I don't know that I'm a skeptic - but I'm skeptical of how the team is treating/talking about him; that's for sure.
Nothing wrong with that. But the only prospect the Astros have developed in recent years who was as young and as heralded as him was Correa... so there's really not a lot to compare him to as far as what should be the "usual". All we know is that he excelled at every level after being drafted as a HS'er.... and he struggled in his MLB debut. I feel that this scenario is the norm for several eventually successful players. I agree with Luhnow's statement of "he's going to get a shot".... they're not going to trade him (unless the absolute perfect deal comes around), they're still confident in his abilities, but like all promoted prospects, he has to prove it on the field.
Didn't Bregman and Springer also struggle when they came up? Judging by body language, he did seem like he was a low energy guy, as if the job was entitled to him. If Marlins want Tucker for Realmuto, do we pull the trigger? If we feel Tucker isn't the prospect we think he is, might as well strike while he's got the value.
Maybe, but do the 'stros stand to gain anything with respect to player control by keeping "Ted" in AAA for a few weeks if he doesn't earn the spot in ST?
Yes. They can get a 7th year by keeping him down. Not sure how long they’d have to keep him down since he logged big league time in 2018. But I don’t think that is their plan or hope. I think Luhnow’s comments today were boilerplate “everything is earned”. I didn’t take them as any indication that they are down on him or have lowered their expectations; in fact, I took Luhnow’s comments to indicate he still expects him to be a core/star player.
They brought him up in July, per Luhnow, as a postseason audition. Now he's getting "a shot" at being the everyday LFer? That feels like expectations have changed...
Not really. He had to earn his spot to be on the post season roster. He failed. He again has to earn his spot on the 25 man roster during spring training. If he was on the Royals he would be playing everyday no matter what. We are a contending team and don't have room for a struggling kid. I think Tucker will be a solid everyday MLB player, but not a star. I think too many people went nuts with the "Ted" nickname/comparison and expectations grew exponentially.
Meh. Like I said, it’s boilerplate “everything is earned”, especially in the context of the question he was asked. And “a shot” was not all he said. He also said “he’s an elite prospect”, “he’s going to be great at this level”, and “I think he will be a fixture for us”. If anything has changed, I think Luhnow might now view Kemp in a different light, and sees him as a viable everyday player who allows them to put a little more pressure on Tucker to “earn it”.
Tucker has gone from untouchable just a year ago to having to earn a spot on a team in desperate need of an everyday bat in left field. I'm not suggesting they're done with him; I'm wondering if he still carries the "untouchable" tag?...
A team would not devalue a trade asset. If it sounds like Luhnow is devaluing Tucker, it is much more likely that Luhnow is doing it so he can monkey around with service time or other technicality to make Tucker cost the Astros less money.
Yeah; that thought occurred to me, as well. I still can't figure out why they brought Tucker up when they did only to yank the rug out from under him. It's not like the division suddenly became competitive - Seattle was only 3.5 games back at the time of his call-up - they knew '18 wasn't going to be a cakewalk like '17.
When they called him up, they had a very good idea Seattle would fade. A's going crazy was unexpected this year despite them having a good team that will likely be the biggest challenger the next few years. Tucker appears to have had a lot of bad luck this year. Whether bad luck or not, Astros weren't willing to risk it with how rest of the team was playing after about a month. I do think he's lost a little of his shine, but he's still most likely going to be very valuable even if it is only as an average OF. Cost controlled guys help a team afford its star free agents.
Eh... maybe? I mean, yes - the numbers pointed to a Seattle fade. Same numbers (namely, record in one-run games) said the same about the Rangers in '15 and, frankly, the A's for the second half of this season. On July 7, 2017, they had a 16.5 game division lead; same date, a year later (when Tucker made his debut), it was 3.5. They knew '18 wasn't going to be as easy as '17 and Seattle fading still required the Astros not... fading more. Nonetheless, they called him up in the midst of a pressure-packed season. If they *really* had the prescience to know Seattle was going to fade, they would have waited it out and called him up when the division was in hand, much like they did Fisher in '17.
I dont read anything predetermined in what Hinch said. What I got was LF just wont be handed to him. He is going to have to play well enough to earn it. But that does lead to a question I have. Earn it how? He has nothing left to prove in the minors, so he must mean at the ML level. Now it sounds like he will start or play significant innings, for how else will he get the AB's and extended looks necessary to make a comprehensive evaluation? Maybe as a 4th or 5th OF? Like stated previously, how will he get the AB's? Given I think the majority of our focus will be C and a starter this winter, I cant help but think that improvements in LF will have to be of the in-house variety.
Yes, 2018 was going to be closer than 2017. That said, a 3.5 game lead on the Mariners in early July looked like a catwalk as Astros were a significantly better team, and it was regarding Mariners. A's are the ones that made it close and they were about 10 games out if memory serves. That said, Astros were expecting Tucker to help. I don't see why they should have waited. Information sooner is better than later.
I think y'all might be looking too much into what Luhnow said. There's nothing to benefit from if they publicly lower their expectations of him...even if he truly is no longer untouchable. They're going to talk about him as if he's still the #1 prospect in this organization and there's no freakin way they'd trade him... Until they trade him.
Hmm... price tag for Marwin maybe coming down. It would be awesome if the Astros could lock him up before free agency. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/d-backs-agree-to-new-deal-with-eduardo-escobar.html
That's a tough question. I think his current $6,000,000 is too much, but a one year deal less than that could be doable. We need cangrejero1 to chime in.
Tucker for Realmuto. I wouldnt look past Degrom, Stroman, Gray or Evoildi. If they move Tucker you can add in a OF. And according to some sources PHAM could be had
