The other day an article popped up on the mlb.com site that caught this writer’s fancy.
An article ranked the top 800 players in the MLB from a fantasy standpoint. Being the big homer that I am, I decided to pull out where the Astros fall in this list……
15. Kyle Tucker
24. Yordan Alvarez
53. Jose Altuve
57. Alex Bregman
72. Carlos Correa – in the list, just for fun.
107. Ryan Pressly
109. Justin Verlander
125. Framber Valdez
152. Michael Brantley
155. Yuli Gurriel
157. Luis Garcia
174. Lance McCullers Jr.
185. Jose Urquidy
316. Cristian Javier
381. Jake Odorizzi
402. Hector Neris
414. Chas McCormick
525. Jake Meyers
543. Jeremy Pena
555. Jose Siri
556. Niko Goodrum
587. Ryne Stanek
598. Aledmys Diaz
618. Martin Maldonado
667. Phil Maton
677. Jason Castro
785. Lewis Brinson
The list brings to mind several thoughts and questions.
- The baseball world recognizes that Kyle Tucker was a good choice to make untouchable. We won’t talk about that Forrest Whitley guy.
- The fantasy guys don’t care that Yordan Alvarez is not a great fielder. He is one of the best hitters in the majors already.
- Carlos Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, may want to hide Correa’s ranking from potential suitors.
- Who wants to bet on whether Justin Verlander ends up outside the top 100 players of the MLB in 2022?
- There are 154 players better than Yuli Gurriel? (OK – truth in advertising here – the fantasy value will reward those like Tucker who can fill in the most statistical boxes from batting average to power to speed and onward. Gurriel, not so much…)
- Ryne Stanek and Aledmys Diaz are behind Jose Siri and Niko Goodrum? Really?
- Phil Maton looked a lot better than 667 in his playoff run.
- Big gap between Jose Urquidy at 185 and Cristian Javier at 316. Again, Javier has performed better than that in his short time with the Astros.
- If we don’t count Carlos Correa, the Astros have 12 players in the top 185. That may not seem that great, but considering there are 30 teams in the majors, the average team should have about 6 players on the list, so pushing 12 players that high is actually quite impressive.
- I’m not sure I can argue where Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers fall on that list, but I’m sure hoping that one or the other breaks out this season.
- Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro fall on the list and makes one wonder when #1 prospect Korey Lee will get the call.
Anything strike you from the Astros ranking on the list or anybody else on that list?
CHIPALATTA 
Reading about the JV and LMJ injury situations, I’m much more worried about Lance. There have been a bunch of times when players try to avoid surgery and end up trying to get something to heal and then end up having surgery many months down the line. JV sounds like its just a product of not wanting to repeat 2020 when he got hurt. He ramped up for spring training that year and then had to shut down with the pandemic and then had to ramp up again for the delayed start of the season. This time he has been on a slow roll because he did not know when the season would actually start and now can’t ramp up in time for the season – which is OK. September/October much more important you would think.
LikeLike
That’s certainly my concern with LMJ. I’d be pleased if Verlander got into October with 100 to 125 quality innings under his belt. We can manage that.
LikeLike
Fantasy Land gets blown up when I think about how the Astros wasted three top draft choices on Mark Appel, Brady Aiken and Forrest Whitley.
Every time Whitley says or does something publicly, the dumbass surfaces.
This time he says his elbow was bad for years. But, I recall that video of him in the offseason a few years ago trying to throw 110 mph like Bauer did, and realize just how thick-headed a person can be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Is the #72 rated Fantasy Player worth $340 million?
LikeLiked by 1 person
And the answer to your question is a resounding NO!
LikeLike
But then again it’s all relevant isn’t it?
LikeLike
Not that I think Correa is worth $340 MM – but when you compare him to a couple SS’s rated much higher…. here’s what 2021 looked like
Correa – #72 – .279 BA/ .366 OBP/ .850 OPS 104 runs/26 HRs/92 RBIs / 0 SB
Anderson #30 – .309 BA/.338 OBP/ .806 OPS 94 runs/17 HRs/61 RBIs/ 18 SB
Story – #34 – .251 BA/ .329 OBP/ .801 OPS 88 runs/ 24 HRs/ 75 RBIs/ 20 SB
Correa was basically the better run producer with a higher OPS, but does not steal bases. From a fantasy standpoint he is not as valuable because he does not check off the SB box , but it would be hard to argue that at 27 y.o. (the other two are 29 and 28) he would be worth less than they are out in the world and his defense does not get factored in at all.
Again not worth the huge money, but really better than the 72nd best player out there
LikeLike
When asked whether he could return to the 2019 version of himself, Bregman said “Yeah – maybe a bit better”
I would take that and not look back
LikeLike
Where there is buzz there is fire
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/carlos-correa-rumors-astros-cubs-tigers-javier-baez.html
LikeLike
Astros sign lefty reliever Zac Rosscup to a minor league contract. Very good against lefty’s – righty’s not so good.
LikeLike
33 y/o. Lifetime ERA (6 MLB seasons) of 5.09. Lifetime WHIP of 1.638. High K rate 12.2 per nine, but also a high BB rate 5.8 per nine. I suspect this is his last shot – and that he won’t see much, if any, of the majors with us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Everyone knows that our pitching coach is great at resurrecting careers!
LikeLike
Do you mean we are flipping him to Arizona?
LikeLike
Astros have designated Jairo Solis for assignment to make room for Goodrum on the 40 man
LikeLike
Solis has got to be bummed.
LikeLike
Failed recovery from TJ?
LikeLike
Shame dude has an arm. I would be surprised if no one makes room on their 40 for him. Hopefully we keep him and he gets on the mound some this year somewhere in the system. Once probably the hardest thrower in our entire system.
LikeLike
I think if one was building a team, he would probably agree with the listing or something close.
LikeLike
Correa is probably higher than the 72nd best player in baseball. The funny thing about Fantasy baseball is it rates SB’s a lot more than they are probably actually impactful.
Homeruns are funny things. Sometimes you pile on a pitcher and pick one up on the backend of a struggling bullpen when you are already up to 8-1 in the 7th. Fairly useless homerun, just a stat builder. Stolen bases can happen that way too. There is no doubt that if you pick up a 1st to 2nd stolen base in the 7th inning of a tied game you have greatly contributed to your teams chances to win that game I just don’t know how many of them actually turn into runs. We know a homerun in a tied game in the 7th does turn into a run, every time.
Now, still, 340 million? I would say not. Apparently so has the rest of baseball or he wouldn’t still be a free agent.
LikeLike
340 is hard for me to fathom, but I’m sure Boras has other ideas. Are the other guys making that money worth it? He would argue yes and further that his client is worth more. I remain ok with paying Correa too much for 2 or 3 years, maybe 4.
LikeLike
With you IF I know 6 or 7 of those 10 years are last year. 17-18-19, none of those years were last year. If only he had a track record of being available 150 games a year when you are asking for that kind of money. But I definitely don’t mind the Astros overpaying because they aren’t overpaying for him out of my checking account (at least directly).
LikeLike
And the next quality player to exit the listing tanker-ship formerly known as the Oakland A’s is …. Matt Chapman. Give our regards to George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Trent Thornton, Yimi Garcia, and that kid named Biggio, Matt.!
LikeLike
Blue Jays are a dangerous looking team if they get enough pitching
LikeLike
Jairo Solis was starting to cost a lot more money on the 40-man as a result of the new CBA. Because he already had a couple of seasons on that 40-man he was getting into that higher tier of pay and still had at least two more seasons in the minors before he would be ready.
Add to that the fact that the Astros were not able to see his rehab results during the pandemic and had no contact with him during this offseason. Solis’s injuries during the time of strife was the final string that unraveled his bail of hay.
Here’s hoping his chances are still there to make a comeback.
LikeLike
Right, either the 40 man or the 60 day DL comes with major league minimum salary.
If he clears waivers, and assuming the reports are correct and he will not throw a pitch this year, he probably will clear then the Astros will be able to again store him away on the 60 day DL in Sugar Land and tackle this problem this time next year. He is still pretty young.
I can’t imagine anyone is going to risk that kind of money on taking him but stranger things have happened. Every time now we have a hard thrower come off TJ and left off the 40 man I get Johan Santana jitters.
LikeLike
daveb has a confession to make. He confused Solis with Siri.
LikeLike
Exactly how long has it been since your last confession, my son?
LikeLike
Maybe the A’s and the Reds should just have a combined fire sale. “Everything Worth Anything Absolutely Must Go! Dealers Welcome – but all Sales Final”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would like to see the Astros trade for Laureano just to see him have to work it out with Alex Cintron.
But actually, no to Laureano because Meyers and/or McCormick will produce the same stats for the Astros.
LikeLike
I was a really big fan of former Astro prospect Ramon Laureano back in the day, Sarge; but then he went to the As and got an attitude – and got caught doing PEDs. While I hate facing him because he always seems to play his best against us, I think at this point I’d still rather face him a few times in a division series than rely on him for a whole year. Jake and Chaz seem like a better bet for me.
LikeLike
Maybe that lost season at Corpus in 2017 was a result of the guy staying off performance enhancing drugs.
LikeLike
McHugh is a Brave guy:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/braves-sign-collin-mchugh.html
And Greinke going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/03/royals-sign-zack-greinke.html
LikeLike
With Steve favorite Matt Duffy getting the same contract from the Angels that we gave Goodrum here is my take on what is probably insignificant 24th spot on the roster and what it tells me how I think the Astros are thinking –
Taking career averages we can expect in 300 plate appearances –
Goodrum .23o BA .303 OBP 8 HR 92 SO, 27 BB
Duffy – .283 BA .341 OBP 4 HR 50 SO 21 BB
Goodrum would draw a walk or two more, and hit for slightly more power, but Duffy is clearly the better hitter. What do I think is happening – the Astros are more interested in Goodrum being primarily a SS that can play every position and less interested in Duffy being primarily a 3B that can play 4 other positions but not all of them.
My take – they have zero plans to move Bregman off of third or see Diaz playing SS on a daily basis – they have only played Diaz at SS 81 innings in 3 years, and one of those years Correa missed a lot of time. It looks more and more like the Astros are serious, and it might happen, that they bring back Correa. If not, Pena is plan B, and Goodrum is plan C. That is my guess.
I’m also thinking Story’s agent is waiting on the Correa domino to fall and use the leverage of the teams that aren’t in on Correa jumping on what would be the last legit SS on the market, causing an increase in his market and final contract. That could give us Story as a consolation prize.
I think the Astros SS spot is too important to trust to a guy that is a little old for a rookie and is likely to hit .240 with a .300 OBP and just a little pop. I’ve heard wonderful things about his defense but with CF already being a spot where the best we can hope for is the aggregate holds water at .250/.310/380 ish and catcher being an offensive black hole, I just don’t think we can give opposing pitchers a free inning at 7/8/9 spots. Correa helps the lineup depth keep pressure and relieves free innings, particularly in the playoffs where we can’t just throw innings away.
The Astros are making the playoffs with or without Correa. The pitching is what will get us there through the regular season. In this unimportant opinion – at this point we should consider giving that contract because he makes us better when it matters – October.
LikeLike
Another consideration is whether Houston has approached players with offers and been denied. It’s easy from a fantasy baseball perspective to assemble a lineup, but in the real world they are still dealing with the fallout from the scandal as well as having to get approval from spouses and such. I do agree with your take though – the Astros value defense more than most teams and are less likely to plug in a guy who will have negative runs saved if they can avoid it.
I do wonder if the Astros approached Kris Bryant with the idea of having him play 3B and LF with Bregman moving primarily to SS. They could have beat the offer the Rockies gave him. Given we lost the WS because we couldn’t hit lefties when we needed it, putting a bat like his in MMP might generate far more wins than retaining Correa. It also would have been a fallback if Bregman never again approaches the performance that earned him the contract. Having said that, with Bryant being a Boras client there might have been little chance of us signing him before Correa was rostered elsewhere.
LikeLike
I believe the Astros simply do not think Bregman is a shortstop at this point in time.
LikeLike
Let’s face it – they need Bregman to be concentrating on being healthy in the position he is comfortable in – not flying around trying to hard to be Carlos Correa 2.0.
LikeLike
And Dan, he really does not fly around very well.
LikeLike
In Duffy’s case I don’t think it was a didn’t want to be here, after all he did not opt out in 2020, he just didn’t get an offer.
If the Astros do resign Correa or sign Story, Goodrum at least keeps the Robel Garcia’s of the world off the roster. The Astros have given Bregman over 1400 innings at SS, which is significant, but I just think Goodrum sends a message that they are more worried about middle infield depth, and that tells me Bregman is no longer apart of that equation. Diaz has 2380 innings at SS in his career and is negative in just about every stat there is to use at the position. He got 9 games there last year but that was only 59 innings, so some of that was probably shifting into the position on double switch.
Correa missed 14 games last year. Robel Garcia started 8 of those. Robel Garcia. Not Diaz. Not Bregman. Robel Garcia.
No, if they don’t sign Correa, and they don’t sign Story, Pena and Goodrum are their answers. That will be unfortunate.
LikeLike
The Dodgers keep spending money like drunk sailors on shore leave after a year at sea. WOW! They are, seriously, trying to buy a world series pennant.
LikeLike
Tell Becky we missed out on bringing Villar back as our SS as he signs for $6MM for one year with the Cubs.
Colin Moran signs into the Reds’ rebuild or whatever the heck they are doing.
LikeLike