Dan P’s ability to type is a bit restricted after some surgery last Friday, so I will be going for shorter / pithier posts. Wait while I get my pith helmet.
Thoughts
- I can’t be the only one who reads the latest from Lance McCullers Jr. and pictures a comic strip from my youth. You know the comic strip Peanuts where Lucy invites Charlie Brown for the 100th time to kick the football she is holding for him and for the 100th time she pulls it away at the last second. Is LMJ going to make it all the way back and help this team? Or will that football get jerked away at the last second?
- Jose Altuve makes a throwing error in his second game in LF. The position experiment must stop!!!!
OK, just a little over-reaction there. Patience folks (but since when are we patient?)
- Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti were pretty terrific down the stretch in 2024 and looked strong in early Spring Training starts. I think they could be the best of the best for the Astros. That is – they may be the best players at what I consider the strongest position for the Astros. The starting pitching. And if Framber Valdez pitches strong enough to challenge them – even better.
- One of my favorite parts of Spring Training is getting a glance at prospects who may make the team or may be brought up later. Nothing better than seeing Cam Smith hit two homers, Jose Fleury strike out three in two innings or Ryan Gusto start off ST with a shutout streak to raise the spirits about the future.
- Big question for GM Dana Brown… do you make any decisions about positions based on small sample sizes in the spring? For instance, do you go chase outfield help because the OFs in camp stink or do you chase outfield help because you know you need outfield help?
- Thought it was interesting that Brian McTaggart wrote the following yesterday…
“McCullers is one of three starting pitchers the Astros hope to get back from injury this year. Luis Garcia, who had Tommy John surgery in May 2023, hit 90 mph in the bullpen on Thursday and could face hitters this month. Cristian Javier, who had Tommy John surgery in June 2024, could return in the second half of the season.”
Uh – did J.P. France die? In his last full season before getting injured he went 11-6 with a 3.83 ERA in 136.1 innings in 2023. Is this telling us he is not coming back in 2025 or just forgotten?
Anyways, there are a few items to chew on – what do you think?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
24 responses to “Quick thoughts on the Astros today”
https://www.mlb.com/news/j-p-france-working-back-from-shoulder-surgery
It appears that France will be back in July at the earliest.
McCullers is one of those instances of “I will believe it when I see it” as to when he will possibly pitch for the Astros again.
I did not see the Altuve error. Did he throw to the wrong base, short-arm a throw or over- threw a player?
They need outfield help but who could they sign that would actually benefit the club??
Get well Dan!
Dave, good to know your eyesight has improved!!
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Did not see the game either, but apparently Jose made a bad throw to home. From the Crawfish Boxes game thread: https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2025/3/2/24376230/spring-training-game-9-thread-march-2-2025-12-05-ct-nats-astros
Ruiz reaches on an error by Guillorme; Lowe scores on a throwing error by Tuve. Blanco failed to back up home as well.
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They have video up on the article here: https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-altuve-makes-nice-catch-error-playing-left-field
It looks like the SS missed a ball and Altuve charged in, attempted to throw out a runner at home, but had too much side-spin on the ball and it went up the 3rd base line and short.
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Baseball is (almost) back!
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Amen brother
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I send a link to our friends at the crawfishboxes who linked to us today
Astros Crawfish Boil: March 3, 2025 – The Crawfish Boxes
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If Framber can challenge Arrighetti and Brown?
Let’s see, Framber is 68 and 41 in his career. The other two are a combined 31 and 35. I think both those boys have a little bit more to prove before you can make those comparisons.
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While I don’t just judge pitchers on W-L – I think it is a fair point. But I especially liked Hunter’s numbers after he straightened out his pitch selection (thanks to Bregman?) after a BAAAD April. He was 11-5 with a 2.51 from May to the end of the season and looked like a hoss.
I may be stretching on Arrighetti – though he looked dominant at times down the stretch.
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With the exception of strike outs per nine, and the difference there is negligible, pick your favorite stat. Frambers last four seasons have been better than Browns best. I hope he puts it all together this season and going forward. But he has a ways to go to be Framber.
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I don’t know LMJ but, having watched him pitch for years, I think he is craving pitching well for the Astros again. His contract and his injuries are not interlinked and I believe he has been legitimately hurt and has done everything he could to get back. I hope he does, as I would welcome his successful comeback this season.
Altuve said he knows what he did wrong on his error and will get it fixed. I believe him. If he wants it, he will be the left fielder for the Astros and if he hits as well as he has in the past, he will make the AS team.
Thanks to Sarge for the France update. Looking forward to JP’s healthy return.
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Framber, Arrighetti, and Brown are looking good at this point. Wesneski a so- so and Blanco not looking so good. But tere are others who look promising. Hitting still seem s to be lacking.
Does anybody know when they make the 1st cuts?
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They made cuts today.
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So glad the O’s and the Nats worked out their differences on the MASN TV deal. That was a storm cloud hanging over an area of the baseball world and now they can make decisions for themselves without fear of further interference in their finances. New ownership on one side has broken the stalemate.
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In today’s game – Cam Smith pinch ran for Altuve – the next time around he hit a 3 run triple to flip the Astros into a 4-3 lead.
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I love triples.
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I do also, especially when the bases are loaded!!
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It’s been a long time for Lance and Luis, and a pretty long time for France. I’ve pretty much much forgotten about those guys, at least to the point of expectations. Anything we get from those guys would be a bonus for me. And I keep seeing Urquidy working his butt off on Instagram. I sure hope there are regular discussions between the club and his camp. His lifetime WHIP remains 1.14.
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So, the latest Camstats for Spring Training (Cam Smith)
.571 BA/ .727 OBP / 2.441 OPS – 4 runs / 2 HRs/ 1 triple (nearly a grand slam) / 6 RBIs / 2 walks in 9 plate appearances
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The question is does he get a shot at making the opening day roster or even playing an everyday position or does he get sent down to the minors? In comparison to what our outfielders are doing the answer should be obvious but we don’t get to make those decisions.
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Z – I think the following…
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Hunter getting some love
Dark horse MLB stat leader predictions for 2025
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Here are some very early Spring training stats:
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Maybe someone told KT it was a playoff series.
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Tucker was heard to say, “I don’t know what Bregman’s been smoking but I’d sure like to have some of it.”
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