A look at the Astros lineup

The other day, mlb.com ran a look-ahead at each of the teams and their probable lineup, if they started the season with the current lineup.

They showed the Astros lineup as such……

BA OBP OPS Runs 2Bs HRs RBIs
1) CF – George Springer 2018 .265 .346 .780 102 26 22 71
162 gm avg .265 .356 .824 113 29 32 86
2) 3B – Alex Bregman 2018 .286 .394 .926 105 51 31 103
162 gm avg .282 .366 .866 101 46 26 93
3) 2B – Jose Altuve 2018 .316 .386 .837 84 29 13 61
162 gm avg .316 .365 .818 93 39 14 67
4) SS – Carlos Correa 2018 .239 .323 .728 60 20 15 65
162 gm avg .277 .356 .833 93 35 28 108
5) LF – Michael Brantley 2018 .309 .364 .832 89 36 17 76
162 gm avg .295 .351 .781 84 38 13 81
6) 1B Yuli Gurriel 2018 .291 .323 .751 70 33 13 85
162 gm avg .281 .323 .772 79 43 19 91
7) RF-Josh Reddick 2018 .242 .318 .718 63 13 17 47
162 gm avg .262 .323 .757 77 27 19 73
8) DH – Tyler White 2018 .276 .354 .888 27 12 12 42
162 gm avg .248 .319 .777 54 32 22 75
9) C- Robinson Chirinos 2018 .222 .338 .757 48 15 18 65
162 gm avg .233 .324 .761 67 26 24 72

Here at chipalatta, we have done two things. First we are showing how each of the players hit last season. Below it we show the player’s average career stats; what they would be expected to produce in any 162 game section of their career.

The second thing we have done is question the way the lineup is set-up.

The Top 3

We know the argument. We know the Astros won the World Series with George Springer in the leadoff spot. We know he won the WS MVP from the leadoff spot. And we say….so what? In 2016 and 2018 they also did not win the WS with him in the leadoff spot. You are putting a guy with good power stats with so-so on base percentage (5th among this set of players last season), who is a pretty bad base stealer by percentage in the top spot.

Bregman is your best OBP man, but he may also be your best hitter (power plus average) period so let’s hold off on him. Brantley is one of your best hitters with less power and he is a lefty. Jose Altuve? Now there is your leadoff hitter. Great batting average. Great on-base percentage, Very good base stealer. Inconsistent power. So here is a revised top 3 in the order.

1) Altuve – great table setter

2) Brantley – Break up the all-righty top of the lineup with a guy who should take advantage of Altuve being on base 40% of the time and the first baseman stuck holding him on first.

3) Bregman – He’s your best hitter. 51 doubles and 31 HRs looks pretty darned good with folks on base in front of him.

Middle 3

If Correa’s crappy 2018 was based on a bad back, which is likely and if he is healthy and if he is playing to get a much better pay day in 2nd season arbitration, he should be in the cleanup spot. He has shown good batting average, solid power and clutch hitting. He just needs to play more than 100-110 games in a season. Springer would be nice protection for Carlos and you could follow him up with either 1B Yuli Gurriel or DH Tyler White. Nice choices. We go with Gurriel, who was one of the best with runners in scoring position last season.

4) Correa – This should be the year that the 35 HR / 110 RBI SS shows up.

5) Springer – There should be a lot of ducks on the pond when George gets up to bat

6) Gurriel – His OBP keeps him from being higher in the lineup

Bottom 3

The Tyler White we saw in 2018 was the best of these three players. You could put him 7th or if he really shines flip him with Springer or Gurriel. The only reason Reddick gets the 7th spot is if you want another lefty sooner in a right-centric lineup. Chirinos or Max Stassi would be the weak link in this chain. If they did go out and pick up catcher J.T. Realmuto, he would need to come in as #6 or 7 in this lineup.

7) White – He could be one of the best #7 hitters in the league

8) Reddick – Josh along with Correa had a crummy 2018. If he continues, they may try to dump his salary at the deadline. Or he could get displaced by young Kyle Tucker or Yordan Alvarez (in the lineup). How that would work in the field is another question.

9) Chirinos / Stassi – Chirinos is not a big average guy, but has plenty of power and is a good RBI guy. Stassi needs to prove he is not a couple month flash-in-the-pan hitter.

Your turn – what would your version of the lineup look like?

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90 responses to “A look at the Astros lineup”

  2. Great post!
    Before I turn in my lineup card I would like to point out a few things.
    1. Springer finally admitted publicly this week that he had a finger injury for the last half of the season.
    2. Carlos Correa being 100% recovered from his back injury, as he said he was this week, is the single biggest addition to the Astros lineup from last year.
    3. Jose Altuve with two good legs is the second biggest addition.
    4. Brantley is the third biggest addition. He was an AS last year and did not fade in the second half, like a lot of major league all-stars did.
    5. If you use AJ Hinch’s idea of the top OBP and ignitor and also the new type of power hitter being the leadoff guy and getting that guy the most PAs possible, Bregman has replaced Springer as that guy. But, I’ll believe it when I see it.
    Here’s the lineup I would throw out there:
    Bregman
    Altuve
    Brantley
    Correa
    Springer
    Reddick
    White
    Chirinos
    Gurriel
    I want a guy who can score from 1B on a double batting in front of Bregman, because that results in more runs scored, because of Bregman being a
    doubles machine. Gurriel is an excellent hitter, doesn’t strike out and is a good baserunner once he gets to 1B. I like how he can keep an inning going with two outs.
    It’s amazing to me how the Astros have managed to take the middle of the order center fielder that George Springer always was and make him into a sometimes center fielder/leadoff hitter. Even with a WS Championship in our pocket, I despise how the Astros have not been able to fully develop and utilize George Springer.

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    • I can live with that though I’d rather see Altuve and Brantley on base 38% and 36% of the time running the bases in front of Bregman than Chirinos and Gurriel – 33/32% of the time if Bregman is leading off. But I do like getting Bregman more ABs

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  3. I’m probably in the minority on Chipalatta for my lineup. I want a threat leading off. There is no bigger threat in the lineup than George Springer. He doesn’t go out of the zone like Altuve. I want my best hitter in the second spot. There are multiple reasons, but it comes down to three things in the end. First, when the leadoff man gets on base they have a chance to set the stage for a big inning to start the game. Second, if the leadoff man does not get on base, having a man on first base with 1 out is a lot better than with 2 outs. Finally, the leadoff hitter will have the most plate appearances over a season and the second hitter will have the next most…simple math. I’m putting Bregman there with some hesitation that Altuve would be a better selection.

    When we get to the third spot in the lineup it’s tough. I’m probably trying to manage egos here as much as anything else. Bregman/Altuve/Correa need to be 2/3/4 but the order isn’t set until the season starts and we see results in my mind. That puts Brantley at 5th to start the season. 6-9 would be entirely dependent upon performance. I’d really like a guy in the ninth spot who can run at with at least average speed, but feel like burying Reddick there to promote our non-hitting catchers hurts us.

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  4. My line up:
    Altuve
    Brantley
    Bregman
    Springer
    Correa
    Reddick
    Gurriel
    White
    Chirinos
    Maybe interchange Brantley/Bregman, but I like Springer in the #4 slot.

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  5. springer
    bregman
    altuve
    correa
    brantley
    gurriel
    white
    chrinos
    reddick

    i agree with devin that its tough to bury reddick at #9, but i think he could be a catalyst from there and runs better than chirinos so makes a more solid 8, 9 than the reverse. also i could see swapping brantley and correa, but if correa is full speed ahead health wise and hitting, i like him at #4.

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  6. It is difficult to argue with anyone on this or that lineup. I would say that we need to find out if we get “career” Josh Reddick or “2018” Reddick. (His career OBP was about the same as last year – .318/.323) If it is the latter, Myles Straw is a better option. Also, if you have Yuli batting after the catcher, it should reduce his Grounded Into Double Plays.

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  7. Don’t know what to think about the comments from Jim Crane about the team’s interest in Keuchel and Marwin. I understand Keuchel if his asking price and year’s fall, but not sure where Marwin would fit.

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  8. In George Springer’s last full season of minor league baseball, 2013, he had 45 stolen bases and 8 caught stealing. In his 5 major league seasons since then, Springer has 41 stolen bases and 27 caught stealing.
    In Mike Trout’s last full year of minor league baseball, 2010, he had 56 stolen bases and 15 caught stealing. In his 8 major league seasons since then, Trout has 189 stolen bases and 34 caught stealing.
    One of these guys has lost the speed tool that helped get him to the majors.

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    • It is strange op – I mean we know it is not just speed – it is also the quick trigger nerves to get a quick start and it’s the ability to read the pitcher etc
      But one has been great and one bad

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    • I’d love to see Springer and Trout line up to run a 60 yard dash against each other. Despite your assertion that Springer has lost a few steps I would put my money on him. How many of those CS are Springer getting picked off first base? How many are times where the hitter didn’t put the ball in play? I’m not trying to defend him too much – he has terrible intincts for stealing bases – but also remember that the majority of time you steal on the pitcher and not the catcher. For those who don’t know what I mean, if a pitcher is quick to the plate only the Ricky Hendersons of the world have a chance to steal at a high rate. If the pitcher is average to home he better have a good move that prevents runners from getting good breaks. If a pitcher is slow to the plate then the catcher better hope a runner with real speed falls down or twists an ankle.

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      • Don’t forget Springer was 16 and 4 stealing bases in 2015. He has definitely bulked up over the past few years. He’s still very fast for a 30 homer guy, but I don’t think he gets the same jump he once did. I also think he does not have the same confidence in that facet of his game.

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    • The comments were interesting, indeed. But I like that nobody got snarky and they defended their teams with thought.
      I just don’t think people outside of the organization have paid enough attention to Peacock, James, Valdez and Cionel Perez. These guys can pitch at this level and just because people haven’t been paying attention doesn’t mean the Astros don’t have pitching. Name me one team that wouldn’t look at a guy who was a good reliever on one of the best pitching staffs in baseball history last year, but was 13-2 the year before when he was mostly a starting pitcher.
      I believe he and the others are going to get a real good look this spring.
      And the argument that they won’t be able to pitch past the fifth inning doesn’t quite fly any more, when almost every staff in baseball doesn’t have to pitch past the fifth inning. There are 20-25 pitchers in all of baseball right now who regularly pitch beyond the fifth inning.
      Now, if baseball goes back to the 15-day DL, like they are discussing, then the Astros and everybody else will have to rethink the five inning limitations on starting pitchers.

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  10. Dan & the Chippers
    It’s exciting to take a guess and gander at what tools Hinch has to build his Trophy in 2019!

    The top prize that everyone is anticipating is F Whitley. Will the Astros focus on service time and say it’s something else (probably), will we even need to worry about a division race (probably), will we bring on board 10 rookies or prospects sometime throughout (probably)? That list includes; James Valdez Deetz Armenteros Straw Perez Whitley Martin Bukauskas Stubbs Bostick Beer

    I estimate Guduan will win the one-dimensional LOOGY role, because his splits vs lefties in the minors were elite. In such short spurts, his control concerns may be refined, or minimized. Reymin has one option year remaining, and imo slightly ahead of Cionel, so pitch him, or trade him.

    Also, I think Framber will win the #4 spot over James to breakup righty/lefty. I do have my reservations for Collin McHugh over 150 innings this season. I’d rather see us treat him as BOS did with Eovaldi, fresh for the playoffs. I don’t think he’s built for Starting As Much anymore. Peacock could spot start?

    But I’ve kept those to myself, just like seeing is believing Correa (despite arbitration talks) may have lingering, less strength, overcompensating and prone to back spasms …. let’s just say that’s a huge worry for obvious reasons, like we wouldn’t be able to trade him without reduction of our price, on top of what was expected of a MVP-in waiting. This thought gives me great consternation, even though I’m excited about replacements (Bregman 2019-2020, Nova 2021). Hopefully, Carlos gets to full strength, as does Altuve and Bregman after recent surgeries.

    We have a long way to go, so I’ve devised my 2019 Playoff Roster. As of today, since I think we’ll try to trade Reddick, and/or possibly Fisher (Reed Korea?) Kemp Rodgers, guys who have any trade value before being DFA’d. We could feature them, and then trade them.

    I think Straw captures the leadoff role by mid season with a great eye, opposite field approach, plus arm, where blinding speed makes him the ultimate table-setter. Straw could also prove to the clubhouse that Springer belongs back where he has power guys around him. The ceiling on 2-8 makes me salivate.

    Straw CF
    Bregman 3B
    Altuve 2B
    Correa SS
    Springer RF
    Brantley DH
    Yuli 1B
    Tucker LF
    Chirinos C

    Bench; White Kemp Stassi Diaz

    JV Cole Whitley James
    Valdez McQ Osuna Pressly Harris Bukauskas Armenteros Perez

    Devo has (3) options.
    Odd men out; Smith Rondon Deetz Martin
    Jake Reddick (possible trades)

    I’m sure I’m missing a breakout player (maybe Jake flashes 5-tools finally?), and a trade, but as of this sitting, we’re so loaded it’s truly exciting times.

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    • Grayson – always good to hear from you – you had a lot to say today.
      I liked what you did here as you looked at the team differently, looking at it at the end of the season rather than the beginning. I liked how you rolled Straw and Tucker into the mix. One of the problems with adding Tucker or Yordan Alvarez into the mix was that they best fit as LF where Brantley sits and if you get rid of Reddick you have no one to fit behind him at CF. You solved this with Brantley to DH, Tucker to LF, Straw to CF and Springer to RF. I like that.
      I’m hopeful that Correa heals just due to his youth. If he was 36 y.o. I would be really worried, but I know that problems I had in my 20’s went away pretty quickly.

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      • Thanks, Dan!
        And my problem from 15 yrs old thru 25 or so with back issues, didn’t go away. Rest did help, but as soon as I overworked or felt a twinge/tweaking, spasms started again, it was unbearable on the floor with hot pad for days on a Flexoril muscle relaxers regimen.

        A comment Correa made last year finally during the playoffs was that some mornings he couldn’t walk. It made me flash back to North Dallas Forty, wondering how they ever got him back on his feet! Anyway, hope I’m wrong. He seemed ok in the field, but changed his swing to mitigate the twisting effects. I’m still at a loss to explain it fully.

        I only know he’s a vital part of our core, and last year has to be an outlier, or we should be aggressive on a sustainable treatment plan for him. I was even down with Op’s plan to trade him straight up for Syndergaard. Hopefully, it’s all unnecessary worry.

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    • Man, a Realmuto deal could be a win-win-win deal for both teams and the player, but Miami seems to be making it so difficult to do, probably hurting themselves and the player in the process

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    • And the reason for this is because Realmuto and his agent refused discussions with the Marlins about an extension. I can understand the Marlins not facilitating extension discussions with other teams. The agent went out of his way to diss the Marlins publicly, so I don’t see why Miami should go out of their way to help the Padres or Realmuto get what Realmuto refused them.
      If the trade for Realmuto is for two years of his services, then Miami should ask for three times what they are asking, if the Padres are getting six years of his services through an extension.
      A trade should be fair for everybody and what the Padres want is not.

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      • If Miami doesn’t think they need to trade Realmuto, fine, but who are they fooling? And I have no doubt that agent play may be gumming up the works. It really comes back to my point: by imposing all these extraneous conditions and perhaps by “taking it personal” because Realmuto/agent wouldn’t agree to an extension with Miami, the Marlins are really just shooting themselves in the foot. But it wouldn’t be the first time.

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  12. I love Grayson’s idea about Straw, if he can perform. I’ve long been a HUGE fan of leading off with a speedy high OBP guy that can really set the table. If not him, then I think Altuve best fits the bill.. Next I would slot Springer, then Altuve in the 3-hole if he’s not leading off, otherwise Bregman. Then Correa, Bregman, Brantley, White, Chirinos, Yuli. This assumes Straw can beat out Reddick, which is not a given. And this doesn’t deal with the Tucker wild card. My hunch is he will blossom this year, after the way he destroyed Spring Training last year, and then AAA. If so, great problem to have! Is it too late to convert him to catcher? [tongue-in-cheek font]

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    • Tucker feasted on spring training pitching.
      Then he feasted on AAA pitching.
      Then he choked on MLB pitching.
      Then he feasted on AAA pitching.
      Then he choked on MLB pitching.
      I’m waiting on him to feast on major league pitching.
      So far, he’s had two shots at it and pretty much looked like AJ Reed, without the power.

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      • Tucker had the lowest BABIP of any major leaguer. Pretty unlucky. Maybe it’s jitters mostly — that’s my vote. Anyway, the Astros would probably rather he start in RR for awhile until they can straighten out White Kemp Jake (after 40 days) no options dilemma.

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      • I wouldn’t call it luck, but I would say it was quite similar to Bregman. He was awful in his first 50ish plate appearances. He was not hitting the ball hard and getting unlucky. It’s been the same way with Tucker. If he starts to barrel it up he’ll see results. It’s also similar to Colin Moran a couple years back. He couldn’t make hard contact at the big league level. The next year he tore up AAA and in his brief appearances before a freak injury had figured out how to put the barrel on the ball. I think Tucker’s ceiling is much higher, but the areas MLB pitchers will attack him are very similar to Moran.

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      • Give me Tucker over Reddick! Tucker did feast on AAA pitching but he also had much better than his numbers hitting in the bigs. He’s our #1 future hitting piece and his time has come. Start him until the all-star game and then see what’s shakin’.

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    • Thanks RT on Straw! We’ll see if he can get a little gap power in the offseason, but if you haven’t seen the video on his base stealing in Corpus, it’s a fun watch.

      I just think MIA really lost out on their other two trade chips; Yelich, and Ozuna. For Ozuna they have #3 prospect Alcantara whose “control and command both leave much to be desired.” Their every hope hinges on maximizing a JTR return.

      And well, Yelich, where were you Uncle Jeff on that one, or Goldschmidt since we’re on the subject!

      I’ve tried every combo that I can swallow

      Alvarez Bukauskas Stassi Perez for
      Realmuto

      See, we waited on this trade and J B Bukauskas cracked the Baseball Prospectus Top 100, he’s worth more than before the AFL. Alvarez has moved up the rankings, as well.

      I will give you two candidates that are going to be difficult for HOU to push through in time; Bryan Abreu, and Christian Javier. We have to be aggressive with the first, and hopefully stash Javier as a reliever, if we can’t trade him.

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      • A nice nugget

        There were 510 MiLB pitchers to eclipse the 100-inning threshold in 2018. Cristian Javier, Brandon Bailey, and Peter Solomon finished 1-2-3 in swinging strike percentage. Ivey and James were Top 20.

        We should re-sign Cole to a 5/90, which is back-end loaded, and/or Verlander extension of 2/60. They will probably test the market, though for various reasons. We probably want to extend Pressly, and Osuna! Then, here is my rough depth chart for 2020:

        SP – Whitley Martin James McHugh Valdez Peacock Bukauskas Ivey Solomon Perez Armenteros Bielak Hartman Abreu Martes Javier Donato Bostick (Enoli ) Paredes (Edgardo) Sandoval Hernandez Saldana Adcock Rodgers Penales *Solis

        (26 Starters recv’d upper 10% marks in MiLB, from Velocity to Batted Ball Profiles)

        RP – Devo Deetz Guduan (Justin) Ferrell Collado Jimenez Bailey Scheetz Schroeder Tokar Mushinski Duncan Hardy Ramirez House France Rupenthal

        (18 relievers to supplement SP’s who aren’t relegated to the ‘pen)

        This is what’s known as an embarrassment of riches!

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      • now doesnt this tip everybody off that he goes on first movement against lefties? surely now some wily vet will learn this and use it against him. if he can.

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  14. When I look at the possible line ups, one thing that is obvious. We have been blessed to see Springer, Altuve, and Correa play at a very young age. Right now, At 28 is Springer, Altuve and Correa is only 23. (Looking at 2018 team stats).

    We then have Stassi and Tyler White trying to break in and stay at 27. Kemp trying to do the same at 26. Reed and Josh James at 25. At 24 Bregman, LMJ and a few others. At 23, Correa as mentioned plus Osuna and Straw. And a few more but Tucker is only 21. Let’s wait to pass judgment on him.

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  15. When LMJ was a successful minor league pitcher, his name appeared on a list of the 10 most likely to require TJ Surgery, because of his delivery.
    This theory was discussed a lot over at The Crawfish Boxes.
    I’m too old to remember much and too incompetent to dig into their archives, but I do recall the prediction.
    I do recall the Clyde fiasco and liken what the Rangers did as akin to sending a kid into the lions den armed with a fork.

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  16. Things I think I know about the Astros:
    *The Texas League playoffs might have been an aha moment for the Astros.
    The playoff pitching performances of Hartman, Martin, Bukauskas, Bielak and Whitley might have helped the Astros decide some things about those pitchers. San Antonio did not hit those guys, but did hit most of the other CC staff pretty hard.
    Hitting .348 in the Arizona Fall League might have opened some eyes for Abraham Toro, who has had a tougher road to hoe in the minors because of his switch-hitting and moving around the diamond on defense.
    *Alex Bregman is a hoot.
    *Hearing Carlos Correa saying he didn’t want to talk to the Astros about an extension after a bad year was like listening to Scott Boras.
    *The Astros recently announced coaches in the minors is a new wave of young coaches, with the exception of Omar Lopez, who may just be a new wave old coach. Time after time I hear our minor leaguers rave about how the Astros deliver them info and training to improve their game.

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    • Driving around doing chores yesterday I was listening to 790 AM – they were broadcasting live from Astrofest. Some thoughts:
      – Has Steve Sparks had a vocal cord transplant or has he hit puberty late? I had noticed last year an improvement in delivery – they interviewed him yesterday and it took me a while to know it was him. Smoother and deeper voice to me – good for him.
      – Listened to Josh James being interviewed. Soft spoken and thoughtful. They did not ask THE question – does he know if they are grooming him to start or the bullpen, unless I missed it getting gas… He said he is not a gamer in his spare times like so many of his peers. Would rather go fishing. I’d read this before but forgot it – he never had a 100 mph fastball until he started treatment for sleep apnea.
      – Alex Bregman was talking about his surgery – just being allowed to work out his lower half right now. Said he had had some pain in his elbow over time but was ok with it until he woke up and it was locked at 90 degrees (like Rookie of the Year). They said he could have surgery or risk not having it and need it in the middle of the season.
      He said the go to guy for most of the team on how to take care of themselves is Verlander. Said he would not doubt he could pitch into his 40’s

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  17. As the locals here say, I’ve been scarce. Working full time while entertaining family from the mainland is a grueling proposition, especially for one that typically ventures out at night maybe once a week. I’m tired and fed up with restaurant food, even if I’m not paying for it!

    It’s not much of a reach to expect a .400 plus OBP out of both Altuve and Bregman. That’s why those two guys are at the top of my order, probably with B before A. Does any other team have a chance to have the first two guys in their line up getting on base so frequently? That’s one reason why I don’t see Straw up there. And his OPS at AAA was just .666. I’m not ready to write off Reddick yet. Straw will need to show a lot more before cracking an Astro order. Hopefully Tucker will make Reddick an afterthought at some point, but that would also make it tougher to find a place for Straw. I also think base stealing becomes a less and less significant factor on this club. And I don’t think there is room for both a Straw and a Marisnick on the 25 man. That said, I still think I’d rather see Straw over Jake as a back up, because he’s got better all around tools. I also see Brantley as our mostly full time left fielder. That would likely change in the unlikely event of our present DH failing us. The only other starting line up thought is that I don’t think we’ve got a catcher right now that’s going to start more than 60 or 70 games. They’ll be more changes there during the season.

    That sure was a rambling post. I need a day off.

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  19. I graduated from Westchester in 1973 with David Clyde. It was a great time to watch high school baseball. But lost in the whole dialogue here is that it was widely believed at the time that Davids father insisted he be sent immediately to the big club as a requirement for his signing. I can’t say this was fact, but I did meet his dad a couple of times. And as an 18 year old kid, I was glad he was not my father. Clyde threw 175 innings in 1973, while helping get his team into the state final, before joining the Rangers. And once on the road, he quickly assumed the lifestyle introduced to him by his fellow teammates. The whole thing was a recipe for disaster. Even Billy Martin saw it coming.

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    • There were plenty of people to blame. Bob Short was a snake in the grass. Herzog , and especially Jim Merritt. Probably a dozen others. Let’s hope the Astros don’t do that to Tucker, Whitley or any others – though they are both 3 years older than Clyde when he was brought up.

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      • We know a whole lot more about a lot of things all these years later, but a fathers son pitched a whole season and then at 18 was thrown to the wolves.

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  21. Altuve
    Brantley
    Bregman
    Correa
    Gurriel
    Springer
    White
    Chirinos
    Reddick

    Top three really are inchangeable. I’ve said two years Bregman should lead off but he’s developed enough power that Altuve should lead off and is the teams best base stealer with high oba.
    Next three could be changed around easily. I agree Correa will have a great season but if he faulters, there are plenty others in this lineup capable (Gurriel is a favorite as he seems to knock em in).
    Years ago, it was common to see the big power bat with a lot of k’s get pushed down in the order. Here comes Springer.
    Who knows what we’ll get with White also but for now they both have high potential.
    Unfortunately Reddick with all his skills and underlying talent doesn’t always show in the box score. He is generally known as a capable and smart player, understands baseball, positioning and base running. With his low .320s oba and comprehension he can run in front of Altuve.
    This leaves Chirinos in the 8th spot. That’s depending on how Correa, Springer and especially White show up… Take a look at Chirinos career statistics in Minute Maid… perhaps even higher in the lineup at home.

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  25. As usual, reading and not writing much.
    Modern wonders though – writing this on a plane with WiFi. Flying to Houston for a brief visit no less.

    My nugget for the day – was browsing the Wikipedia as you do. I see that in the 2009 draft, four picks before LAA took Mike Trout, we took Jiovanni Mier. Oh dear.

    Take care all

    Simon

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  26. What kind of crazy man throws away a first round MLB pick on a guy named Jiovanni? Lesson learned: baseball and guys named Jiovanni just do not belong in the same conversation.

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  27. Good evening guys and girls……..did I miss anything the last few days?
    I’ve been watching the Reds going all in with some pretty good trades! It appears they will probably win the Realmuto sweepstakes. Maybe they are going to make the NL interesting this year. I’ll be back when or *if* Luhnow makes another move for us, so in the meantime I’ll lurk around the blog and read what you folks are up to! Ta-Ta for now 🖑🖐

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    • I gave up on Realmuto awhile back. Two years of him ain’t worth what the Marlins are asking. If Cincinnati is that stupid let them go for it.

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      • Tired of the Realmuto sweepstakes and also the Harper/Machado convoluted mess. I think I’d rather watch paint dry or the grass grow.

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      • Sandy, I agree with you completely. I also don’t understand what Cinci’s aim is here. Do these moves suddenly make them capable of competing in that division?

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  28. Jarrod Saltamacchia retired yesterday. Anybody who was around on the chron.com blog days…which one of us was it who used to always talk about the Astros needing to trade for him? Seems like that and signing David Eckstein (poor Fluffy!) was always a fun topic!

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    • Salty never won a GG, never won a SS Award, never made an All-Star team, and was totally average. But he got a ring and $31 million and is retired at the ripe old age of 33. It just doesn’t pay to play baseball anymore. Somebody really needs to help these players make more money.

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  29. Speaking of possible line-ups . . . Here is my vote for the worst set of players our hometown team has ever put on the field. I call it the ‘Nightmare on Crawford Street’:

    SS – Jonathan Villar
    2B – Kazuo Matsui
    CF – Carlos Gomez
    LF – Brian Bogusevic
    RF – Rick Ankiel
    1B – Brett Wallace
    3B -Matty Dominguez/Phil Nevin
    C – JR Towles/Hank Conger
    DH – Carlos Pena
    P – Woody Williams
    Reliever – Mike Gallo

    There could be many more. Any ideas?

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    • Sounds like an idea for a future post. Dan, make it happen!

      Nah, but for real I can think of way worse for each one.

      Just off the top of my head, and doing it for the time period that I’ve watched (so starting in 1991), and doing this ONLY for the time period that these folks were with our tea

      SS-Pat Listach/Julio Lugo…and TOMMY MANZELLA!
      2B – Dave Rhode/Matt Kata
      CF- Carlos Gomez/ Willy Taveras (except for his speed and that hitting streak in 2002, he was not a good player)
      LF-Matt Mieske/Jose Cruz JR
      RF- Dave Clark
      1B- Carlos Lee / Jesus Guzman
      3B- Craig Shipley/ Pedro Feliz
      C – Scooter Tucker/Kirt Manwaring
      DH- Carlos Pena
      SP- Woody Williams/ Jim Clancy
      RP- Mitch Freakin’ Williams/ Al Osuna

      Manager- Brad Mills/Jimy Williams

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      • Most of your list is right on Billy C – but I will defend Carlos Lee who in no way shape or form was like Guzman.
        Yes he was overpaid. But over his 5-1/2 years here he averaged 24 HRs and 97 RBIs and hit .286 BA with a .817 OPS. It was not his fault that Beltran turned down Uncle Drayton and he was the one who he showered $$$ with.

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      • Oh yeah, Dan…but was referring to the time period where he moved over from LF to 1B after his 3rd season here.

        Odd part about that…he started walking about the same amount if not more times than he struck out.

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    • Nevin was bad in his brief cup of coffee here but he developed into a good player once he left . Hit .270/.343/472 with an OPS of .815 for his career (also averaged 28 HRs over a 162 game seaons)

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    • Jennings was pretty bad too. What got me about Williams is that before he signed people kept talking about how we should sign him. Never understood that…he was a mediocre pitcher at his best and didn’t even become a starter until he was 30. The only thing I can think of was he was a hometown boy, which doesn’t really matter in my book (I mean,. the guy who caused me to have an accident yesterday was also hometown boy…doesn’t make him any higher on my list)

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    • I’ve already forgotten the name of the guy we got from the Cards to play short at one point. He was far worse than Villlar in every aspect of the game other than throwing the ball away.

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  30. The Porter/Mills/Cooper comment above brought to mind something that I always thought was interesting. Not counting interim managers, the Astros have had 18 full time managers in their history and so (not counting Hinch) they have 17 former managers in their history. Only 5 – Terry Collins, Art Howe, Bill Virdon, Preston Gomez!!!! and Lum(an) Harris ever managed in the big leagues again after leaving here. I put exclamation marks after Gomez because I thought he was the Joe West / Angel Hernandez of managing – but the Cubs gave him 1/2 a year.
    The list of managers they had who never managed again? Bo Porter, Brad Mills, Cecil Cooper, Phil Garner, Jimy Williams, Larry Dierker, Hal Lanier, Bob Lillis, Leo Durocher, Harry (the Hat) Walker, Grady Hatton and Harry Craft. That included the obscure and the successful.

    Never understood why Dierker never got another shot unless he didn’t want it. What happened with Hal Lanier? I did not live here back then and was not aware of what was going on – but did he sink his own boat? Thought Garner could have gotten another spot – but maybe he had had it too.

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    • In all fairness, Garner and Williams had been hired/fired multiple times before coming here. To this day, I’ll *never* understand why Williams kept getting more shots.

      I think Dierk had said something about looking forward to retirement when he was let go. I think he was *briefly* linked to another team about an opening but nothing ever came of it (and IIRC, it was the Marlins)

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  31. When I look at this lineup, it looks very good. When I take out one of them and add one off my wish list, it gets better. However, I wonder if Luhnow has a program written that determines WAR or something based over a career. And he measures each decision on what is best over several years and not necessarily one year. That would be my guess.

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  32. This is probably unfair to make note of, but if Cole did not have an off game in Boston, the ALCS probably gets away from the Sox.

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  33. I was at the game when Jason Jennings gave up 11 runs in the first inning……I think he went in the clubhouse and packed his bags, because he was released after that game. What a waste of good air that guy was. JEEZE.

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