Astros 2024: Quick spring training thoughts

This OG is going to be tied up the next couple of days with festivities for somebody’s 50th high school reunion. It can’t be mine because that is for VOGs, right? Anyway, I’m trying to do a quick brain dump today to give my friends something to chew on.

This Offense Could be Great

We get hung up on the negatives, the injuries, the underperforming, the help the front office did not add, etc., in Spring Training. But this team’s starting nine, with some help off the bench, could be special.

  • It is the obvious one, but not giving 400 plate appearances to the worst regular hitter in the majors last season, Martin Maldonado, has to help.
  • Jose Abreu working around missing time from a minor knee injury has hit well this spring. Even halfway between last year’s stinker and his normal excellent production would be a nice boost.
  • Both Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez had the quality last year, but due to injury did not have the quantity. Give them a full season and they can supercharge the production.
  • Alex Bregman is playing to impress everyone for free agency at the end of the season. Kyle Tucker is one year farther away, but undoubtedly would like the Brinks truck to back up to his locker before his lame duck season.
  • Jeremy Pena had better numbers under the surface (BB% up/ K% down) in 2023, but his power disappeared in the second half of the season. He is hoping a new swing will move him back to the production he showed in the 2022 postseason. Note – No HRs so far this spring.
  • Chas McCormick has been told he will be in the lineup every day in LF or CF and he is killing it in ST ball. Jake Meyers has been told the same thing and has hit with a bit more sting in the spring, but his BA is sinking back to Jake territory.
  • If Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini repeat their 2023 numbers, this may be the best-hitting catcher combo in the team’s history.
  • Mauricio Dubon is following up a solid 2023 with a great spring. Spreading him around the field and giving him enough ABs to keep sharp will be a pleasant challenge for Joe Espada.

The Starting Pitching Should Be Good

Maybe you have to squint at this a little bit to see through the question marks bouncing around this spring, but there is not a team in the majors that does not have starting pitching injuries or question marks.

  • Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier have good track records overall, and Javier, who had a spottier 2023, has been nail-biting this spring.
  • J.P. France, after a slow start to the spring with shoulder soreness, has looked good in two starts. With one more build-up start before the season starts, he should be ready to go.
  • Hunter Brown has been good this spring pitching much better than he did down the stretch with the team last season.
  • Ronel Blanco has been a surprise this spring as he has pitched 15.2 scoreless innings and likely cemented himself a starting spot to begin the season and perhaps beyond. At the very least he may be one of those swing guys who can pick up multiple innings out of the bullpen or spot start after the cavalry returns.
  • Brandon Bielak got hit hard in early spring but had a good turn last time out. When called upon, he has been good in the last three seasons, with a 4.05 ERA in 142.1 innings. He’s not going to blow anyone away, but he is a solid option while waiting for help to come.
  • Justin Verlander will start the season on the IL. He has been throwing off the mound most of the spring after an off-season setback with a sore shoulder, but finally threw live batting practice on Thursday. He will do that one more time before starting the season in the minors and building himself up for a return a few weeks into April (we hope).
  • Jose Urquidy will start the season on IL and not throwing. The plus side is that his MRI did not show damage and he will start throwing again sometime in early April. The negative side is that we probably won’t be seeing him for awhile – maybe May or June, if…..he does not do more damage.
  • And….maybe, possibly, cross your fingers, we hope – one or both of Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia will return sometime during 2024 to help out the rotation and/or the bullpen.

Speaking of the bullpen….

While the bullpen was talked about a lot in the beginning of Spring Training, there has been more focus on the rotation lately. But should it be?

  • The Big 3 of Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu have all pitched a bit (5 innings or less) in Spring Training. Hader has been pretty good, Pressly so-so and Abreu had one really bad outing. It probably does not mean much.
  • Rafael Montero (9.67 ERA/ 2.79 WHIP) has been awful in Spring training. Dylan Coleman, who was brought here in a trade from KC, has been ghastly (14.54 ERA and 8 walks in 4.1 innings) and was sent to start the season in the minors.
  • Parker Mushinski and Seth Martinez have both posted a 0.00 ERA so far in Spring. Bennett Sousa has been decent.
  • Once things get rolling, the Astros could be moving Bielak and/or Blanco back into the bullpen, but it feels like they are a little light and might make a move before the season to bring in more help.

Anyways – that is how things feel a week out from the regular season. What are your thoughts today?

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32 responses to “Astros 2024: Quick spring training thoughts”

  2. You’re not that old yet! Have fun. 

    We’ve got a great line up. Pena hit 9th yesterday. The old slow guy in that slot last year is hitting .107 over 32 PA’s this spring. Again, I just want Jeremy to hit the .350 mark on OBP this year. It’s doable. He does not need to hit 20 homers. Jake will hit 8th unless he hands the job over to Joey Loperfido. Not a bad back up plan. I’m even optimistic about Abreu. He looks to be in better shape.

    There are a whole lot of clubs without five legitimate starters right now. I think we’re okay. And I think our starters will be better than they were last year.

    The pen will be a work in progress. But Blanco might end up a force. He’s reminding me more and more of Abreu. France might help. And if Garcia and or McCullers get back, it’s almost a bonus. 

    I’m looking forward to Opening Day. It’s a good club.

     

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      • Spit spot there Simon, my friend from across the pond (who has settled over here in the colonies). I’m not sure what spit spot means, but in my mind I can picture Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins saying it and that makes it good for me.

        But in general, maybe everyone is sick of supposing things and are ready for the real deal to begin the end of next week. But if anyone wants to carry on a conversation here – let er rip.

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  6. The Mrs. and I both realized that Pena is returning to his old batting stance. His bat wriggle is back and he is lifting his left foot at the same time as his bat wriggle. In his new stance, he kept his bat quiet and only occasionally lifted his left foot.

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  8. OK, that worked. Fangraphs says the Astros project to be the strongest team in the AL with a lineup second only to the Yankees and the third best pitching behind Toronto and Minnesota.

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  10. The Astros released Ross Adolf, the last of the three prospects they received in the JD Davis trade to the Mets in 2019.

    I last looked at the Sugarland roster a couple of weeks ago and wondered where the Astros would put all their outfielders in AAA and figured then that Adolf was destined to leave.

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  13. My thoughts today:

    Rare is it that I consider the first four games of the season to be perhaps the four most important games of the season. But, there is royalty in MLB and their names are Yankees and Dodgers. Huge fanbases, huge payrolls and huge bias for them in the media.

    Going into the season with no Astros coverage. Might have to purchase a new PC to keep up. Even rebroadcasted Astros Spring Training games on MLB network were blacked out.

    Kelvin Sampson left so much unsaid after last night’s game. I admire his restraint. Now, Houston gets to play Duke! OMG, your five starters have 24 of the 25 possible personal fouls called against them and you still win by five points in OT. Amazing!

    If you merge the LIV tour with the PGA Tour, it seems only fair that you figure out the average amount of money the Saudi’s paid to the traitors who left the PGA Tour, and get the Saudis to fork out that average amount of money to each PGA Tour player who stayed. That puts the two tour’s players on equal financial footing even before all the other details of a merger are settled upon.

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    • 1oldpro, to me, it’s so important the Astros take back ownership of their home field in 2024. I want that to start on Thursday.

      I will try to remember to post when the Astros are playing a “Free game of the Day”. I don’t know why you are getting blocked from watching the re-plays of games this year.

      Plenty to say about the basketball game that kept me up late last night. But what impressed me most, with all the contact, all the guys slamming the floor, all the pulverizing drives to the hoop by BOTH teams over that remarkable 45 minutes, there was not one moment of anger, trashing talking or a cheap shot by any of those players. And they all finished with handshakes and hugs that were beyond the obligatory versions. Wonderful effort by those kids and coaches.

      I think I might be more enthusiastic about the azalea’s at Augusta than the golf that will be played. They’ve pretty much lost me.  

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  14. I have to talk a bit about the Coogs. They have been playing short handed anyways as they lost two of their rotational bigs to season ending injuries. Then you get into a foul marred affair where you have guys getting fouled out on ticky tack fouls (or non-fouls). Losing Francis – one of your remaining bigs, with Roberts your other starting big ham strung with four fouls during regulation was tough. Having Sharp, Cryer and Shead (combined for 71 points) fouled out between regulation and over time – and Shead is the point guard leader of this team – left them desperate.

    In a Hoosier type moment – you have Ryan Elvin, a walk-on having to take a couple key free throws with them only up 3 in the last 15 seconds of OT. He missed one but calmly sank the other one. This is a kid where he only plays in blow outs and where they give him standing ovations when he does score.

    I love how tough this team is – but man if they have to go against Purdue at some point and their giant center – the only chance they have is to take it away from him before he shoots.

    Yeah – Kelvin Sampson only talked about how A&M kept grabbing offensive rebounds and made impossible 3’s and how his kids missed a few crucial free throws. He didn’t talk about how tough the refs made it for his short squad.

    Proud of this team and how even those who rarely get to play contributed.

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      • Well – have to put this out there – I went to St. Thomas – All boys school, so the ladies that did come with their alumni husbands were a bit younger

        In general I was surprised that the guys did not look that decrepit and their wives in most cases were a bit better looking – but I think hot has left the dock for both the men and the ladies at this time. LOL

        Except for my wife

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  16. I’m pretty sure I am blocked out from Astros stuff because I live in south central OK and that is Rangers territory. I will live with it. I made the move from ATT to Dish to save money and I will have access to the playoffs.

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  17. I guess we aren’t talking about the immediate shutdown of our offense the moment we returned to Minute Maid Park. Nah – surely we fixed that problem in the off-season, didn’t we?

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  18. Wednesday morning:

    Me drinking coffee and reading the news of the world.

    Wifey snoring nearby.

    Last season’s show calves in the west pasture.

    This year’s show calves in the pen.

    My son working on the tractor to make the view to the north look like a park.

    Dogs chasing and barking at a deer running through the woods to the south. Had to get up to see that.

    Rooster crowing and hens free ranging in the front yard

    Too early in the spring for tomatoes or hummingbirds.

    Grandkids gone to school already

    Retirement in the country. Worked like a mule for 50 years for this. Time for another cuppa!

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    • Got up two hours before dawn and took a shower

      Stumbled out to the car and weaved my way out of our parking garage

      Drove 35 minutes to downtown trying to avoid the idiots who think they are driving in a video game and the drugged out zombies wandering around the downtown streets

      Grabbed a breakfast taco downstairs and rode the elevator up to the 18th floor

      Hurried over to the galley for a cup of coffee

      Talked to my lead piping guy, who is on the way to a hospital in Beaumont where his mom will be undergoing heart surgery this morning.

      Stopped to say a prayer for Dave, his mom and her surgeons

      Opened an email and started working on a morning “demand” from the client

      Listened to the sirens going off at the firestation two blocks away

      Considered emptying my crates (they moved me to the 18th floor yesterday) and then did not consider it

      Thought about writing an opening day column at lunch today

      Non-retirement in the city – worked like a mule for 45 years to be where I was – Time for another cuppa

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    • 1oldpro, we have a few similarities! Free range hens, plenty of roosters crowing, dogs barking, wild donkeys braying all night long, open gate loving goats; how about the monkey troop running around up on the roof before dawn?

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  21. Guessing Murfee may not be ready until next spring because of his surgery, his lack of much accumulated MLB time added to his remaining full three options.

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  22. Julks was optioned this morning. The bench is set at:

    Dubon, Kessinger, Singleton and Caratini.

    Shift in strategy is indicated by having three lefties in the bullpen(Hader, Sousa, Mushinski) and one lefty on the bench(Singleton) joined by a switch hitter(Caratini).

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