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After Protections – Astros’ Rule 5 Targets
A couple weeks ago this blog talked about the minor leaguers that the Astros were most likely to protect heading into the Rule 5 draft. Rule 5: Astros’ top 10 minor leaguers to consider The Astros protected a large group of minor leaguers by adding them to the 40 man roster, including IF Nolan Fontana, OF…
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Astros’ offseason: Pitching and baseball economics 101
With David Price hitting the $30 million a year level on his latest free agent contract, and Zack Greinke shattering that number, there has been much discussion on where the Houston Astros path forward should be on taking or not taking the plunge into the deep end of starting pitching free agency. The Astros have…
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December 2015: Crucial end to a great year for Astros
A year ago, the Astros entered December 2014 in a state of flux with very few of their many roster questions answered. At that time they had said goodbye to Jesus Guzman, Matt Albers and Jesse (we hardly knew ye) Crain. They had made the much maligned trade of Nick Tropeano and Carlos Perez for…
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A menagerie of off-season questions
The weather in Houston has turned from lingering summer to near winter conditions or winter as defined in southeast Texas where frost is considered the equivalent to a full out blizzard. So our minds wander to questions that may or may not matter in the coming season. Of the following players, who will have a…
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What they said, what they meant: Award Season Edition
Well, at this point the Astros are just waiting on Jeff Bagwell’s Hall of Fame vote. But with Keuchel’s rounding out the Astros’ award season, it’s time for another edition of … “What they said, What they meant.” But this time, there’s a twist ending. In addition to What they meant, we’ll also hear What…
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Rule 5: Astros’ top 10 minor leaguers to consider
The Rule 5 draft is coming up in December and it is a major driver in the next set of personnel decisions every team in the majors will make in the next month. The Houston Astros will definitely have their share of personnel decisions to complete on their eligible minor leaguers after losing the maximum 3 players…
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For Becky: What does it mean to be “Gold”?
First, congratulations to Dallas Keuchel and Jose Altuve for winning Gold Gloves. Keuchel has long been recognized for his glove, but Altuve used to be seen as a defensive liability. Frankly, for both, it shows what hard work will do. Could not be more proud, and I’m betting Becky is just beaming this morning. The…
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For Astros, help is just a phone call away
With a bunch of free agents hitting the market over the last few days, there is probably no shortage of possible hole fillers out there to help the Astros improve for 2016. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Nope, the phone calls I’m talking about are ones Jeff Luhnow should have on speed dial:…
