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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 25, 2022 12:15:55 GMT -6
Since this off-season has been pretty lame, time to play Armchair GM Do a 3 way trade with Cubs and Padres Astros get Myers (with $3M cash considerations) Contreras Cubs get Castro Siri A top 10 prospect from the Padres A top 25 prospect from the Astros Padres get (main thing is to dump Myers salary) Montero Some top 25 Cubs prospect After this trade Padres will sign Confronto Astros will sign Archer or Rosenthal Man, I do like me some Myers but not at a high price. He runs like a jackrabbit and has a decent bat. This team could use some more speed. |
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Post by Saint on Mar 25, 2022 12:30:19 GMT -6
Since this off-season has been pretty lame, time to play Armchair GM Do a 3 way trade with Cubs and Padres Astros get Myers (with $3M cash considerations) Contreras Cubs get Castro Siri A top 10 prospect from the Padres A top 25 prospect from the Astros Padres get (main thing is to dump Myers salary) Montero Some top 25 Cubs prospect After this trade Padres will sign Confronto Astros will sign Archer or Rosenthal Man, I do like me some Myers but not at a high price. He runs like a jackrabbit and has a decent bat. This team could use some more speed. I think we have the speed, we just don't use it. There's no reason that both Tucker and Altuve can't be 30/30 guys in a healthy season if they're smart about it. Chas can run too. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 25, 2022 15:53:11 GMT -6
Man, I do like me some Myers but not at a high price. He runs like a jackrabbit and has a decent bat. This team could use some more speed. I think we have the speed, we just don't use it. There's no reason that both Tucker and Altuve can't be 30/30 guys in a healthy season if they're smart about it. Chas can run too. What good is the speed then? |
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Post by thomasj13 on Mar 25, 2022 16:02:59 GMT -6
Since this off-season has been pretty lame, time to play Armchair GM Do a 3 way trade with Cubs and Padres Astros get Myers (with $3M cash considerations) Contreras Cubs get Castro Siri A top 10 prospect from the Padres A top 25 prospect from the Astros Padres get (main thing is to dump Myers salary) Montero Some top 25 Cubs prospect After this trade Padres will sign Confronto Astros will sign Archer or Rosenthal Man, I do like me some Myers but not at a high price. He runs like a jackrabbit and has a decent bat. This team could use some more speed. I just feel like this offseason the team regressed. Did I think it was time to move on from Correa, yes. Do I think Pena has the ability to take over the position, yes. However, the Astros Should have been looking elsewhere where they can help the offense. With Meyers hurt, they should looked at outfield... And since we're getting zero offensive production at a catcher, they need to look there. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 25, 2022 16:08:12 GMT -6
Man, I do like me some Myers but not at a high price. He runs like a jackrabbit and has a decent bat. This team could use some more speed. I just feel like this offseason the team regressed. Did I think it was time to move on from Correa, yes. Do I think Pena has the ability to take over the position, yes. However, the Astros Should have been looking elsewhere where they can help the offense. With Meyers hurt, they should looked at outfield... And since we're getting zero offensive production at a catcher, they need to look there. Besides Correa, we’re on the same page. All I know is they seem deathly afraid of going over the CBT threshold. I would’ve they rather spend to the limit and trade off underperforming talent to figure it out. Instead, it’s all “Astros are interested in…” without the payoff. I guess they wanted us to pretend it’s 2017 and get jacked up over JV. |
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Post by Ashitaka on Mar 25, 2022 17:50:46 GMT -6
Whitley isn't the only arm in AAA they might be expecting to contribute this year.
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Post by m240 on Mar 25, 2022 21:45:44 GMT -6
Whitley isn't the only arm in AAA they might be expecting to contribute this year. I have always thought highly of Brown but you are right, he does need to figure out how to keep those walks down. |
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Post by m240 on Mar 25, 2022 21:53:03 GMT -6
Really good article about Pena today in the Athletic. They made him sound like a shoe in for roy. Natural defender, dedicated himself to becoming a better hitter. Did the work and expects excellence from himself. A lot of catchy buzz words and if true, we got us a keeper.
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Post by Ashitaka on Mar 25, 2022 22:08:59 GMT -6
LOL wow
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Post by Ashitaka on Mar 25, 2022 22:28:48 GMT -6
Really good article about Pena today in the Athletic. They made him sound like a shoe in for roy. Natural defender, dedicated himself to becoming a better hitter. Did the work and expects excellence from himself. A lot of catchy buzz words and if true, we got us a keeper. A few highlights for those who don't have a subscription: “He’s going to be a superstar,” Altuve said. “I can tell by his attitude. He cares. He wants to be the best.” The Astros will always revere Correa, 27, as both a player and leader. But they also adore Peña, 24, viewing him as an emerging prodigy, gifted, hard-working and mature. Peña projects as a defense-first type, at least initially. But Altuve sees him developing into a player who can hit .280 with 20 homers and a .900 OPS. “He’s going to steal bases, too,” Altuve said. “They say he’s faster than me. I don’t think so. But he’s pretty fast.” Troy Snitker, the Astros’ co-hitting coach, describes Peña as a “twitch freak,” referring to the quick-twitch muscles common in elite athletes. Bench coach Joe Espada, who works with the team’s infielders, also raved about Peña’s physical attributes, but added he was equally impressed with the shortstop’s field awareness, his baseball IQ. ... Mets second Robinson Canó, Peña’s teammate with Estrellas during the offseason, also was enthusiastic in his evaluation. “He’s an athlete,” Canó said of Peña. “He can run. He can move, hit for power, too. For me, he has all the tools. “He’s going to be a superstar, for sure.” ... [University of Maine coach Nick] Derba, a 30th-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007, was a catcher and left fielder in the Cardinals’ system from 2007 to 2012. Peña, in his estimation, weighed only 150 pounds the first time Derba saw him play. No matter. “This is the best shortstop I’ve ever seen in high school,” Derba thought. “This is a professional defender right now.” Derba did not fear losing Peña to another college as much as he did to a major-league club that might draft him. Peña, however, lasted until the 39th round in 2015 back when the draft consisted of 40 rounds instead of the current 20. The area scout who recommended him to the Braves, Greg Morhardt, had spearheaded the Los Angeles Angels’ selection of Mike Trout with the 25th pick six years earlier, and the Atlanta Braves’ choice of Ian Anderson with the third pick one year later.There's so much more great info in this article. You can tell with all the people Rosenthal interviews, every single one who has been a teammate or coach or manager of Pena along the way has the utmost confidence that he's the real deal. |
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talshill
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Post by talshill on Mar 26, 2022 19:54:03 GMT -6
Don't know what Pena will do or not do, but at the moment I'm thinking that Houston got weaker in the off-season. Maybe some of the young pitchers will narrow the gap, but like others I think another bat would be beneficial.
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Post by Ashitaka on Mar 26, 2022 20:27:41 GMT -6
Don't know what Pena will do or not do, but at the moment I'm thinking that Houston got weaker in the off-season. Maybe some of the young pitchers will narrow the gap, but like others I think another bat would be beneficial. They're probably going to look for a bat at the deadline, if there's a need for one. With the extra playoff spot and the A's blowing themselves up, it would take a huge rash of serious injuries for them to not make the playoffs. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 27, 2022 3:47:23 GMT -6
Don't know what Pena will do or not do, but at the moment I'm thinking that Houston got weaker in the off-season. Maybe some of the young pitchers will narrow the gap, but like others I think another bat would be beneficial. They're probably going to look for a bat at the deadline, if there's a need for one. With the extra playoff spot and the A's blowing themselves up, it would take a huge rash of serious injuries for them to not make the playoffs. I think a lot of people don’t like the idea of a deadline trade simply because they need to replenish the farm. |
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Post by Hunter McCormick on Mar 27, 2022 8:21:50 GMT -6
Don't know what Pena will do or not do, but at the moment I'm thinking that Houston got weaker in the off-season. Maybe some of the young pitchers will narrow the gap, but like others I think another bat would be beneficial. I dunno if I'd say weaker, but definitely less predictable. Until July 30, Myles Straw was a regular fixture in CF. His OPS+ for the Astros was 85. Well below league average. We saw slightly fewer plate appearances from Chas McCormick over the entire season than from Straw. Considerably fewer from Jake Myers. A very small sample size from Showboat Siri (only 49 plate appearances. OPS+ McCormick - 107 Myers - 107 Siri - 155 I LIKE the opening in CF. To begin the year, Chas and Showboat will get a LOT of playing time and we'll see if either (or both of them) can develop into an impact player. Later, Jake will become available. The OF be in good shape this year, and more importantly, in great shape for the long term. Maybe we'll have two of the 2023 OF positions well covered by two of the these pre-arb guys. That savings would free up even more money for pitching (or a fat contract for Tucker). But if only one of the positions is covered, we'll still be able to spend for a veteran outfielder. If we lock down CF with a veteran this year, the only playing time available for Chas/Jake/Showboat will be the scraps. That's not enough, imho. I doubt we'll get enough additional production from the pre-arb OF guys to fully offset the lower output from Pena vs Correa. But I think overall, our offense will still be very good. |
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Post by m240 on Mar 27, 2022 9:36:44 GMT -6
If Myers recovery were not somewhat of a question I would agree that the combination of McCormick, Myers, and Leon would more than cover the question. Myers shoulder and the impact it may have on his throwing as well as his bat concerns me until he proves otherwise.
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 27, 2022 10:36:03 GMT -6
If Myers recovery were not somewhat of a question I would agree that the combination of McCormick, Myers, and Leon would more than cover the question. Myers shoulder and the impact it may have on his throwing as well as his bat concerns me until he proves otherwise. I have the same concern. The CF and SS spots are too green to combine with the lack of offense from C. They need a little help on offense because they’re leaning on an unsettled starting pitching rotation. |
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Post by m240 on Mar 27, 2022 12:13:28 GMT -6
If Myers recovery were not somewhat of a question I would agree that the combination of McCormick, Myers, and Leon would more than cover the question. Myers shoulder and the impact it may have on his throwing as well as his bat concerns me until he proves otherwise. I have the same concern. The CF and SS spots are too green to combine with the lack of offense from C. They need a little help on offense because they’re leaning on an unsettled starting pitching rotation. There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. |
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Post by Hunter McCormick on Mar 27, 2022 12:28:55 GMT -6
I have the same concern. The CF and SS spots are too green to combine with the lack of offense from C. They need a little help on offense because they’re leaning on an unsettled starting pitching rotation. There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. I see THREE large question marks, the third being Alex Bregman. He only appeared in 92 games last year. His OPS+ was good (113) but far short of his career average (138). I'm not counting him to having another all-star year (152 or 162) this season, but if 2022 reaches or exceeds his career average ... |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 27, 2022 12:34:30 GMT -6
There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. I see THREE large question marks, the third being Alex Bregman. He only appeared in 92 games last year. His OPS+ was good (113) but far short of his career average (138). I'm not counting him to having another all-star year (152 or 162) this season, but if 2022 reaches or exceeds his career average ... With Bregman, I’ve decided I’ll believe it when I see it. His 2019 was a long time ago. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 27, 2022 12:40:51 GMT -6
I have the same concern. The CF and SS spots are too green to combine with the lack of offense from C. They need a little help on offense because they’re leaning on an unsettled starting pitching rotation. There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. It’s hard for me to bank on León or Peña with zero ML at-bats combined, but if one of them hits we’ll be alright. Although, Peña is pretty ripped so you’d figure the power would soon follow. At worst, I’d like Meyers as a PH/defensive replacement late in games but that role would be contingent upon his ability to throw. |
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Post by m240 on Mar 27, 2022 14:51:10 GMT -6
There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. I see THREE large question marks, the third being Alex Bregman. He only appeared in 92 games last year. His OPS+ was good (113) but far short of his career average (138). I'm not counting him to having another all-star year (152 or 162) this season, but if 2022 reaches or exceeds his career average ... Guirrel is also a question mark. He should regress back a bit off of last year. Bregman I think will improve somewhat. His issue was he over trained for strength last year and screwed up his legs. Hopefully he learned his lesson. Overall I am a fan so I want to think positively about the new year. Verlander will shine, McCullers will return soon, Garcia will not have issues with being over worked last year, James will rebound and become the player we thought we would have based upon what he did when first called up, Myers will come back good as new, Pena will make us forget Correa, Brown will find a repeatable delivery, some prospect will come from no where, ect............................... |
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Post by m240 on Mar 27, 2022 14:52:51 GMT -6
There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. It’s hard for me to bank on León or Peña with zero ML at-bats combined, but if one of those hits we’ll be alright. Although, Peña is pretty ripped so you’d figure the power would soon follow. At worst, I’d like Meyers as a PH/defensive replacement late in games but that role would be contingent upon his ability to throw. I would not bank on either one being an all star but it seems highly likely that one of them will become a solid big league regular. |
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Post by abregmanfan on Mar 27, 2022 19:11:12 GMT -6
There is a very pronounced curve in offensive production as you add productive bats. The increase in production is very pronounced from 6-7, even greater from 7-8, and historic as you go from 8 to 9. If we get center covered with some combination of Myers, McCormick, and Leon then great. If we get and ops + from Pena of 110 or better then hell ya. It does seem risky to go into the season with two large question marks. I see THREE large question marks, the third being Alex Bregman. He only appeared in 92 games last year. His OPS+ was good (113) but far short of his career average (138). I'm not counting him to having another all-star year (152 or 162) this season, but if 2022 reaches or exceeds his career average ... Excuse me, what did you say? |
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Post by Hunter McCormick on Mar 27, 2022 19:27:55 GMT -6
I see THREE large question marks, the third being Alex Bregman. He only appeared in 92 games last year. His OPS+ was good (113) but far short of his career average (138). I'm not counting him to having another all-star year (152 or 162) this season, but if 2022 reaches or exceeds his career average ... With Bregman, I’ve decided I’ll believe it when I see it. His 2019 was a long time ago. I totally agree. That's why I alluded to his career average OPS+ (138) as a reasonable hope rather than his 2019 (162). Another reason to expect more from 3B this year ... 45% of all Astros games had someone NOT named Alex Bregman starting at 3B. Toro and Diaz started an equal number of games there (28). Robel started 10 games at the hot corner. Let's look at the OPS+ for each of them last year, though not necessarily when they were playing as a 3B. Toro - 83 Diaz - 97 Robel - 22 So even if Bregs doesn't perform better than he did last year, if healthy for most of the season, we'll get more bang from 3B than we did last year. And I for one, DO expect he'll outperform his 2021. YMMV |
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Post by Hunter McCormick on Mar 27, 2022 19:28:08 GMT -6
Excuse me, what did you say? You heard me, ***** 😛 |
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Post by m240 on Mar 27, 2022 20:08:48 GMT -6
With Bregman, I’ve decided I’ll believe it when I see it. His 2019 was a long time ago. I totally agree. That's why I alluded to his career average OPS+ (138) as a reasonable hope rather than his 2019 (162). Another reason to expect more from 3B this year ... 45% of all Astros games had someone NOT named Alex Bregman starting at 3B. Toro and Diaz started an equal number of games there (28). Robel started 10 games at the hot corner. Let's look at the OPS+ for each of them last year, though not necessarily when they were playing as a 3B. Toro - 83 Diaz - 97 Robel - 22 So even if Bregs doesn't perform better than he did last year, if healthy for most of the season, we'll get more bang from 3B than we did last year. And I for one, DO expect he'll outperform his 2021. YMMV I agree. 138 should be considered a good year for Bregman as we move forward. Pena remains the wild card in figuring out how good this offense will be. If he approaches 110 we should all be happy. |
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 27, 2022 20:59:25 GMT -6
I totally agree. That's why I alluded to his career average OPS+ (138) as a reasonable hope rather than his 2019 (162). Another reason to expect more from 3B this year ... 45% of all Astros games had someone NOT named Alex Bregman starting at 3B. Toro and Diaz started an equal number of games there (28). Robel started 10 games at the hot corner. Let's look at the OPS+ for each of them last year, though not necessarily when they were playing as a 3B. Toro - 83 Diaz - 97 Robel - 22 So even if Bregs doesn't perform better than he did last year, if healthy for most of the season, we'll get more bang from 3B than we did last year. And I for one, DO expect he'll outperform his 2021. YMMV I agree. 138 should be considered a good year for Bregman as we move forward. Pena remains the wild card in figuring out how good this offense will be. If he approaches 110 we should all be happy. Anything north of 100 OPS+ from CF and SS would be good. |
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Post by Saint on Mar 27, 2022 21:57:40 GMT -6
There's no doubt that offensively we're weaker on paper than we were this time last year. But we also said the same thing last year with the loss of Springer and it worked out fine. (Although the loss of Springer's amazing postseason production was certainly felt.)
However, I think we have the chance for the pitching to be better. Plus, while we may not have the power we have had in the past, we have some exciting young talent in the OF and SS that could provide more speed than we normally see. Plus I think our defense will remain excellent overall.
They seem to be banking a lot on:
Bregman returning to 2018/2019 form.
Yuli, Brantley, and Altuve at least maintaining their 2021 versions.
Tucker and Yordan continue to develop and produce.
Pena and the young OFers at least being average offensive players with good defense and baserunning.
I believe they're also counting on the division being weaker than last year, and making some additions before the trade deadline. Maybe a Contreras rental or something.
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Post by unionstation82 on Mar 27, 2022 22:24:10 GMT -6
I believe they're also counting on the division being weaker than last year… They count on that every year. |
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Post by Ashitaka on Mar 27, 2022 22:38:45 GMT -6
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