Musings, thoughts and questions about the 2019 Astros

Work has been a jumbled mess this week with your faithful servant having to be downtown at 5:30 AM for teleconferences around the world. So my thoughts are jumbled up as much as work, so it is time for a bit of a brain dump.

  • Starting pitching “problems” – The Astros on this latest cycle through the rotation have gotten less than stellar starts from Brad Peacock (3.2 IP and 7 runs) and Collin McHugh (6 IP and 4 runs). Is it time to look at a change? The 6 IP and 4 runs on a bitter night was not a bad start. In fact the start where McHugh gave up 9 runs was really his only bad start this season. Heck, Gerrit Cole has a similar start under his belt. Peacock may be more problematic, but remember they have jacked him in and out of the rotation. The two starts before his problem on Thursday, he went 5 IP and 3 runs and 6 IP and 1 run and that should be acceptable for a 5th starter. Let them settle in a bit more and then re-look at this after about 50 games.
  • Starting pitching options – If the Astros had to do something, what would it be? Yes, they could go and sign Dallas Keuchel, if they wanted to and if they could agree and if they could wait until he was ready. It feels like they would only do this as an extreme bargain and if Keuchel was taking extreme bargain offers he would have been gone by now. The only starting pitcher at AAA, who is excelling is Corbin Martin (1-1, 1.40 ERA, 11.2 Ks/9 IP), but that is only after 19 innings and he is not on the 40 man roster. Among 40 man prospects only Brady Rodgers (2-0, 3.10 ERA in 29 IPs) has really performing and he is a 28 year old among much younger pitchers. Forrest Whitley? (0-2, 7.71 ERA) J.B. Bukauskas? (0-3, 9.56 ERA). Framber Valdez could be an option, but both he and Josh James have been pitching in relief. It would take them a few starts even to get to 5 innings and with Framber’s control problems, maybe longer than that. It feels like the Astros will more likely wait until the trade deadline unless someone gets hurt or just under performs every time out.
  • Josh Reddick and RBIs – Is there anybody doing less with his hits when it comes to RBIs than Josh Reddick. He has the highest BA on the club at .344. He has the second most hits (33) one behind George Springer. But he only has 7 RBIs, 9th most on the club and three of those RBIs are himself on HRs. Springer has 17 more RBIs with one more hit and he hits leadoff. Yes, Reddick has only the 7th most ABs on the club, but even Aledmys Diaz has 10 RBIs in about 1/2 the ABs. It is a puzzlement.
  • The DH Curse of Bud Selig? – The Astros have been one of the worse DH teams in baseball since being forced to join the AL in 2013. The fixation on Tyler White going this far into the season until earning his first RBI has made this feel like another bad season for the Astros and the DH. However, because other players have been hitting in that spot (Springer 30 ABs, Michael Brantley 21 ABs, etc.) along with White (41 ABs), the Astros are doing OK at DH – .269 BA (4th in AL), .810 OPS (5th), 20 runs scored (3rd), and 16 RBIs (9th). So, maybe A.J. Hinch knows what he is doing when he mixes and matches the DH spot?
  • The Astros head out to uncharted territory playing the Angels in Monterrey, Mexico on Saturday and Sunday. Wonder how the Angels feel about that home game (1500 miles from LA), which is only 450 miles from Houston? The Estadio de Beisbol was built in 1990, holds about 27,000 and was host to a no-hitter by the Dodgers over the Padres last May. The stadium is 325′ to left and right and 405′ to center and is at approx. 1700′ elevation – higher than Phoenix, but far below Denver. It has fairly new artificial turf. Should be an interesting series.
  • The Astros hit a stretch where they need to make hay, playing the 15-17 Angels, the 11-21 Royals, the 14-15 Rangers and the 13-15 Tigers. Whether the currently 14-18 Red Sox are still easy pickings a couple weeks from now remains to be seen. But the Astros have had a tough set of games up to now and are still in 1st place by 0.5 games in the AL West.

So, anything you want to dump out of your muddled brains today?

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75 responses to “Musings, thoughts and questions about the 2019 Astros”

  1. Is it time for a change [in regard to starting pitching]?

    I don’t know if it is time for a change in personnel – yet. First of all, there is absolutely nobody in AAA who is even close to screaming ‘I am ready for my shot’. Secondly, the only guy we could pick up on the market immediately -DK – is by no means an improvement over -and would probably waste big bucks to perform worse for us than – McHugh, Peacock, and Miley. BUT: I think management is now on notice that, if by ASB this team looks like it is headed to the playoffs, some wheeling and dealing is going to be necessary. We are going to need another really dominating starter [not a Keuchel type] if we are going to make it deep in the playoffs. Miley is our #4; McHugh and Peacock are our long relievers.

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  2. Another possible change at the break – trade for another catcher. Stassi has been a black hole as Chirinos’ back-up, and Stubbs has not hit worth a flip either. But watch 30 year old Lorenzo Quintana – could he be a long shot, dark horse candidate to make the jump from AA? [Don’t look now, but he’s presently hitting .326/.367/.976 with 3 HR and 11 RBI in a Hooks line-up that is positively anemic].

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  3. We had previously thought that there was so many “ready for prime time” players in the minors that they would never get an opportunity to play. Now the minors seem to be mediocre at best save for a few standouts. That could put us in a dilemma come trading time as we lose one or two of the few that were the future players. It’s obvious that the team has not been playing “inspired baseball” as of lately for whatever reason. With us now playing some below .500 teams we should be winning these upcoming series handily. I sure hope so. Agree with Mr Bill about our “backup catcher”. Personally, I’d have Stassi catch 1 out of 5 games rather than his current workload. As for giving guys days off I’m curious. Does Hinch ask or does he tell the players your sitting this one out today or you are our DH for today? Is he “resting” players or looking for the “diamond in the rough”? Haven’t seen to many gems these days. Maybe it was the cold Minnesota weather but it was not a fun series to watch. The positive side of everything is that we’re still in 1st in the west and that the division is beginning to look a little more like it was expected to be. Time for us to put the pedal to the metal and pull away from the pack this month.

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  5. Regarding the DH . . .

    If Tyler White ever gets on a tear like he is fully capable of doing, and has done throughout his minor league career, we may see a lot less of our position players getting penciled in as designated hitters!

    Let’s hope the pan dulce he eats down in Monterrey agrees with him a whole lot better than the jelly donuts he’s been wolfing down in the good old USA.

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  6. One thing we do know by now, Luhnow is not a knee jerk reaction kind of guy. He won’t make changes unless he has to and we are not in that position right now. Everyone in the rotation has had a bad start (Peacock 2) except for Miley. But we’ve gotten a pretty good effort from our rotation overall. Excluding the relievers, we’re 2nd in MLB in BA against and strike outs and 2nd in WHIP. We’re 22nd in walks. But we’re 12th in ERA and 14th in runs allowed and have given up the 6th most homers in MLB. That’s way too many gopher balls. I’m guessing our BABip against is pretty high too, but I don’t know where to find that stat. We’ve come to expect better from our starters. Is Hinch leaving a struggling starter in the game longer because he does not have an additional long reliever in the pen right now? No doubt we’ve been spoiled. I sure do miss Charlie. He’s been excellent.

    I’m almost tired of suggesting that Tyler White would hit if left alone to be the regular DH. I might have been wrong all along. But the fact is, he’s out of shape and made his own bed. And as you note Dan, Hinch has gathered up serviceable DH stats by using most everyone in that role. Those stats could be most telling too. When we eventually go to 13 pitchers, my nephew Tubby may be the most expendable guy on the bench.

    All in all though, we’ve got a solid squad and winning the next 7 or 8 out of 10 should stop some of our grumbling.

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    • DaveB, I watched 3 weeks of ST. Believe it or not TW has slimmed down a bit since showing up for ST grossly over weight. Based on conditioning, the question has to be how much work did he put in over the off- season to get better? There is no doubt that he can hit, and there is also no doubt that his bat speed is slow this year; slow to the point where he can not guard against off speed and still catch up with the fastball.

      That being said, Tyler still has a track record, sucks right now and is out of options. I would like to see him get 50-75 AB without sitting and see if he can produce. If he can, pencil him in for 4 out of 5 starts. If he can’t, cut your losses. I’m not sure that anyone will hit to potential when you don’t have a set lineup and several players never get enough back-to-back ABs to settle into their comfort zone.

      We don’t need Tyler to be flexible. We have more than enough flexibility. We need Tyler to produce and he needs regular at bats to prove that he can.

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      • Vewill1, I’m with you. Had Tyler come into camp in shape and had a solid spring, I think he would have gotten a real shot at being the mostly full time DH. But some guys don’t want it as bad as others. And although we’ll never hear it from Hinch, I’m sure he was pissed at the guy who had all but been pencilled in as our DH over the winter. I’m still pissed. I just don’t think he’s going to get those 50 or 75 at bats at this point. I thought he was on his way a couple of weeks ago when he got his BA up to .297 with a .435 OBP. But then he sat the next 3 of 4 games and any momentum he had built was gone.

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  7. The Astros farm system is not mediocre. They have one team that is a game under .500 and the rest are over .500.
    The Astros are not pitching their best pitchers in their farm system. They are pitching tandems everywhere. Basically, there are 20 pitchers on four teams in their system starting games and alternating between starting and relieving.
    Whitley and Martin and Bukauskas are having their innings curtailed and are not in a regular rotation so that they are fresh in case they are needed later in the year. It is hard for them to stay in rhythm throwing 4 innings or less every 5 or 6 days in relief and as starters. But they are working on their weaknesses now so that they are ready for the bigs when needed.
    Ivey and Solomon are on the DL right now and that is two of the Hook’s best pitchers, so I think that accounts for them being 13-14 for the season. They haven’t hit well because they aren’t exactly loaded with stud position players and Toro has had a slow start after a hot ST.
    I am not worried about the Astros. I am worried about their fans who are acting a little too frantically. Thank you, Astros, for finally spoiling us!

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  9. Hi gang. I’ve missed the banter with you while I have been away for a bit. I hope you don’t mind me weighing in now.

    My issue all along has been with starting pitching. Not so much quality as depth. We lost about 500 IP of 3.5 ish ERA pitching between LMJ, DK and CFM. We replaced it with CM, BP and WM. I do not think it is reasonable to expect more than 150 IP from CM or BP. That gives you 300 IP and I think anything below a 4.0 ERA from either meets expectations. Based on Miley’s past I don’t think over 150 IP should be expected and I think an ERA under 4.0 would also be considered a plus. So you have replaced 500 IP of 3.5 with around 450 IP of 4.0 ERA. That is a net loss and still leaves 50 IP unaccounted for.

    At the same time you have taken around 150 IP of low ERA, premium middle/ long relief innings out of the BP. So far we have not seen any makeup of that loss. The big arms in the bullpen have been mostly strong this year but you can’t continue to work them at the rate it takes to make up with the SP innings shortage and have a reasonably fresh BP come playoff time.

    CM is still very good 1-2 times through the lineup and BP is still showing the inconsistency that has kept him out of the SP rotation his entire career. Miley has been solid (not great) but can we hope for more than 150 IP?

    I see 2 potential solutions. Trade for a decent middle rotation guy or try to get a AA/AAA pitcher that can rotate in on spot starts and help keep the innings off of the #3-#5 slots. Best case would be to get CM or BP back to the pen to keep relief arms fresh.

    That’s just my 11 cents. I do see issues with the hitting but until you can keep double digit runs off the board there is no need to address hitting. Winning 11-10 is not the answer.

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  10. We all remember back in ST when we were talking about trades especially at the trade deadline, we would not trade Reddick because we knew he would be leading the team in hitting. And he would be too valuable because he would be playing RF-LF-DH-and 1B.

    (I can’t remember that either. )

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      • Like OP said, we’ve become spoiled. Funny how a WS Championship will do that.
        Altuve has been a superhero for several years. Maybe time for a so-so year.

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  14. It’s good to see our guys against an also run tm pile up the numbers, esp the position guys. Keep the pedal to the medal, pile up the stats and hopefully when it’s time to play the top tms we’ll be feeling good enough to keep it rolling.

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  15. Heck even Stassi has a hit and a walk today. If he went and had another o-fer I was going to wonder how much longer until we start seriously looking at James Ritchie

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  16. It must have cost MLB quite a bit of money to play these two games in Monterrey. Hard to understand how they could not fill 27,000 seats, even if they had to give some of them away.

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  17. *14* runs!!? Who’S team is this? And daveb…..your nephew seemed to wake up with 2 doubles tonight! Can they play the rest of this season in Monterey Mexico!? I sure hope they saved some runs in those bats for Verlander tomorrow afternoon! It was a good game not to have their backs against the wall. Good win!

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    • Yeah, back up to a .283 BA and a .391 OBP and an OPS that has inched it’s way up to .749. He hit the ball hard every time up last night. But alas, he’ll probably be sitting the next couple of games out.

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      • Interesting that today, the only 5 players with a below 100 OPS+ are Yuli (90), Diaz (79), Kemp (60), Stassi (10) and Fisher (-100). In first place, and I still keep complaining.

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  20. Homer today aside it’s really sad to see how much Pujols has declined. He’s gotten so slow that he makes a dying turtle looks like Billy Hamilton, and he’s looking like end-stage Carlos Beltran with the bat

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    • BC, I would like to feel sorry for Albert because he is a class guy. But when he has already earned $285 Million and after this year has only $59 million more coming, hard for me to feel too sorry for him.

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  21. In the category of don’t give up too soon….
    Kyle Tucker had 4 hits including a home run last night. He has had 3 HRs in 3 consecutive games and 6 HRs in his last 9 games. After a terrible start where his BA was hovering around .100 – he is up to .223 BA / .770 OPS – not great, but heading the right way.

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    • Dan, my concern with Tucker though is that guys ranked so highly by most everyone just do not often totally fail at the ML level. And guys ranked so highly almost never struggle the way he has at AAA. I really hope he’s been working on solving a problem, but then again, what problem would he be working on if everyone thought he was so can’t miss?

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      • Daveb – let me throw something out at you –

        Kyle Tucker debuted at 21 y.o. in the majors (and he was in and out of the lineup). 64 ABs – .141 BA/ .236 OBP / .439 OPS

        Alex Bregman debuted at 22 y.o. in the majors and was basically playing every day – First 66 ABs .156 BA / .236 OBP / .455 OPS

        George Springer debuted at 24 y.o. in the majors and was playing everyday – First 65 ABs .185 BA / .254 OBP / .469 OPS

        Point being – I don’t think you know yet what you have with Kyle Tucker. You have to have some patience with extremely young guys and give it a bit of time.

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      • Dan, no doubt, yours is a solid argument. But one thing that stands out to me when thinking of both Bregman and Tucker struggling initially, was that from the start, Bregman looked like he was going to get it figured out. Tucker seemed overwhelmed. And at about the same time it became clear that bringing up Tucker was premature, Bregman asserted himself. In Springer’s case, he had the luxury of playing for a bad team. He got all the time he needed.

        To my eyes only though, both Bregman and Springer looked like far more dynamic ballplayers even from the start than Tucker did at the ML level. And I sure hope I’m wrong about that.

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      • DanP, I had multiple conversations with friends about “send Bregman down.” What I observed was he was hitting the ball hard but had little to no luck. Tucker did not do the same. I am too old and too foggy to remember how Springer was initially. I am not knocking Tucker just that he batted like Fisher and Reed in the majors and was lost in Left.

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  22. Lineups are out, Altuve is the DH and Diaz is at 2nd. Win or lose this afternoon, Hinch will let Asuna pitch an inning. He is VERY respected in his country, as was his father who pitched 15yrs for them. Didn’t the Astros beat Matt Harvey in 2017 in that double header after “Harvey”?

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    • Yes – Becky they bombed Mr. Harvey in that first game of the DH against the Mets after Harvey bombed us.

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    • I went back and checked his weight in 2016… 205 – 210. He said he was purposely eating correctly back then.

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    • You could see it on his face! He absolutely *SMELLED* that grand slam!!
      2 things…Luhnow was asked about Yordan Alveraz this afternoon, and he said there’s no place to put him. We will see him up pretty soon….can’t ignore him for very long.
      The Yankees are mulling over Keuchel……but I doubt that will happen.

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  25. I’m not sure what everyone is expecting. As of today this team is has a .588 winning percentage and on pace for 95 wins. The offense still hasn’t given us full potential. We knew replacing Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers with McHugh, Peacock and Miley was a net loss, not to mention that a BP minus McHugh and Peacock is a net loss. I predicted 92 wins, and still winning the division, and they are performing they way I expect them too.

    I think if you can get DK for 18 million (or less given prorated) you do it for one more year. Not as much for the regular season as the playoffs, though returning Peacock to the BP and giving him some spot starts would help, but really it is about pushing Miley out of the playoff rotation.

    Right now I am very skeptical of their playoff chances with McHugh at 3 and Miley at 4. The last time McHugh started a playoff game was 2015, and if I remember that game correctly AJ gave him the early hook in the 5th when the first two runners got on. Granted, I know it was game 7, and AJ was managing like his pants were on fire, but he didn’t trust McHugh then to work his way out of it (he had only given up 1 run up to that inning) and I’m not ready say it will be any different now. And don’t get me started on Miley, that guy is a 3 inning, 7 run out of it waiting to happen in the playoffs.

    Praying for San Fran to continue to play poorly and to start fielding offers for Bumgarner.

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    • The Astros should not touch Keuchel if they wish to, perhaps, swing a trade deal before the trade deadline. Keuchel would keep them out of that deal.

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      • I agree. That 18 million can help pay for a better option come summer. And the thought of Keuchel starting a playoff game for us in October does not enthuse me. We don’t need Keuchel to get us into the postseason either.

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    • Understood, DK isn’t a playoff closeout guy either, but he is better than Miley.

      The best choice is to get someone from a falloff team this summer, we can agree on that.

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    • Not quite sure why some prefer DK over Miley. I thought he’d be a good #4 for us and so far he hasn’t disappointed. In fact he’s been more of a #3 as of lately. A 3.20 ERA with a 1.17 WIP that ain’t too shabby. And at 4.5MM I consider that “A Bargain, the Best I Ever Had”. And how about that Brantley guy. He’s doing everything we’d hoped for and then some. Yes, his K rate is up but he’s a “Clutch Cargo” performer. And kudos to CC as he looks to be healthy and performing up to his capabilities. Bregman is the new “Mr. Prime Time” and JV is just JV. And finally, here’s hoping the “Tuna” has once again become the “Great White”, prowling the ballparks and gobbling up opposing pitchers. Great performances this weekend with a Team effort.

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  26. I’m confident Luhnow will pick up a big arm when the time comes. If the present roster stays healthy the GM will use all his resources to win again in 2019.

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  27. Musings and thoughts:
    * We were worried about Correa before the season started and he has been very good.
    * We thought Brantley could be good, but he has been great.
    * The Astros pitching staff is very good and McHugh and Miley are among the best starting pitchers in the AL West.
    * Altuve, at a .250 batting average tells me there are going to be a lot of three hit games from him in the next couple of months as he rises to .300.
    * Robinson Chirinos isn’t great, but he is better for us than he ever was in Arlington.
    * Why are other teams allowed to have 13 fielders when Gurriel comes to the plate? That guy has been so unlucky. Oh, and a diving stop to his left and then a diving stop to his right robs two hits in two nights.
    * Alex Bregman is going to be a monster.
    * How about letting the Astros come home and leave the damn roof closed like it should be.
    * Whitley gave up 5 runs pitching in relief today. Forrest Whitley, the Astros #1 prospect pitched in relief today. How screwed up is that?

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  29. And for many of the reasons illustrated, I think we’re going to have a big month. Don’t forget we’re playing some of the weaker teams in the league.

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  30. Some interesting stats:
    -The Mariners offense leads all of baseball in HRs(68) and Strikeouts(359).
    – The Astros lead all of baseball in BA, SLG and OPS. Their pitchers have walked the fewest batters in MLB and, thus, have the lowest WHIP in MLB.
    – Fielding-wise, the Astros have the highest DER, defensive efficiency ratio of all MLB teams. Although there is a lot of defensive stat mumbo jumbo, I assume this means the Astros defense is “pretty good”.
    -The Astros now top the majors in run differential, tied with Tampa at +46.

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  31. Something I noticed was the players helmet’s with the Word “Ford” on them . Are we now advertising cars on the equipment, paying tribute to somebody or did I just miss something? Didn’t get to see much baseball this weekend as a 36 hole golf marathon was in full swing.

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    • Googled it and apparently mlb does this for international games – advertising on helmets – did this for games in Japan and other games in Mexico

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      • I noticed that the attendance for a lot of teams is down significantly with some trending upward. The sad part is that baseball is becoming like other sports where the typical family or occasional team supporter will have to mortgage their house to be able to go see a game. Maybe some of those that have attended games could enlighten me.

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      • Zanuda, It’s definitely not cheap. My reality is that I have far less disposable income than I did 30 or even 40 years ago. It’s probably not the same with most people my age, but financially things did not turn out the way Raymond James might have suggested!

        When I was in Houston during Opening Day week, I bought 50 plus dollar tickets from an online broker when I did not have access to the family season tickets. That’s for upstairs. Then I used my childhood skills to sneak down lower where I could see the ballgame. In 1974 I originally bought those season tickets when they cost 3.50 per seat per game, in the first row behind the third base dugout. And there were no seat license fees back then. Today, in the downtown park, the (monied part) of the family sits in excellent seats, but further out and on the 7th row. That was done to avoid the 10,000 dollar license fee per seat when the new park was opened. The 7th row tickets now cost 75.00 each base price, with significantly higher dynamic pricing affecting at least half of the schedule.

        So anyway, because I was in town, I splurged. I had a couple of 11.00 dollar Stella’s. But I did not eat. I’m guessing quite a few of those family’s of four got the tickets from the boss. And I can see why dollar hot dog night is so popular. Those things are 6.25 each regularly. But Houston is still a city with a whole lot of disposable income. What amazes me most is the staggering sum of money people spend nightly on Astro gear, sometimes waiting on line even during the game, just to get into one of the several stores packed all night with spenders.

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      • Dave, I guess I got spoiled as a 10 year old helping my mom and dad run a concession stand at Rice Stadium. Hot dogs – .25 and hot coffee – .10. I was living in Houston in the mid eighties when Coca-Cola had a promotion to collect and turn in your cans for Astro’s tickets. I probably went to at least 10 games that season. The seats were generally located behind the 1st base dugout about 25 rows up so they were good seats. I went to a few games and payed regular price but I guess those tickets are about $58 – $75 now. Yes I got spoiled. I’d just like to see a promotion whereby unsold tickets at game time go on sale so we can have sell out’s. Rather see that than a bunch of unsold seats. Of course, someday I’ll make a trip to Houston and yes, I’ll be buying tickets to the game(s).

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      • Zanuda, when were those hot dogs selling for 25 cents at Rice? I’m trying to think back to what they cost in the Dome in 1970 when I first went there, maybe 75 cents. But I’ve always been pretty firm on avoiding ballpark food, unless beer and peanuts counts.

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      • Should have been around 1962-63 if memory serves me right. When we ran low I would get the task of running down to the commissary at what I believe was the south end of the stadium to tell them we needed more. The fun part was getting to ride the cart back to the second level with the coffee and dogs.

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  32. The players will be saying: Our Wells Fargo, HEB, MD Anderson, Whataburger, Minute Maid, Dockers, Acme Brick, Crane Logistics team was hitting on all cylinders today.

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  33. Those two gms in Mex was fun to watch. I’m with Becky, we should play all our gms there the way they were hitting. Hope they keep it going. There are 2 things I would like to see the position guys improve on. 1) Patience at the plate. Tuve is scuffling hard & swinging at everything, esp out the zone. As long as he swings at *$&Q# pitchers will continue to throw him #)*$ until he rights the ship and allow himself to get back on track. As good as the top of the lineup is currently hitting, they can at times (Correa, Springer, Brantley, Yuli, Tuve in particular) become very undisciplined at critical moments. It burns me up to watch our guys pile up SO’s chasing curvy balls out the zone. We expect more of that out he bottom of the lineup. It’s hard to complain when those guys, including AB have great BA’s, OBP’s, Slugging, ect. I’m thinking greedily, the improvement if they slow down & breathe more often. 2) is pitch selection/recognition. SP’s know to feed George a steady diet of curvy balls, make him lunge or swing out his shoes trying to hit’em. Carlos & Yuli too sometimes. They absolutely kill mistake and FB’s often enough, and get hot too. I can’t imagine how much more these guys can slay if they slow down and breathe. I guess I could say the same league wise but this darn lineup is SPECIAL, WS special. I’m feelin a vibe about this tm, esp if they can get the pitching worked out. My vibe is Astros/Cubs. Remember I said this!
    I can’t figure how Josh is slayin the ball with nothing much to show for it. He should catch up soon enough.

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    • Maybe José needs a visit from his old pal Hudgens.
      He did give his former hitting coach credit for his exceptional hitting.

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  34. So let me get this straight…heading into this weekend we were on pace to win a disappointing 95 games playing against teams above .500… and now comes the easy part of the schedule? I like our chances, providing Altuve comes around.

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  35. Plenty of clamoring for Álvarez on the various sites right now. But what does he do if he comes?

    We’ve not had such a solid starting outfield in many years. And no way Brantley is giving way in left to be our DH as some suggest, giving his job to an inexperienced defensive liability. Heck, Brantley is a finalist for club MVP YTD.

    Yuli is playing a defensive first base that Alvarez will never approach. And he’ll end up hitting enough. As it is, we’ve got a very formidable line up with him and Altuve not hitting.

    So that leaves the DH role for Álvarez. Do we want to let White or Kemp go so this guy 21 year old kid can sit on the bench all night in between at bats?

    Álvarez will get his shot, probably when someone is inevitably injured, as Dan suggests. But there is no rush today.

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