Future Astros part 1: Three-year look ahead at 2019

Our friend of the blog, Zanuda, suggested we take a look ahead at our Astros roster, and with the idea of milking this for all it is worth, this will the first of a three-part series looking at the Astros’ roster morphing through 2019, 2020 and 2021. Today we will look at what will and what may happen between now and the start of the 2019 season.

Free Agents

The following players could become free agents after this season:

Options

  • The team has a $15 million option for 2019 on McCann that would have become his option if he had met certain performance requirements, which he will not meet.
  • The team has a $5.5 million option that could increase by $1 million each if he reaches 15, 25 or 35 games finished in 2018. Since he only has 4 games finished to date – $5.5 million is the likely number.

Arbitration

The following players will face arbitration if they cannot come to some other agreement with the team:

Here is a shot at how the roster might look in 2019 and then a discussion…..

POSITION 2018 2018 Salary 2019 2019 Salary
1B YULI GURRIEL $12.4 MM YULI GURRIEL
 $10.4 MM
2B JOSE ALTUVE $9 MM ALTUVE $9.5 MM
SS CARLOS CORREA $1 MM CORREA (ARB) $8 MM
3B ALEX BREGMAN $600K BREGMAN $1 MM
C BRIAN MCCANN $11.5 MM* MAX STASSI $800 K
DH EVAN GATTIS $6.7 MM EVAN GATTIS
 $9 MM
OF JAKE MARISNICK $1.9 MM KYLE TUCKER $560 K
OF GEORGE SPRINGER $12 MM GEORGE SPRINGER $12 MM
OF JOSH REDDICK $13 MM REDDICK $13 MM
SWISS ARMY KNIFE MARWIN GONZALEZ $5.1 MM MARWIN GONZALEZ $8 MM
BENCH TONY KEMP ~$400 K TONY KEMP $560 K
BACKUP CATCHER MAX STASSI $560 K GARRETT STUBBS $560 K
SP JUSTIN VERLANDER $20 MM** VERLANDER $20 MM**
SP GERRIT COLE $6.8 MM GERRIT COLE (ARB) $12 MM
SP LANCE MCCULLERS $2.5 MM LANCE MCCULLERS (ARB) $6 MM
SP CHARLIE MORTON $7 MM CHARLIE MORTON (FA) $16 MM
SP DALLAS KEUCHEL $13.2 MM COLLIN MCHUGH (ARB) $8 MM
RP HECTOR RONDON $4 MM HECTOR RONDON $4.5 MM
RP CHRIS DEVENSKI $600 K CHRIS DEVENSKI (ARB)  

$3.5 MM
RP KEN GILES $4.6 MM KEN GILES (ARB) $6.5 MM
RP JOE SMITH $7 MM JOE SMITH $8 MM
RP WILL HARRIS $2.8 MM WILL HARRIS $5.5 MM
RP BRAD PEACOCK  

$2.5 MM

 BRAD PEACOCK (ARB)  

$4 MM
RP COLLIN MCHUGH  

$5 MM

 CIONEL PEREZ or other minor leaguer
  

$560 K
RP  

TONY SIPP

  

$6 MM

 2018 TRADE DEADLINE PICKUP  

$6 MM
MISC. JON SINGLETON, DEREK FISHER, TYLER WHITE, ETC  

$3 MM

 ???  

$2 MM
TOTAL  

2018 Total

 $159.2 MM 2019 Total $176 MM

*Astros are paying McCann $11.5 MM for 2018 / Yanks are paying him for $5.5 MM for 2018 – There is a team option for 2019 at $15 MM that would have vested as a player option if he met requirements he can no longer reach.

** Astros are paying Verlander $20 MM for 2018 and 2019 / Tigers are paying him $8 MM for each year

Discussion

There are so many dominoes here it can be laughable to do this exercise. What if Morton decides he really does want to retire? What if Gattis starts hitting a lot more like April and a lot less like May and June? What if they trade for more multiple years controlled relievers or a catcher between now and the start of 2019? What if someone they bring up from the minors does not look like a deer in the headlights and sticks? The items shown in dark italics are speculation or guesstimation – but highlight the spots where decisions have to be made and money applied or withheld.

Gone

  • McCann. hard to picture any scenario other than McCann taking a deep pay cut that will bring him back. Love the guy, but a catcher who will be 35 and has been battling knee problems? It is probably time.
  • Keuchel. If you had to throw money at a pitcher in his 30’s who has been losing velocity and struggling with his control or an older version (Morton) who has had a Renaissance in velocity and success, who would you try to keep? Uh-huh.
  • Sipp. Tony is a likely trade deadline trade piece. By then he will only be owed $2 million more on the year and if he is still pitching top notch could be an attractive lefty rental for another team.
  • Marisnick. I know they love the guy, but are they going to love him after he gets $3 million in arbitration?

Looking to Keep

  • Morton. If they could convince Morton to come back for a couple years (based on him maybe thinking of retiring) they would love to get him for 2  years / $32 million. This would mean he could help with getting past Keuchel leaving before the 2019 season and Cole and Verlander likely leaving before the 2020 season.
  • Gonzalez. Marwin’s down 2018 may help in keeping his price down and bringing him back. How about 3 years and $24 million? He may never have another season like 2017, but there are just no players as flexible as he is as a switch hitter and the ability to play all infield spots and most of the outfield well.
  • Gattis. Evan has 56 RBIs in 76 games, which is the equivalent of 119 RBIs over a whole season. Unless he falls off a cliff, they are going to want to keep the best DH they have ever had. He does give them an emergency catcher, but in general his lack of flexibility in the field should keep his price down – how about 3 years / $27 million?

On the Cusp

  • This version shows the Astros picking up the $5.5 million option on Will Harris for 2019. Based on what he has done the first half of 2018, that might be a stretch, but this decision may well be made based on his whole piece of work with the Astros, his performance in the second half of 2018 and who if anyone the Astros can pick up to fill in the bullpen at the trade deadline or in the off-season.
  • It is hard to see the Astros sticking with Ken Giles through arbitration, which could end up as a $6.5 million or more salary in 2019, if he cannot return to a late and close role, whether it is closer or set-up. But they may think he just needs to be tweaked to return to the guy who saved 34 of 38 in 2017.

Assumptions

  • The Astros will go with Stassi as the starting catcher and use Garrett Stubbs as his back-up. If Stubbs is not ready they may go with a Tim Federowicz or similar career back-up until he is.
  • The Astros for 2019 will need to fill in behind Keuchel. This could be either McHugh or Peacock. McHugh has more starting experience, so that is why he is given the nod here. However, if they don’t want to have to replace McHugh after 2019 (along with possibly Verlander and Cole), they might keep him in the ‘pen and promote Peacock. If Morton leaves, both may jump into the rotation, but don’t be surprised to see one jump and one young buck fill the other starting spot.
  • They will need to give some young pitchers (relievers and starters) real major league experience between September 2018 and the end of 2019 to prepare for a possible exodus heading into 2020. Youngsters like Cionel Perez, Forrest Whitley, Cy Sneed, Trent Thornton, Rogelio Armenteros, Josh James and the Monty Python character Brock Dykxhoorn may all be auditioning for the big club over the next year and a half.

Folks, what do you think this team will look like heading into 2019?

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124 responses to “Future Astros part 1: Three-year look ahead at 2019”

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  2. Thanks Dan for the information. You’ve put a lot of work and insight into this. Now I have to take a look see and think about all of this and hopefully make some informed analysis’. Look forward to what our panel of experts think.

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  4. Thoughts
    – Baseball is so weird. Josh Reddick goes the whole of June with 0 HR and 3 RBIs. First 3 games of July … 2 HRs and 4 RBIs.
    – Regression – there is no way the starting staff could keep up their early run of insanely good pitching. They are still a very good staff, but there is lately a regression to the norm that had to be expected.
    – McHugh with a well deserved win after 3 innings of 1 hit – no walk ball
    – Too many HBP of our guys when we play the Rangers. Stassi (who was taken out of the game) and Springer on Tuesday and Gurriel on Wednesday which I hope does not turn into anything over night. Cole did hit Profar on Wednesday.
    – Is Bibens-Dirkx a distant relative of Brock Dikxhoorn?
    – The Astros were 4-4 to start the year against the Rangers – but have now won 8 in a row
    – The Astros have only 3 more games against the Rangers, 10 against the A’s and 13 against the M’s and Angels

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  5. Who knows what madness lurks in the mind of Jeff Luhnow? It’s always tough to predict these things because we don’t know what colors are next to each guys’ name on the old spreadsheet. I have the following thoughts though:
    – Keuchel is probably not going to get a huge contract this offseason. Look at what happened with guys like Arrieta. Would Luhnow prefer to see him leave or be happy to sign him at something similar in the $13-15M range?
    – McHugh has been fantastic. Luhnow probably trades him this month. I do wonder how a return to the rotation would be next season.
    – Even if Morton were to fall off precipitously I wouldn’t be upset with a contract in that dollar range you suggest due to what he’s given the team last year and this.
    – Our bullpen of the future scares me.

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    • At this point Colin is a much better pitcher than DK although his last outings have been better. Maybe he is re-inventing himself.
      As for Marvin and Gattis it’s kind of a crap shoot. I’d look more towards two years with and option/buyout. Somewhere in the vicinity of 16-17MM. I’d try to get Morton for the same period and I’m OK with the 32MM for two unless we go lower with incentives. Keuchel is just an unknown quantity for the future. Maybe if he wants to give us a discount but I doubt it. Otherwise a trade or maybe a QO is in order. I’d like to keep Sipp but it also has to be at a discount considering he didn’t pitch well in his 1st 2 years of the new contract. Is Giles worth 6.5 MM or is he potential trade bait. We might be able to pick up a potential closer from somebody else for a lot less.

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  9. Great thoughts Dan.
    Keuchel can’t go anywhere but down. I would trade him soon while his last good outing is fresh in baseball’s mind.
    Same with a Sipp and Giles.

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  10. This is complex:
    The Astros payroll right now projects to $162 million for 2018 unless the Astros add at the deadline.
    There is no way the Astros can afford to give all those guys raises next year. The Astros Do Not want to start 2019 with a $180 million payroll.
    So, they don’t want to pay Evan $8 million to be their DH.
    They don’t want to pay a downside utility player huge money for three years.
    Do they think a 36 year old Morton is going to be worth a ton more money than he is now at age 35? No
    Are they going to compete with all the big money teams for an over 30 Keuchel who tops out at 88mph now? No.
    Are they going to pay $15 million to a 35 year old catcher who is hitting .206 and coming off knee surgery? No.
    If Will Harris is worth $2.8 million this year at age 34, is he going to be worth $5.5 million next year at age 35? No.
    How is Jake going to be worth more money next year when he is a disaster this year?
    The Astros did not build this incredible farm system to let it die in obscurity while they overpay guys who aren’t earning their pay currently. They have to let older guys walk and give younger better players their chance.
    That is their 2019 situation. I will give my ideas on 2019 after I think about it a little more.

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    • Well put 1OP. Especially the part about giving some guys on the farm a shot. We have a lot of 4A guys so maybe some one will take some as part of an enhancement of the big club or some prospects. I’m sure the Luhnow brain trust already has a number for next years salaries and who will be here. Just be interesting which of us gets the most right answers and/or suprises.

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  11. My gut tells me Jake is still around next year.
    Marwin will be back only if he does not get what he wants on the open market, which is a real possibility.
    Same might go for Keuchel. With him, his future rests with what kind of second half he has. Today, he looks replaceable though. And we’ve got options.
    I keep thinking Giles will be gone within a few weeks as part of a deal that will change the pen significantly.
    Gattis seems to have figured out the mentality of being a DH. And I think he likes it here.
    If Morton is healthy at the end of the year, I think he comes back for one year at a time. He got remade in Houston. I don’t see him leaving for the highest price offered.
    If McCann wants to play next year, maybe Atlanta will let him finish up back home.
    I want Cole to go into the off season thinking there is no place he’d rather be.

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    • Dave, I think most MLBers have a HUGE amount of pride. (Insert Jose Bautista, and about 25 others from last year). They do not understand that at some point, they have priced themselves out of the current market. I think that is where Marwin and DK fall and probably Gattis. McCann was over the hill (and a great guy) in NY. So, I don’t expect any of them back. Any will be a surprise.

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      • 45, if Gattis continues with his present production, he’ll be a valuable DH for someone next year, and his hole card is the ability to be an emergency catcher, even if he’s bad at it. The other three guys, I pretty much agree with you. Marwin though, will always have a certain amount of value in that he can technically play 7 positions and hit from either side of the plate and only take up one roster spot. But I’m sure Luhnow will figure something else out if he goes. And he’ll probably figure something out that will only cost a couple of million, a Tony Kemp and a utility infielder with speed.

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    • Yeah, I start thinking about what the lineup might look like next year and it could well be our best one yet. Tucker will be the big lefty threat we’ve wanted for awhile now. Does Bregman become the lead off guy? So many quality bats, assuming George comes out of his slump by then. Really, only the catcher might not hit. And with a Stassi/Stubbs combo, we’ll probably see better production there than most clubs. Gattis and Reddick could be part of the 7,8 and 9 group.

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  14. So, the DSL Astros won for the 11th time today and are now 11-18. But they have a pitcher who is 4-0 and his name is Ernesto Jaquez.
    Jaquez was a 2017 free agent signee from the Dominican who did not get any hoopla on signing day. He has pitched 6 times this season and has thrown 24 innings allowing 6 hits and 1 run. Two of his appearances have been starts.
    I don’t have a clue what he throws, but apparently not many players in the DSL can touch it. He just turned 19 and his ERA is 0.38.

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  15. In the years ’24 and ’25 . . . if Luhnow is still alive;
    If ‘Tuve’s still got drive, we may find:

    In the spring of ’24 or ’25, ain’t gonna worry ’bout BAs or RBIs;
    every swing a hitter lets fly; will be controlled by a drone in the sky.

    By opening day of ’24/’25, we’re gonna have expansion teams, that’s no lie!
    They’ll give San Antone and Vegas a try. And maybe Portland if it can just stay dry!

    Then in May of ’24 or ’25, Manfred’s gonna make the game fly right by;
    no starin’ in to get the catcher’s sign; a pitch-choice algorithm’s going to decide!

    And come June of ’24 or ’25, Siri will announce all games, don’t ask why!
    She’ll broadcast color from behind the batter’s eye; and get her cyber-stats straight from Luhnow’s hard-drive!

    By ASB of ’24 or ’25,
    ain’t gonna need to brush ’em back with cheese on high;
    anyone who crowds the plate will just die;
    as 10,000 volts from the kiss cam will fly . . . whoa! whoa! whoa!.

    Late in the year ’24 or ’25; the Rangers will still be deep in a slide;
    Angels will be still be paying Trout, oh how they’ll cry!

    – Though now it’s been 6 0r 7 years; Altuve still deserves big cheers.
    There’s no more Keichel or McHugh,
    but watch what Whitley and Perez can do!
    And Tucker, Beer, and Alvarez – they always do what A.J. says!
    And the last thing should come as no surprise –
    the Rangers still balk and drop pop-flies!

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  16. Let’s start with the easy part:
    Our infield will still be Gurriel, Altuve, Correa and Bregman. Please name a better one in baseball.
    Our outfield will still have Reddick and Springer and we will add Kyle Tucker to that to have an outfield as athletic as any out there. They can run, they can catch, they can all throw, hit and hit with power. So who are our outffielders #4 and #5. I nominate lefty-hitting Kemp and righty-hitting Straw. They can run catch and hit and walk. They can steal and they can bunt. But, most importantly, they help pay for the raises we have to give others. Like a utility infielder that we will have to find and pay him a few million.
    That brings me to the DH. Gattis is the one guy I would try to bring back on a one or two year deal to be the power-type dh who has proven he can do the job. He’s not fast, but he’s not the slowest either. He doesn’t K like he used to and he will draw a walk. He would still serve as a third catcher without taking up a roster spot as a third catcher.
    The position player dilemma is the infield utility guy and there will be some available that you won’t have to pay a big salary to. That’s Luhnow’s job and he can handle that. Whoever signs Machado is going to dump a SS, but with Bregman’s ability at SS that leaves us needing a guy to sub at 2B, 3B and 1B at least, but a guy who could play SS would be a bonus. I would really like a guy who could run to fill that slot, because the Astros could possibly be the team with the most speed of any team in baseball next year with the club I have put together along with our new catching combo of Stassi/ Stubbs. They would both be starting catchers. I don’t see either one being a backup.
    Did anybody notice that Stubbs has 33 career stolen bases and has only been thrown out 3 times?
    That is my 13 position players. If we only carry 12, then it is a choice between Straw and Kemp and my preference is Straw.
    Pitching is tougher. We have a little time to think. Let’s go beat the ChiSox!

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    • OP, absolutely no argument from me on that take. I’ve thought about Straw. Heck, starting tomorrow, he’d probably produce more offensively than Jake, and he’s already a quality outfielder with a good arm and is as fast as anyone. Wonder if Reddick could play some first in a pinch?

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      • Just looked up Reddick. He actually played an inning at first for the Astros last year, his only appearance there in his ML career. Anyone recollect the circumstances?

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  17. One thing that would help would be to hire Matt Galante II and Matt Galante III. Have one hit a couple thousand ground balls to Kemp and the other hit a couple thousand to Tyler White. If either can hit, then you can move Gurriel and other infielders around. But what I have seen of White, he is at least 2 notches below being ready to play in the infield. Have not seen enough of Kemp but he has too weak of an arm to play much outfield.

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  18. JB Bukauskas started for Tri City last night and pitched two innings. No runs, no hits, one walk and 1 K. Very encouraging.

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  19. Oh boy! Forrest Whitley faced three batters tonight for CC and was taken out of the game. If anyone hears anything, please let us know about it.

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  22. I know we have some guys who can rake down on the farm, and some of these here rake so well down there but when they come here they disappear, why is that?

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  25. They blew chance after chance and then our dear Astros won another walk off. Huge at batsd especially Springer and Gurriel!

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  26. Tony Kemp had a terrific at bat working a walk out of a 1-2 count. Then Marwin hit a two strike flare to right and Kemp never hesitated rolling from first to third. Springer then got a blooper to fall to tie it up. Bregman worked the heck out of his at bat for a walk. Altuve had a frustrating strike out swinging at two balls way out of the zone. Then Gurriel inside outed a game winner over the second baseman to win it.

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  27. Tony Kemp starting it again. And to think all that time we had to suffer watching Fisher flounder. Yuli really was an astute pick up by Luhnow. He’s so often involved when it counts and finally fixed our black hole at first base after so many years. He’s gotten pretty slick over there too. He’s also one of the smartest baseball players on the field. I keep saying this, but I really think our club is going to have an excellent second half.

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    • In my younger days I used to go under the high bridge in Surfside and become a flounder fisher in the Intercoastal Waterway. I used to have so much fun at Surfside. Good times.

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      • I spent some time down there too. We did a bit of all night surf casting for Redfish, but were more successful at emptying Budweiser cans. Didn’t that drive take us through Alvin?

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      • Ahh…Alvin. Lived there for five years. When I was working at the EZ Pawn there we used to have Klansmen come in there. Very uncomfortable. Moving away was a good decision.

        On a different note Nolan Ryan is not to popular amongst many of the locals there which surprised me

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      • Alvin brings back memories of my first job in the construction business as I worked on a plant down at Chocolate Bayou. Had to drive through/around Alvin everyday to get to work. On Tuesday nights our office manager would sometimes get us bar-b-que sandwiches from some place in Alvin. I remember they were pretty tasty. Let’s go get ’em again tonight team.

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      • It certainly was not thought out. Fisher did flounder. So how come the locals are not impressed with Nolan? I’m guessing he quit coming back at some point.

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  28. I was not aware of the fact that the Texas Rangers had won their last five series before the Astros came to their town. The AL West is tough.

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  29. If I’m not mis-remembering before last homestand the Astros only had one walkoff – Bregman’s goofy infield dropped pop up.
    Since last homestand they’ve had 4 walkoffs against 4 different opponents

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  31. *The Astros did what they do on Thursday. Rodon had to throw 109 pitches to get through 6 innings. Minaya had to throw 28 to go 1.1 inning and Soria had to throw 27 pitches to go one third of an inning and take the loss.
    * Chicago’s catcher, Narvaez, gave Verlander more than he could handle at the plate. Not too many batters can say that.
    * Max Stassi is very quietly rewarding the Astros patience with him. Many times I wondered if he was ever going to make it and now he is handling a rotation of Verlander, Cole, Morton, LMJ and Keuchel.
    * I have never seen a swing like Yuli Gurriel’s. It is amazing how he reacts to different locations and speeds. And the most surprising thing about him is his base running when he is healthy. The guy can run.
    * I’m pretty sure Realmuto is the real deal and that somebody is going to get a terrific catcher. I just think he is going to require more than the Astros want to pay. The Marlins want somebody’s farm system for him.
    * Daniel Murphy is making far more money this year than ever before, $17.5 million. He has played in 20 games and is hitting .191. I hope he can recover from a really tough knee injury and have a good end to his career.

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    • Funny about Yuli and his unorthodox batting style. Good thing for him he spent those years in Cuba. Had he done the minors in the States, the coaches would have made him change.

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  32. I’m perfectly comfortable with a Stassi/Stubbs duo next year. With the roster we’ll have in 2019, Realmuto is not an essential piece for us. We can better use our resources in other areas. If I get a rainy day this weekend, I’m going to check out some utility infielder options. Looks like our first hurricane of the season will pass well south of us early Monday. We could use some rain.

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  33. Daveb –
    Don’t say this blog does not read and respond to questions…..
    You had asked does anyone know the circumstances of the one inning Josh Reddick played at first base in 2017 and after some investigation – this is a very interesting story.

    – I checked my favorite source baseball-reference and for Josh Reddick pulled up his Fielding game log. It showed he played 1B during a April 15th game against the A’s.
    – Looking at the play by play for this game – it was a wild and wooly affair. Lance McCullers was pitching against Sean Manaea and Lance slowly dug the Astros a 5-0 hole after 5 innings.
    – During a 2 run 6th inning rally, the Astros burned two pinch hitters with McCann hitting for Gattis (and taking his place as catcher) and Marwin hitting for Gurriel (and taking his place as 1B).
    – Heading into the 8th inning the Astros are only 1 run behind 5-4. Carlos Beltran walks leading off and Josh Reddick pinch runs for him (and takes his place as DH). Reddick steals second and scores the tying run in a rally that puts the Astros up 8-5.
    – The Astros head into the top of the 9th with an 8-6 lead. Carlos Correa is hit by a pitch and has to come out of the game and he is replaced by pinch runner MIKE FIERS!! Why? Well if you have been paying attention – A.J. Hinch has an empty bench of everyday players after the 3 subs he has done and the only “extra” player is Reddick – the DH.
    – So heading into the bottom of the 9th the Astros are now up 10-6 – Hinch has to play 52 pickup and moves Marwin from 1B to 3B, Bregman from 3B to SS and Reddick from DH to 1B as the Astros forfeit their DH. Gregerson gets them out in the bottom of the 9th with Reddick making 2 put-outs at first for the final two outs of the game.
    Ta-da

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    • Dan, that’s a great read. First thought is that Marein does not PH for Yuli under any circumstances these days! But I do remember Fiers pinch running at some point last year. Thanks for the full recap of events. I’ve got a call into New York, Joe Sclafani’s home town. We’ll start him out in a late summer slow pitch league and see what kind of shape he’s in.

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      • On April 15th – Gurriel had a poor .229 BA and a putrid .486 OPS with 0 HRs and 1 RBIs. Marwin had a poor .214 BA, but a good .869 OPS with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs. So I could see it then – but never now…

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  34. The Astros traded Jon Kemmer to the Twins for cash considerations, and then promoted Yordan Alvarez to Fresno to play outfield.

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    • Well, I liked Kemmer, but he was never going to get a chance with this club’s ridiculous level of outfield talent. Good bye, Stranger!

      Alvarez, on the other hand, has a real shot.

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    • That’s good. Kemmer’s best shot is probably as a DH. I think he played some first at CC, but is also a well clogged position in our organization, especially if Yuli keeps playing like he’s 30.

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    • Well the way the play by play reads – Fiers goes from 1st to 2nd on a deep fly ball single to right by McCann. Then Fiers scores on a single by Aoki where the equally speedy McCann is gunned down trying to go to 3rd from 1st. So Fiers is faster than McCann (as we all are) or his run would not have counted as McCann made the 3rd out of the inning at 3rd.

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  36. OK, here goes nothing.
    2018 rotation
    Verlander
    Cole
    Corbin or Morton
    LMJ
    Martes
    2018 bullpen:
    Giles
    Rondon
    Smith
    Devenski
    Peacock
    Cionel Perez
    Dean Deetz
    Josh James.
    My explanation for this craziness is that I believe the Astros would rather sign a free agent starter for the future and lose a second or third round pick in the draft next year because they will come out of the penalty phase of next year’s international free agency signing period and can go after premium players again. I don’t think the Astros want to trade any of their top prospects right now, so I think they could go after a rental reliever to help them in the 2018 push.
    Why not Martes? He obviously has a future somewhere, unless he has a terrible injury. He definitely has a good past.
    I still see Devenski as a guy with a cloudy future.

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    • Wow, a mistake in the first sentence. That should be 2019 rotation, thereby complying with the suggested format.

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    • OP, where did you send Collin McHugh and what did you get for him? I agree on Devenski. He causes discomfort at times. Is James our fireballing closer?

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      • Well, I traded McHugh to a NL team that is coming out of a rebuild and looking for an experienced #4 or #5 starter until their next prospective arm is ready for 2020. I got a mid-tier prospect and a lower pitching prospect I picked out of their rookie leagues.
        James is not the closer. I (AJ Hinch) don’t believe in that. I believe in individual matchup determined by who is rested and where in the lineup the save is required.
        James is not in the mix for that as he is still working on his command. Peacock, Rondon, Perez, Deetz and Giles are in that late inning scenario.

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      • I was thinking you were going to get that excellent utility infielder, preferably a switch hitter who can run, for Collin..

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      • Dave, that would be great, but do you know how hard it is to find a team that needs the one player you have and has the one player you need. It almost always ends up needing to be two different moves. But, I do trust in Luhnow.
        The guy I have in mind to be that utility guy is the guy who is going to be a free agent and is currently the SS for the Royals. He was the 2015 ALCS MVP.

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      • Following what you were saying, I could not get a good match for what we could trade and what we could get on teams that PROBABLY would deal. So I then started looking at 3 team trades. By the time I got complete with team 3, I forgot who was team 1 and 2. So I decided to let Luhnow do his job.

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  37. They are reporting that Whitley has oblique “discomfort”. One thing at my age is that if I stopped doing things when I had discomfort I would get out of bed in the morning – take a quick inventory of discomforts and lie down again.

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    • That could set back Whitley to where he starts 2019 in AA and then hopefully jumps to AAA in a month or two. Also, hopefully, AAA is in Round Rock, Texas. Last year was a good year for him. 2018 has sucked for him.

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    • We got a kid that is pitching well at A ball – Tommy DeJuneas – 12 K / 9 IP and 2.5 BB / 9 IP – being used as a reliever – 26th round pick last season out of UNC.

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      • It would seem that the primary reason for this trade, with a club we expect to see in the playoffs, is probably not about picking up a good 26th round draft pick who pitches relief in A ball. It seems more likely that like this is about making immediate room on the 40 man roster for someone [actually, a couple of someones, since the 40-man is now at 38] to join our playoff march in the very near future.

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      • DeJuneas has pitched 29 innings this year in 20 appearances, which is 20 appearances more than Cleveland’s #30 prospect, Brady Aiken, has pitched.

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  39. Both the guys who were traded today really had no place on our big club.
    I’m happy Hoyt will go to a team where he is needed, and Jon Kemmer was probably never going to come up with the Astros, so he goes where he is needed and wanted! I’m glad for both of them! Becky ⚾

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  41. David Paulino made a rehab start for the GCL Astros today and gave up 3 hits, 1 ER, no walks and 5 strikeouts.

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  42. What kind of crap is this! Seth Beer has played 19 professional games so far and has been hit by pitches 6 times! The guy has 13 K’s, 10 walks and 6 HBP!
    I wonder if the other teams are getting paid back accordingly.

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  43. Dan, I see that Fiers only scored one run in 2017. So that had to be the play, but I could not remember the details. He was in the dugout when they used up all the bench players. (Now this is from memory). He was in sock feet because he was just watching the game. AJ told him to pinch run. His shoes were in the locker room. So he borrowed a pair from someone. And I guess he scored from 2nd just before McCann was out at third. Anyway, in the replay, Fiers looked like he was running in clown shoes that were 2 sizes too big. Astros won, so it was not a big deal that he was not ready to play, while sitting on the bench.

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  44. I wasn’t aware Abraham Toro had been promoted, but he has a 3-run HR for Corpus Christi tonight. His power helps make up for the loss of Alvarez to Fresno.

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  45. Man oh man – Altuve makes a great catch going out on a looper to center and then Jake makes a better one flying into left center. Astros 4-1 in the 8th.

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  47. Houston beat Chicago, 11-4.
    Fresno beat Las Vegas, 8-1
    Corpus Christi beat Arkansas, 9-4.
    Buies Creek beat Myrtle Beach, 11-0.
    Quad Cities beat Burlington, 2-1.
    Tri-City beat Vermont, 6-1.
    DSL Astros beat DSL Royals, 6-0.
    GCL Astros beat GCL Marlins, 11-3.

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  48. The Mariners lost.
    The Athletics lost.
    The Rangers lost.
    The Yankees lost and
    Kenley Janssen blew a save and the Dodgers lost on a two out rally in the ninth, when Shohei Ohtani started it off with an innocent looking walk.
    How much better could things have gone for Houston tonight?

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    • Jake will apparently spend some time patrolling the outfield in Fresno.
      But did you notice that on the big club we suddenly have a glut of left-handed hitting outfielders?

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