Anybody know anything about Ruben Castro's defense? He's starting to get interesting. Through 121 PA in A ball, he's sporting a 127 wRC+, with really good bb/k numbers. Doesn't appear to have any power, but he's only 21 so maybe there's a chance he can add enough to keep pitchers honest. But if he is a plus defensive catcher he's worth tracking.
Dawson to AA. The QC position player roster is extremely weak. Sierra is the only real prospect. Taylor and Castro are hitting well but overall it’s the weakest I’ve seen Houston’s A ball roster in at least 5 years. RHP Hansel Paulino was also promoted from TC to QC.
17 yo Cuban RHP Franny Cobos has a 0.94 era, a 0.90 whip and averages a SO per IP in the DSL. Don't remember him being touted much. But he is looking interesting.
He's not very touted because there are like 2 starting pitchers in the majors that are near his listed height (5'9") He's got good stuff for a 17 year old (92 mph FB, good curve) and was one of the best performers in the 15U league in Cuba as well as for their 15U national team. I was a little surprised that Robaina went to the GCL while Cobos stayed in the Dominican based on their amatuer track records. Still, it's hard to project him as a starter unless he hits a growth spurt.
Astros have traded Sandoval, Alcala, Perez, Celestino, and Paulino amongst prospects. This is where the system depth that Luhnow and co. built will come into play.
I don't relish the idea of them trading away many more position player prospects as it's starting to get thin on that side, but they still have PLENTY of pitching depth to deal from.
Interesting they're all younger, upside plays than potentially undervalued current-AAAA guys like White, Davis or Reed.
It's surprising and unfortunate. At this pace, they'll be really struggling to maintain the pipeline 2-3 years from now. But I do expect that within that time frame they will implement a mitigation strategy, whether it be going over their int'l allotment, doing a "pivot rebuild" where they take a step back from their "win now" mentality for a year, or using QO's to stockpile draft picks over several years. They hopefully will have a steady stream of extra picks as Keuchel, Verlander, Cole, and others reach free agency. As it stands, their pitching depth is still top notch. The 2nd and 3rd tiers have been thinned a little, but they've had so many guys break out this season that it's still a real strength of their system. But on the position player side, things are looking thin and if they catch a couple of bad breaks it could get ugly. The Quad Cities roster is extremely lacking in talent. The draft class (aside from Beer) doesn't look like it's yielding any top position players (although McKenna and Taylor have performed well), as Pena and Salazar haven't hit very well in the early going. The GCL roster has a load of talent, but as always those prospects will ahve a very high bust ratio. Looking forward to how next year's rosters will look, BC might be the least talented opening day full season roster that Houston has fielded in half a decade or more. Hopefully they'll be able to add a bat with either minimal prospect cost (via taking on salary) or using 2nd tier pitching. Going into next season, unless they really hit on a very high % of their draft picks, they won't be able to go through another deadline where they trade away 6+ good prospects without putting the farm in 'below average' territory.
While I have no direct insight into Luhnow's plan I figure they are recognizing it's best to go with the natural peaks and valleys of the competitive cycle just like everyone else. His originally stated plan of being built to compete year-in-year out makes for a nice sound bite but is pretty impractical given success's impact on draft position and international pool money.
Framber Valdez last 4 starts (including 7.2 ip tonight): 22.1 IP, 1 ER, 37 k, 6 bb. Since his Jun 7 appearance he’s pitched like an elite prospect.
You very well could be right. We will have to see. I could see them waiting until they know whether or not Correa will resign then if he doesn’t, assuming the farm has continued to be drained, trading away some veterans (by that time guys like Bregman, Tucker and others will be fairly expensive and nearing free agency) for elite major league ready prospects to jumpstart a 1-2 year rebuild while still being fairly competitive. Hopefully guys like Beer, Alvarez, Tucker, and Nova will all be superstars for the Astros and the party never ends.
Alcala and Perez are likely bullpen arms, Paulino will likely flame out, Sandoval has the best chance of sticking as a starter. I really will miss him. Luckily we’ve drafted well the past few years to build that pitching depth. Bukauskas looks like he should be able to get back to form, Corbin Martin has been a stud, Tyler Ivey, Peter Solomon, Ryan Hartman, and Brandon Bielak have all been performing well and have enough stuff to be considered legit prospects. Add in this years’s haul of Schroeder, Deason, Freure, and Hansen. Those last three picks I think have a legit shot at being serviceable bullpen arms in 2-3 years given they all have fastballs that get up to 95mph and plus breaking balls. International guys like Jairo Solis and Christian Javier add additional depth. Hopefully Cionel and Josh James make appearances in September.
I wouldn't say it's surprising that the Astros are moving legit prospects as opposed to AAA depth. The Astros are targeting players they want and paying the price to get them. The deals involving depth pieces have been for guys like Duke, Duvall, Familia, Lynn, Venters, Brach... players the Astros probably wouldn't really consider difference makers. I was surprised that Maldonado took Sandoval to acquire, but beyond that the deals looked about right in terms of value.
