I agree BUT It's painfully obvious that Espada isn't going to give Meyers a chance to be even generally an everyday player. Whatever the reason Espada (and Dusty) don't believe in him, reality is he isn't going to play every day. He also isn't being used as a late game defensive replacement, which should happen EVERY time Dubon starts in CF and we have a lead late Saying all of that, and knowing that the structure of the Astros really allows the GM and the field Manager to operate separately from each other, if I am Dana Brown and I can pull a good prospect (would likely have to be a lower level guy that Dana and our scouts think can be much better than current value) then I would pull the trigger and move him. Then call up Leon and see if he can handle MLB pitching. At the very least Leon is an athlete and would maybe inject a bit of enthusiasm
Really weird that Jake isn’t getting every day play. Better defensively than Dubon. We don’t know that he is better than Dubon offensively until he gets to start consistently. Dubon as a starting CF is as dumb as it gets.
Couple thoughts as most everyday prospects reach the 50 pa threshold: Surprised at how low Kenni Gomez’s ISO is. He’s hitting over .300 but has only 2 doubles and 1 HR. Taken with his low walk rate and high k rate, his 129 wRC+ is not as shiny as it looks. Still, a teenager having success in A ball is still a really good sign. The Astros hitting prospects are striking out at a very high rate in the early going. The average prospect has a 28% k rate this season. That would be fine if it was paired with huge power output, but the average iso is only .133. The 5 teenagers in Fayetteville have an average wRC+ of 111. Very very encouraging to see guys that young having relative success against guys 2-4 years older. AJ Blubaugh and Chase Jaworsky are the 2 prospects who have the most compelling case for a major breakout over this first month so far. Blubaugh only has 15 ip but if he is able to continue to be as dominant as he has been, in terms of stats he will be the best pitching prospect Houston has had in years, maybe in like 10 years
This was an organizational concern as well. He gained muscle and some size last year and battled injuries in part for that same reason. He doesn't have the body of a man yet, so there is some hope. He had very high (elite) exit velocities in the past so there was hope that as he physically matured extra base power would come. He has a really good talent for putting this ball on the bat, and should be at least a good fielder. I will be curious to see how he progresses against better velocity - he has the bat speed to handle it, but will be able to drive the ball on pitches on the hands. Still one of the most interesting prospects in the Astros system IMO with a high upside. Yeah - the Astros seem to have doubled down on this. There is likely 2-3 future MLB players in that line up, and possibly even a couple starters. Jake Bloss to me is the biggest breakout guy. Alonzo Tredwell is struggling with command and control after missing so much time - but he has looked dominant very early this season. Guys are not making good contact against him and he is punching out a lot hitters. Brice Matthews looks like Brice Matthews - not that impressed.
He only threw 9 pitches, 7 of them curveballs. The fastball he threw was only 94. Very interesting but great seeing him live in the zone and not get hit hard. Maybe leading with his curve and supplementing with high 90s heat is the answer for him rather than leading with his FB and mixing in 5 other pitches.
OF Luis Perez was released to make room for Cesar Hernandez. I feel comfortable saying that Houston has an above average farm system in the lower levels (High A, A, and the complex leagues). And I really like their AAA roster as well. It’s AA, especially the lineup, which often holds the real meat of an org’s system, where the weakness shows up. Corpus has 4 non-prospects in their “everyday” lineup (Brewer, Arocho, Stevens, Sacco), and of the actual prospects, Miguel Palma is the only one performing, as Melton, Corona, Barber, and Hamilton are all struggling.
Pressly, from prior years, made his way in the MLB by having a great curveball and a good enough fastball. Perhaps Forrest can follow that path. That would be an excellent outcome at this point for Forrest.
Blubaugh seems very polished especially coming from a smaller D1 school and having moved pretty rapidly through the system. He doesn't grade out exceptionally well in the stuff+ models it seems (similar to current Verlander) but he gets good results with 3+ pitches.
Whitley has one of the best Stuff+ ratings on the major league staff based on his single appearance. Whitley might be what 20 grade command combined with 70 stuff looks like...or maybe there's something about him that the models don't capture which limit the effectiveness of his stuff.
Chris Carpenter comes to mind. He made his MLB debut for Toronto in 1997. However, injuries and ineffectiveness delayed his career before the Blue Jays released him in 2002. Early on his Career Injuries on his Arm, Tommy John Surgery. Chris Carpenter signed with the Cardinals and became a Special Star in the Postseason. His Main Pitch was his Curveball, setting up his Fastball. Honorable Mention Career Revivals Matt Morris, Woody Williams
A little too simplistic. He had five home runs in the first seven games of the year of which none were in ABQ, then five more in six games at ABQ. He was scorching hot, now he's ice cold the last five games.
Hopefully he turns it around quickly. I am Legit Excited about the Players Depth in the Minors since 2012 Draft Correa, McCullers Draft. Astros Pitching Depth has improved.
