2019 Houston Astros Thread

[kskboys]

Let's leave the personal attacks outside the door.

I could not agree more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kskboys]

Actually trading away the little talent they had allowed them to build the team and the farm teams they currently have.

Yup. The primary reason we are where we are is due to tanking. Not necessarily who we got for the traded players, but the high draft picks that resulted from blowing chunks for several years. Those high draft picks panned out and led to the 17 series win.

 

[kskboys]

Astros have a "bushel basket" full of outfielders at this point...

Something has to give.

Can't keep Alvarez and Tucker down on the farm forever.

I believe the plan is for Alvarez to be the 1st baseman. That's where he'd been playing, but they got him some time in LF for positional versatility. He's not a good fielder and doesn't have a great arm, mostly a 1B/DH type.

Man, I just don't know what to think about Tucker any more. Yes, he has a very sweet swing, but every time they've brought him up he just looked so clueless at the plate. Hopefully he just needs more seasoning. What is he now, 21 or 22?

 

[Cowboys_22]

Great debut so far for Air Yordan

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Great debut so far for Air Yordan

Amazing how the kid has progressed and he's still very young.

 

[Cowboys_22]

Amazing how the kid has progressed and he's still very young.

Lot of pressure on him being his first game and fan expectations. He delivered. It’s gonna be fun the rest of the season especially when the big 3 come back in the lineup. Go Stros!

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Lot of pressure on him being his first game and fan expectations. He delivered. It’s gonna be fun the rest of the season especially when the big 3 come back in the lineup. Go Stros!

White will probably be designated for assignment and will probably be claimed by another team

The one regular I'd like to see go is Yuli. He was worth a crap last year and yeah I understand he was coming back from an injury.

But he's been crap again this year. An OK batting average, but no walks and little power.

Alvarez can take some of his attbats too.

 

[Rockport]

Kudo’s to the Astros and how they turned around the organization by building from the farm teams up. I’ll never forget 2 years ago when they beat the Red Sox, the Yankees and the Dodgers to win the World Series. Looking forward to what this season brings.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

A couple points about Yordan's first big-league homer...

It was mashed.

But it was mashed to left-center meaning it wasn't a ball he pulled. You watch his swing on this HR and he doesn't even appear to swing that hard.

But it went 414 feet.

I had read before where someone had compared him to David Ortiz...

I can see that.

 

[kskboys]

White will probably be designated for assignment and will probably be claimed by another team

The one regular I'd like to see go is Yuli. He was worth a crap last year and yeah I understand he was coming back from an injury.

But he's been crap again this year. An OK batting average, but no walks and little power.

Alvarez can take some of his attbats too.

Yuli is clutch. I think you're underrating him.

Ended up w/ the 2nd highest average w/ runners in scoring position last year.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Yuli is clutch. I think you're underrating him.

Ended up w/ the 2nd highest average w/ runners in scoring position last year.

But he's not getting on base enough, nor does he have enough power for a first baseman.

He has 4 homeruns this year and is a -0.7 WAR.

Plus he's 35 years old.

His days as a starter should be numbered.

 

[Cowboys_22]

I like Yuli. He’s been clutch in the past but the Stros have to make room for the younger talent. He’ll probably be gone along with White IMO. 2 cents

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Astros are going to have to make room for Kyle Tucker also...

20 homeruns in his last 43 games.

 

[kskboys]

But he's not getting on base enough, nor does he have enough power for a first baseman.

He has 4 homeruns this year and is a -0.7 WAR.

Plus he's 35 years old.

His days as a starter should be numbered.

No doubt.

Since they got rid of the steroids(mostly), players are now back to being done in their mid 30's.

I love what Yuri brings to the team, I'd like to see him hang around as the DH. Wish he'd cut that awful hair, tho!!!!!!

 

[RodeoJake]

Astros are going to have to make room for Kyle Tucker also...

20 homeruns in his last 43 games.

Tucker struggled with us last year, but his babip and exit velo suggests he was unlucky. He also has historically struggled in his first season at each level. Alvarez is a monster. Let's see how he responds when he goes through a rough stretch. Can't say enough about how Hinch has guided this club using a mostly AAA lineup. Framber is showing he belongs in the rotation. McHugh stays in the pen where he is much better. James has been throwing better of late, but there's no spot in the rotation for him unless Peacock or Miley start struggling. Hats off to Luhnow for the deep farm system. We ain't had this much talent since good ol Spec traded all-stars for garbage.

 

[kskboys]

Tucker struggled with us last year, but his babip and exit velo suggests he was unlucky. He also has historically struggled in his first season at each level. Alvarez is a monster. Let's see how he responds when he goes through a rough stretch. Can't say enough about how Hinch has guided this club using a mostly AAA lineup. Framber is showing he belongs in the rotation. McHugh stays in the pen where he is much better. James has been throwing better of late, but there's no spot in the rotation for him unless Peacock or Miley start struggling. Hats off to Luhnow for the deep farm system. We ain't had this much talent since good ol Spec traded all-stars for garbage.

Alvarez is different than most prospects. He simply doesn't swing at bad pitches. That is absolutely freaky for a 21 year old. You just don't see a youngster this advanced. It's not just that he's knocking the tar out of the ball, his command of the strike zone is that of a vet. It's just freaky. His bust potential is so tiny it's not even worth mentioning. I see a .280 hitter at the bare minimum, w/ 30+ homer power. And before someone starts gushing, that's the MINIMUM.

If Tucker had Alvarez's command of the strike zone, he'd already be up here. Will he learn it? Some do, some don't. Right now, he's still potential. Beautiful swing, but at present he's still being abused by major league pitching.

McHugh is what I call a 2 times pitcher. He's good up to twice through the lineup. After that, his stuff just isn't good enough if a batter sees it enough, or he gets a bit tired. I was sort of incensed when they put him back in the rotation. That was a mistake by Hinch.

I loooooove Framber. He's a topnotch #4 starter. Would be OK as a #3. Kid just knows how to pitch. And has exceptional movement on his pitches.

 

[RodeoJake]

Alvarez is different than most prospects. He simply doesn't swing at bad pitches. That is absolutely freaky for a 21 year old. You just don't see a youngster this advanced. It's not just that he's knocking the tar out of the ball, his command of the strike zone is that of a vet. It's just freaky. His bust potential is so tiny it's not even worth mentioning. I see a .280 hitter at the bare minimum, w/ 30+ homer power. And before someone starts gushing, that's the MINIMUM.

If Tucker had Alvarez's command of the strike zone, he'd already be up here. Will he learn it? Some do, some don't. Right now, he's still potential. Beautiful swing, but at present he's still being abused by major league pitching.

McHugh is what I call a 2 times pitcher. He's good up to twice through the lineup. After that, his stuff just isn't good enough if a batter sees it enough, or he gets a bit tired. I was sort of incensed when they put him back in the rotation. That was a mistake by Hinch.

I loooooove Framber. He's a topnotch #4 starter. Would be OK as a #3. Kid just knows how to pitch. And has exceptional movement on his pitches.

Alvarez hasn't gone through a rough patch in the bigs yet. That's when youngsters tend to get frustrated and start chasing. Tucker went through it last year when hard hit balls became outs instead of hits. He started chasing and it showed. I'm excited about Alvarez, but I want to see how he responds when he hits into bad luck. I don't remember ever seeing a youngster with his poise and strength. His ceiling is huge and his floor is high. The future with Alvarez and Tucker seems bright. The latter needs to be brought up or traded for a good starter. He's killing AAA pitching like Alvarez was earlier.

I agree about McHugh. He's a reliever. His stuff just ain't dominating enough to be a quality starter, but Hinch really didn't have much choice. Valdez struggled in spring training and James was injured.

I need to see how Valdez throws after a few more starts. Right now, his arm is relatively fresh. Let's see how he handles pitching through some arm fatigue.

Overall, I'm excited about this year's club. It has WS potential more so than we did 2 years ago. Enough cain't be said about the job Hinch has done. To be where we are minus 4 key contributors and the piecemeal rotation is amazing.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Tucker struggled with us last year, but his babip and exit velo suggests he was unlucky. He also has historically struggled in his first season at each level. Alvarez is a monster. Let's see how he responds when he goes through a rough stretch. Can't say enough about how Hinch has guided this club using a mostly AAA lineup. Framber is showing he belongs in the rotation. McHugh stays in the pen where he is much better. James has been throwing better of late, but there's no spot in the rotation for him unless Peacock or Miley start struggling. Hats off to Luhnow for the deep farm system. We ain't had this much talent since good ol Spec traded all-stars for garbage.

Tucker will be fine IMO. It's just a question on when he arrives.

Alvarez... What else can you say about him?

Thrilled with the way Framber has performed the last couple of starts. This team desperately needs a couple of the youngsters to show something in the starting rotation this year because Cole will not be back next year.

It's been depressing seeing some of the "name" guys like Whitley, Martin, Rogers get beaten up so far this season. Framber has been helped fills some of the void.

McHugh shot himself in the foot since he's an upcoming free agent.

James... Very intriguing. He still could be a solid rotation guy.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Alvarez hasn't gone through a rough patch in the bigs yet. That's when youngsters tend to get frustrated and start chasing. Tucker went through it last year when hard hit balls became outs instead of hits. He started chasing and it showed. I'm excited about Alvarez, but I want to see how he responds when he hits into bad luck. I don't remember ever seeing a youngster with his poise and strength. His ceiling is huge and his floor is high. The future with Alvarez and Tucker seems bright. The latter needs to be brought up or traded for a good starter. He's killing AAA pitching like Alvarez was earlier.

I agree about McHugh. He's a reliever. His stuff just ain't dominating enough to be a quality starter, but Hinch really didn't have much choice. Valdez struggled in spring training and James was injured.

I need to see how Valdez throws after a few more starts. Right now, his arm is relatively fresh. Let's see how he handles pitching through some arm fatigue.

Overall, I'm excited about this year's club. It has WS potential more so than we did 2 years ago. Enough cain't be said about the job Hinch has done. To be where we are minus 4 key contributors and the piecemeal rotation is amazing.

Reddick played some 1B I believe in the Spring.

I'd rather have Reddick at 1B, Tucker in RF and Yuli riding the bench if you're looking to maximize this offense.

 

[kskboys]

Man, how bad would it be to give up some youngsters for Bumgarner? How much would it take?