil and gas community, and when he passed away I vowed I would never move again! Good luck with your move! I’ve missed you girls! 👗👠

        Like

    • We’ll all toast your victory.. Always glad to hear from you and I think I can speak for all in wishing you well and a speedy recovery. Not long for Spring Training now.

      Like

      Reply

      • Becky, you can always hold the fort for the girls! And don’t worry, just because I don’t post doesn’t mean I don’t think about you because I do. Margaritas up for Becky soon!!!!!! lol

        Like

  29. Lol no one asked about me I’m fine TY. I like the others just waiting for ST. I think we have hashed over in detail about everything, in amazing depth I might add. except the color of the locker room this year.

    Becky you are one inspirational , positive, tough soul. Always thinking about you, be well my friend.

    Like

    Reply

  30. This was one example of what the Astros went through just from the CorreaLeaks: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/astros-internal-trade-chatter-leaked-online/
    This same embarrassing stuff was in every major news source in the country.
    Who knows how this leak still affects the Astros in trade talks today.
    Manfred’s penalty is a slap on the risk compared to what I could have gotten from a jury, and I’m not even an attorney.
    How does two obscure daft picks and $2 million compensate an organization from what the Astros lost over the last five years from this humiliation and loss of credibilty, let alone what they lost in useful information?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Not to be argumentative, this stuff isn’t going to matter as much to the new crop. It’s the players job to keep head down and help the team (provide for his family).

      The GM scope while bigger isn’t necessarily in synch with individuals, who understand it’s a business. Meanwhile, the core members like McCullers say they’re happy the FO is spending money to make a run.

      Instead of embarrassment, I agree with the FG comments that it’s of interest to see real-life negotiations, and internal opinions about players (which may/may not corroborate my own).

      Also, I never understand the logic that when someone steals deliberately- why is it on me to prove I didn’t lock it up well enough? I think the best thing to do is be honest with your own players about their name value – how’s that? If dealing three big prospects for Q is all over the news, it’s no secret how the organization really values you – just look at the numbers.

      Like

      Reply

    • This was about a month after that SI article anointed them 2017 WS champs, right? My recollection is that most of us fans had held Luhnow and the FO in very high regard until some of these tidbits were leaked: how much they viewed players as commodities rather than people, the ridiculous trade offers (probably copied them from TCB fiction actually), etc. Personally, for a group that was hailed as so tech savvy and supposedly brought in some of the brightest minds they could find to crunch the numbers…well, let’s just say it was obvious to anyone in the field that Luhnow had been bellowing from behind a curtain. I think the public leaks really hurt their credibility in all arenas far more than the value they received as compensation…but a lot of it is water under the bridge and apples to oranges.

      Having said all that, Chicago tried similar, perhaps not as extreme, offers for players this winter and it worked not once, but twice! Wow.

      Like

      Reply

  32. If you want to know what is happening to the Catcher position in baseball, look to the new MLB Top 100 Prospects. There are two catchers in the entire Top 100 and they are both in the bottom 50 and they are both international free agent signees.
    In contrast, there are six shortstops in the Top 20.
    Think about it. Every MLB team has to have two catchers and at least one in reserve in AAA and, yet, there just aren’t any catchers coming up because nobody is grooming catchers.
    The weirdest thing is that so many catchers become managers.
    The Yankees had a proven catcher in Brian McCann, whom they traded to the Astros, where he will be their main catcher(I presume). Thus, he will be playing two out of every three days and handling the organization’s precious pitching staff most of the time and batting somewhere near the middle of the lineup. For that guy, we gave up two prospect from our lower minor leagues, pitchers to be exact.
    And yet, the CWS expect us to fork over our best pitching prospect, our best outfield prospect and a young major league pitcher with years of control for a #2 starter who will pitch 6-7 innings every fifth game.
    Catchers are extremely rare, but are still worth little in baseball right now. They are definitely not gems.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I was just reading about Carson Kelly myself.. Cardinals too catching prospect.

      Three prospects that would be worth drafting are TCU’s Skoug (best prospect) and MJ Melendez (committed to playing for his dad at Fla Int’l). There’s questions whether JJ Schwartz will stay healthy for backstop.

      This draft isn’t top heavy, but has a lot of depth.

      I would love to get my hands on Hans Crouse (power arm), Nick Pratto (1B, a storied gamer), Shane Baz (two-way player). Wonder if we’d start thinking of trading up, or trading picks in a bigger deal to secure a TOR?

      Like

      Reply

    • This is so sad to me. I figure a good catcher is worth his weight in gold gloves. A catcher is the hardest-working player out there, and generally the least egotistical and most supportive of others. If I owned a team, catcher would be my highest-paid position.

      Like

      Reply

  33. Speaking of catchers. We will soon see the following donning gear:
    Brian McCann
    Evan Gattis
    Max Stassi
    Tyler Heineman
    Garrett Stubbs
    Juan Centeno

    Does anyone think any of the bottom four has a chance to break camp with the big club? If so, who, and why?

    Like

    Reply

    • Yes, if one of McCann or Gattis has to open the season on the DL. I’d guess it would be Stassi, since he is out of options. But they might try to move him for the same reason.

      Like

      Reply

    • Let’s see, I wonder if there might be grounds for impeachment of Chris Correa. Oh yeah, there was that time that Mr. Correa pleaded guilty to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer, admitted to using the accounts of three Astros employees to view scouting reports, amateur player evaluations, notes on trade discussions and proposed bonuses for draft picks, and also admitted taking measures to conceal his identity.

      And the sentence he received for this admitted crime included a restitution payment of $279,038.65. I wonder if that court-ordered restitution has been paid?

      Like

      Reply

  35. Arbitration hearings for McHugh and MarGo will take place before pitchers/catchers report. Will Harris’ will not take place til Feb. 17 [the day position players are supposed to report]. Let’s settle these, guys!

    Like

    Reply

      • We should not be surprised at this. We’ve known for years here that Luhnow was going to build a team for contact. Singleton, Santana, and Springer were not his draft choices, but were from the previous GM. I said years ago those three would never be together in the Astros lineup because all the analytics were OBP driven.
        Luhnow used SLG to struggle through the rebuild but last season sealed the OBP deal for him, Every high strikeout guy is now either gone or will be back in the minors. The exception is Springer, but his strikeouts are completely obliterated by everything else he produces.
        And it’s one of the reasons that guys like Fisher, Davis and Reed are going to have to make some swing changes, because the era of the 25-30% strikeout guys in Astros uniforms is ending. Moran had better take a look at himself, too because the Laureanos and the Kyle Tuckers and the Garrett Stubbs down in the minors may not bomb the ball, but they are going to hit, walk, steal bases, play defense and not strike out, and that is what the Astros will be looking for from here on out, because they have Correa, Altuve, Springer, Reddick, Gurriel and Reddick for at least four more years and they will want three more guys who can hit and get on base to go with them.

        Like

    • You can bet that whoever forces their way onto the team will be hitting better than projected from last season (White, Reed), or will bring some dynamic defense along (JFSF, Teoscar, Laureano), while these FG/Steamer numbers only reflect a starting 8. My point is, when the bar is set higher, good chance the play will rise.

      I still think we have another 3-5 position prospects who will see action this season, and if they make the team, who knows what next?

      Like

      Reply

      • Reed looks like he’s dropped about 15lbs. He’s just a big guy, but unless he gets it in gear fast, he’s going to be eating someone else’s dust. Like I said last year, one of these guy are going to have to stand on that 1st base bag, write his name on it and call it HIS, just like Bagwell, and Berkman did. PERIOD.

        Like

  40. We just found out my oldest son made his high school baseball team. I’m just so proud and happy for him as he set this as one of his goals at the start of the school year.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  41. To my dear friends and family in Houston. Please be careful this weekend – and make sure you know where your children are. Hopefully hosting the Super Bowl will be a boon to local merchants, but it is a nightmare in every other way. Perfect opportunity for terrorism. Perfect incentive human trafficking. Perfect opportunity for the people with political and ideological agendas to try to co-opt the media – and/or shut-down traffic – to express their bullet points of whatever political/ideological hate movement they belong to. Perfect opportunity for kidnappers, pickpockets, burglars, robbers, rapists, scam-artists, and road-ragers to do what they do. Be careful indeed!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  43. I was looking at the article in MLBTR about the Rangers supposed chasing of Jose Quintana. In this article they mentioned the Rangers #2 prospect, Andy Ibanez as being one of their top trade pieces. I looked up this guy in their Rangers Pipeline and
    I just stared at all of his resume’ absorbing everything on his page. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks!
    Compare everything about this guy to the Astros #30 Prospect, Ramon Laureano.
    Size, grades, ages, leagues they played in, and then look at their stats for 2016.
    How does the Rangers guy rate so high in the Rangers’ system and the Astros guy rates so low in the Astros system when they are virtually the same player?
    One plays CF and one plays 2B, both premium positions.. They have almost the same grades but the older one is graded 50 and the other is graded a 45. And Laureano’s BA and OBP were 60 points higher at the same levels and they were equal in HRs. Laureano strikes out more but also steals almost twice as many bases, and walked more.
    They are so alike and yet one is ranked #2 and the other is ranked #30 in their respective organizations.
    Crazy

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment