Welcome back Bregman! Astros vs Mets, 3/2/19

[astrosdoug]

Hate to see HBP's in spring, esp on a player like Bregman who is coming off of surgery.

At least it was not on the hand that had the surgery.

[astrosdoug]

now is a good time for the double steal... at most they can only throw one runner out.

[astrosdoug]

Chirinos with a clutch single with RISP. We're going to see so much more plate production from him than we saw with McCann...

[astrosdoug]

The AStros have been striking out a lot this spring. Already 7 K's in the first 5 innings of today's game.

In general, Hinch should not tolerate having too many players on the roster whose K% is higher than 18%. You can have one Gallo or Khris Davis type of guy in a lineup but they can't all have that profile.

[astrosdoug]

Whitley struggling for the first time this spring.

The leadoff hitter beat out an infield grounder, then the second batter walked.

With two outs, a slow chopper up the middle plated a run.

Whitley's not giving up any hard contact and my guess is Altuve/Correa would have prevented the infield hit. As it is, Whitley is relying on minor leaguers for defense so it's a bit hard for him.

[astrosdoug]

Yikes, then an error on 2B Rojas. Lots of tough breaks for Whitley but I like to see how he pitches when faced with adversity and bad luck.

[astrosdoug]

Well and then a grand slam to Wilson Ramos.

Overall it's probably good for Whitley to get a humbling experience this early in the year. With major league defenders behind him, it never would have gone this far.

[astrosdoug]

Kyle Tucker came thorugh with a big RBI single to put the Astros on top in the 7th.

I know some people have been antsy for him to start hitting well this spring, but he's got a .917 OPS in his limited appearances so far in camp. And he's coming through in clutch situations.

When Tuck comes up to the big league club mid-season, I expect he will be reayd to hit the ground running.

[astrosdoug]

Fortunately, only 5 of the runs allowed by Whitley was earned. That isn't how the official scorer originally ruled it, but I'm glad he won't feel like he gave up a 5-spot.

[astrosdoug]

Josh Rojas is looking overmatched in every respect: defensively, offensively...

I have to think it's about time to send him over to minor league camp. Not sure why the organization thought he was ready to get a lot of playing time in big league camp this year.

[astrosdoug]

Alvarez is looking like the real deal. May well be the starting 1B once Yuli's contract is up.

He really looks like he has the right combination of plate discipline and power to make things work for him at the big league level.

[astrosdoug]

very odd way to end the game. Rajai Davis was called out at 2B for sliding into Jack Mayfield, and entirely missing the bag when he did so.

Originally, Mayfield was going to be charged with an error for making a bad throw to 1B trying to complete a double play. Ultimately they ruled the double play stands as the throw from 2B to 1B sailed away due to the interference.

So instead of the Mets tying the game 8-8, the Astros win 8-7.

Bielak was being put through a grinder there in the 9th and I was surprised Hinch let him pitch through it. He began the inning by walking the bases loaded and then allowed a run to score on a force out at 3B. He very nearly had a blown save but Rajai bailed him out, in a way.

[unionstation82]

Mar 2, 2019 13:26:24 GMT -6 astrosdoug said:

I would think that one of either Guduan or Cionel Perez will make the OD roster as a lefty reliever.

It will be nice to see Cionel next week so we can start to compare the two guys. Overall, I was more impressed with Cionel last season, but Guduan looks to have improved over the past year so he def should still be in the running.

I completely forgot Sipp doesn’t pitch here anymore.

[unionstation82]

Mar 2, 2019 14:38:21 GMT -6 astrosdoug said:

Kyle Tucker came thorugh with a big RBI single to put the Astros on top in the 7th.

I know some people have been antsy for him to start hitting well this spring, but he's got a .917 OPS in his limited appearances so far in camp. And he's coming through in clutch situations.

When Tuck comes up to the big league club mid-season, I expect he will be reayd to hit the ground running.

Tucker raked last spring. I think most people are just wanting him to earn the starting role instead of just supplanting Reddick because he’s the Chosen One.

Wait, I thought Tucker was the starting RF this season.

[astrosdoug]

Tanielu, Kemp, White, Straw, Stassi, Gurriel, Reddick all stand a good chance of making today's lineup as they sat out yesterday and Hinch has seemed to want to give those guys a fair amount of playing time.

Cole on the mound. Ivey and Solomon might be due for some work in the later innings, we'll see. Yesterday Hinch had Christian Javier ready to go for the 9th but he wasn't needed, so maybe he gets the call today.

We haven't seen Harris or Rondon pitch yet so if they are feeling OK then they might appear in a game soon. Not sure when Hinch wants to put Devo back out there but I think a few strong outings from him could help calm many fans' nerves.

[astrosdoug]

well at least we know who the Cards are starting

[astrosdoug]

Here's the Astros lineup today

[astrosdoug]

Of note, Rondon on the lineup card as a possible reliever. Plus, Yuli playing 3B today and Bregman not getting penciled in for back to back games.

[astrosdoug]

In his first start of the spring, Cole was caught by Stassi and today it's Chirinos. This might be a pattern to look for in Hinch's spring lineups -- whether he's trying to make sure that each starter gets to work with both Chirinos and Stassi. Sometimes a pitcher gets picky and insists on working with one particular catcher, but managers understandably don't want to be limited like that and it can sometimes amount to insubordination.

So far, the Chirinos/Stassi duo is looking good with no passed balls or errors yet. Stassi has thrown out 2 base stealers. Stubbs has been on duty when 3 wild pitches were thrown and while that's mostly on the pitchers, it can start to raise questions about the catcher's ability to smother balls in the dirt.

[marshall]

Bregman was HBP yesterday, so I expected him to sit this one out. He might have taken the DH ABs for Brantly otherwise. But we're seeing five anticipated starters over last game and this one. I expect about 50 pitches or 3 innings from Cole today.

When is the first round of reassignments to the minors supposed to occur?

[astrosdoug]

Not sure when they start sending guys over to minor league camp or to their minor league teams, but I can't see keeping Rojas in big league camp much longer. He may well develop into a fine player, but he is way overmatched with these guys.

Four errors already in under 30 innings of play, and he's not hitting this caliber of pitching either.

[astrosdoug]

The A-Team offense is looking good against Anibal Sanchez today. 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs in the first inning have put the Astros on top

[astrosdoug]

Trea Turner stole 2nd off of Cole

sound like Cole has a type of windup that helps runners get a good jump, making it very hard for catchers to throw the runner out at 2nd

[astrosdoug]

Tanielu can do no wrong. Pops the ball up into LF, ball drops in between 3 fielders

(I got, I got, no you got it, you got it sort of thing)

[astrosdoug]

Astros completely went to sleep in the second half of yesterday's game.

Today it will be split squad, both games at noon Houston time.

Miley starting against Atlanta. In the other game, McHugh has been scratched from his start against the Mets and Armenteros has been named as his replacement.

Unless he's considered injured, I expect we will see Devo today. Also Ivey, Javier, Scheetz, Abreu, and Bailey.