Really hoping Riley Ferrell can put together a full season and finish the year at AAA. Him and Hoyt should be key contributors in the bullpen for 2018.
Hoyt pitched like an average middle relief guy to me. Not special about his stuff or performance that implied higher leverage usage or dominance.
Hoyt has one elite pitch but aside from that is very ordinary; he will likely have a decent career but is pretty unlikely to ever be a consistent late inning arm.
Courtesy of mlb.com: "Hoyt has three plus pitches in his fastball, slider and splitter. His heater usually operates at 94-96 mph with some running life, and he uses his 6-foot-6 frame and high-three-quarters delivery to deliver it on a steep downhill plane. His splitter improved significantly after he spent the offseason working on it in the Venezuelan Winter League."
I agree in that he is poised to dart up the prospect list. I would think top 20 is my expectation. But I'd be thrilled if he cuts into the top 10. One thing we can agree on, is that he is showing extreme progress in his approach to his potential talent.
His homer rate has to reduce...no way he continues to make hitters look better on average than "prime" Barry Bonds on home run to fly ball rate.
You hit the nail on the head... and you could see it transpire last season. He would look dominant for 3-4 batters and then the first time there was a ball hit out of the infield it was over the Crawford Boxes. It also makes it hard for a manager to go to him in a 1-2 run game because in 20 seconds the complexion of the game can change.
If he has an OPS of 850 or better next year, he will probably shoot into top 5-10 range..... of course if he is demoted or has a pedestrian 700 OPS, he will slide into Derek Fisher territory.
I don't buy that his FB and splitter are plus pitches. His slider is elite, his FB is average, and his splitter is inconsistent, ranging from weak to above average. If Hoyt had 3 plus pitches he would be a starter.
He is 30 years old and has basically been a reliever his whole career. If he really only recently developed a good splitter, why would you think they would suddenly move him into a starter's role? If he was young, they probably would be trying him as a starter. Hopefully he isn't Josh Fields 2.0
Okay, if you say so. But if it is alright, I am going to go with the people who evaluate players for a living.
@tellitlikeitis, are you ever going to change your signature?? There's really not much to hate about Harden.....the guy is playing MVP-level ball right now, and repping Houston hard in the process. As a fan, you really can't ask for much more.
Josh Fields got us a nice prospect in Yordan Alvarez. He did his part That is a good way to keep the talent pipeline fresh and relevant.
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2016/12/13/13941126/houston-astros-draft-production-since-1995 This is a good read from the aspect of visually showing how little Astros got from drafts leading to the dark days.
Fangraphs Lead Prospect Analyst did a prospects chat today. Some good blurbs on Astros guys. In particular, he's not as high on Francis Martes as I would expect.
