Minimal. I think they are going to cross train him at short and see if he can be a super utility guy ala Marwin. That will take some seasoning in the minors. He’s going to have to be a Swiss Army knife if he wants a spot other than September and October.
I agree. It's hard to carry a guy on the active roster all year for only 1 purpose. I think the only offensive questions we have to start the season will be which 2 catchers will we carry (hopefully Maldonado will resign), and will Marwin be resigned?
With our bullpen advantage that would be manna from heaven both in that game and in dealing with the consequences for both teams. Make it so in game 1, please and thank you. Also, if someone like James went 5 or 6 innings in a marathon game you could always disable him. He’d be ineligible for the next round, BUT that’s not a huge loss as you have a guy like Peacock who could do the same or you could get really crazy and do something like call up Whitley for the WS to play that same role.
I'm thinking they try to turn him into an OBP version of Marisnick. He has enough raw power that he can hit for more game power if he can hit fewer grounders. Even if it doesn't turn into homers, doubles should be fine if he can play stellar defense.
RH power off the bench, just like he was in the ALDS. He's the guy that should go, though, to add the extra arm.
Why did they have Fisher on the WS roster last year? Maybin? No seasoning or crosstraining about it. And no, he will never be a "superutility guy". Not even close.
That's what I'm thinking. While Marisnick isn't expensive, he's no longer free, he'll be making about 3 million. Straw isn't a completely incapable offensive player, he has a great hit tool. We know for a fact Marisnick is a terrible offensive player, Straw will probably be able to post at least a similar OPS, with much, much better situational hitting. The real question is just how much better Marisnick is defensively. The scouts agree Straw is good, but is he even in the same ballpark as Jake. If he's even close it's a no brainer that he's a better option. The odds of the team keeping both players is extremely low.
dont worry man vegas got us favored to win series without home field advantage -145 thats some respect from vegas.
Straw will have options for the rest of Marisnick's club control years. I'm not sure Astros will get fair value if they trade Marisnick. I think Straw will basically be a up and down, postseason guy for a couple more years unless he can unlock something offensively. After that, I see him as a 4th OF.
You misread what I said. I said if he wants a spot on the roster OTHER than September or October. I.E if he wants to be a year round guy, with that bat profile, he’s going to have to pick up some skills other than “run fast”. Luhnow was talking about him training at SS, so that is definitely the plan for him from the FO, believe it or not.
I'm sure the Astros have scientifically broken down which pitchers fare best against this line-up in certain situations, etc. But I would guess Smith is ahead of every other reliever not on the ALDS just in terms of 2018 results and trust. He was very good this year and has postseason experience.
I know they bandied it about a few months ago, and I know that Straw played all of 4 innings in 1 game at SS this year in the minors, and I'll be shocked if that is anything other than a spitball idea. Straw can be a perfect 4/5th OFer with his legs, glove and bat.
The problem is with 13 pitchers there really isn’t any room for a 5th OF. I think that’s why they want to cross train him to pick up some other versatility. Jake had to go down as opposed to being the 5th OF (Marwin covered that ground obviously once kemp became a permanent astro) 13 pitchers, 2 catchers, 5 IF, 1 DH and 4 OF would be my guess. I don’t see a spot for straw unless he can steal a spot by being 5th OF/5th If like Marwin was. Maybe I’m wrong but the OF seems pretty set with springer, Reddick, Tucker and Kemp. If they keep 5 true OF you’d have to think Marisnick is in front of Straw unless they move on. I’d also think JD Davis has inside track at 5th IF (with White also able to play 1b some but not a lot) That assumes perfect health. And ignores Fisher (trade candidate) and the Cuban (not ready yet) I’d confidently bet right now Straw spends more time in Round Rock than Houston next year, but I’m open to the idea I’m wrong. I think he’s a definite September and October mainstay though.
We were talking about next year and his chance to have a roster spot all season. I agree that Straw will be a fixture for us in September and October as long as he maintains his speed.
