How low must Chris Carter's BA go before he is finally yanked?

He might have a good second half so you have to keep him lololol

 

Batting average is inconsequential by itself, so it's best to never use that number when defending or criticizing a hitter on this team. You sound like an out of touch grandpa.

His OPS is still in the intolerable level, that's always the number you should use around here. Given how well he has finished the last 3 seasons they are gonna be very patient, but the rope has to be nearing it's end.

 

Spoiler

 

Let him get hot for a stretch then trade him when his value is at its highest. I'm done with the 20ks to 1 homer ratio

 

Time to see Singleton up

 

It's pretty safe to say that when you're hitting .157 that you're sucking it up. Even an out of touch grandpa knows that.

 

Here's the real issue:

The 'Chris Carter' problem is somewhat exacerbated by the rest of the lineup. Yes, CC needs to find his swing. Nor am I opposed to a stint in Fresno.

But CC is worth his inherent risk. With 29 and 37 HRs in the past 2 years, he's shown the capability of leading the MLB in HRs. Teams would be crazy not to play him (at MMP no less). However, playing players like CC carries one vital prerequisite: every other hitter in that lineup must do their job.

Our entire lineup needs to step it up. As a group, we flat out must get on base at higher clips. Conger+Springer, Villar+Marwin, Gattis/Springer all need to step up their games. Val-B has been nice, but he goes through valleys too.

CC's valleys may in fact be the lowest, but he's not the only hitter struggling. IMO, his peaks are too high to deny, and we really need the rest of the lineup to pick up the slack.

Sidenote: I didn't emphasize this enough, but I do think that a trip to Fresno would benefit CC, even at 29. Just clear his head and focus on his swing.

Also, take it FWIW: my buddy worked for tristar picked up CC at the airport. They started talking and CC said that he hates Houston, that the fans are unsupportive, that they boo him, general BS like that.

 

I think if Singleton stays away from mary jane then he definately has a chance to excel in the majors.

 

Carter can't be sent to AAA

 

I just remembered this vaguely offensive (High Expectations Asian Father) meme:

Spoiler

 

Carter always starts off slow then he'll move his average up to his typical .220 range. It's who he is.

 

This isn't really true. He's only had 3 seasons (inlcluding this year) when he was up from the start.

2013: Good April, June, August, September. Bad May and July.
2014: Bad April, June. Good May, September. Awesome July, August.

In the 12 total months in those years, he only had 3 batting sub-0.200, and they were not consecutive. This is easily his worst start.

 

What’s confusing with Carter is how much this mirrors last year.

Through play Thursday, Carter had seven home runs, a .161 average, 57 strikeouts and 20 walks with a .270 on-base percentage and .328 slugging percentage. Through 40 games last year, Carter had six home runs, 49 strikeouts and 15 walks with a .196 average, .282 OBP and .413 slugging.

Carter ended up with 37 home runs at season’s end in ‘14.

“I think average wise is where we got caught up in judging performance sometimes, and I realize he’s well behind where he’s going to be,” Hinch said. “From a power production standpoint, I think he’s ahead of where he was last year. He’s walking enough. He’s playing great defense at first base, which doesn’t get talked about enough.

“But there’s no doubt that the more time that you have in this league with the performance history, it will lead to a little more belief that better times are ahead, especially when guys are struggling.”

Singleton entered Friday with Class AAA Fresno hitting .295 with a .406 OBP and .651 slugging, plus the highest homer total in minor league baseball, 13. The problem the Astros have, though, is essentially the same one they avoided out of spring training by demoting Singleton to the minors: there’s no reasonable spot for all of Carter, Evan Gattis, Singleton, Colby Rasmus, Jake Marisnick — and now, Preston Tucker.

It’s a good problem to have, but also less than ideal if they have a bat that can help them at a position they haven’t had production at sitting at Fresno.

“I believe Jon Singleton can help us,” Hinch said. “Obviously that means it’s at the expense of somebody here. Right now with the way Preston Tucker’s swinging the bat, that extra bench spot that we’ve used for a couple different guys is taken. With the 13 pitchers we’re carrying, the extra position player becomes crucial where he plays. (Jonathan) Villar most of the nights is on the bench as a super-utility, the extra catcher. The room is pretty full right now, but the better he’s playing the more he’s pushing his way into opportunity.”

Aside from injury solving things — which no one wants — moving Carter isn’t the easiest solution. His value is low right now, but not low enough that he could sneak through waivers, not after last year.

And last year lingers: if you trade him, and he goes off in the second half, how would the Astros feel then?

There’s not much more Singleton can do at Class AAA against righties. He came into Friday with a .356 average, .486 OBP and .874 slugging against them, plus 11 homers and 14 strikeouts in 87 at-bats. But against lefties, the numbers for the lefthanded swinger could be considerably better: .203/.273/.322 with two homers and 18 strikeouts in 59 at-bats.

If Singleton comes up and struggles, as he did last year, the Astros aren’t in better position. At the same time, they can’t be in worse position offensively at this moment at first base.​

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...-bat-gives-astros-a-tricky-question-at-first/

 

I don't think weed was his problem.

 

I agree BA isnt everything. But either is HR's.

I'd like to see the Correa/Lowrie situation play out before we decide on Carter if that occurs in the next month.

Its almost June. If by mid July, he hasnt turned it around, then you do something. We have to. Too many talented kids on the move in the minors to sit around and hope.

 

Does he have 5 years of MLB service already? I thought he had an option year left.

 

Ignoring the Carter side of it, I think you want to bring up Singleton when he's scorching hot. He already failed once in the majors, and you want him to come up and have early success so he doesn't start pressing and then getting into bad habits. I think the best time to do that is when he's seeing the ball really well and hitting everything in sight. All players go through hot and cold stretches and if you wait until Mid-July, you might miss out on his hot stretch.

I don't know the math of how to make it work, but if there's any way to get him up here even to play on a part time basis, I think they need to strike while the iron is hot.