What is the purpose of this post? Do you think Singleton will have a better OPS than Bregman going forward? For me, it looks like Singleton just stands up at the plate and dares the opposing pitcher to throw three strikes. Sure, he occassionaly gets a homer or big hit, but almost all of his positive batting value seems to come from just watching pitches. I just am amazed that he's walked so much and think his approach only should be working if he was making more great contact. On a side note, I just checked his hitting stats and I was guessing it was closer than it is so far. I still expect one of two things: Singleton will start sucking once pitchers start treating him like a bad hitter or Singleton will start making more great contact and make me look like an idiot. I don't think he can continue to get on based this well without more hits, especially more extra base hits (i.e., he's being treated like Bonds while hitting like Kemp).
I like the speed angle of carrying Loperfido and cabbage with dubon. I wonder if lineups might start looking platoonish with heavy LHB presence. Chaz has a hammy but isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire to start the year. Meyers deserves some run, and Dubie is your RHB option at 1B as well as the infield super utility. Further to the point, even before last night, I have been wanting to get Caratini more ABs. I wonder if it would be valuable to carry a third C over say Cabbage when Chaz can run at full tilt. At that point, we would have plenty of pinch runner options among whoever isn’t starting in the OF, and Dubie is the RH PH of choice.
I don't trust Singleton to do anything, but stand in the box. I'd use Meyers as a pinch hitter for Singleton regardless of pitcher handedness. If Kessinger was up, I'd have had him pinch run. If Loperfido is playing 1B such that he doesn't need a pinch hitter, the Astros really won't need much in the pinch hitting department once Chas is playing. Having two guys that can only play 1B that need to be pinch hit for was killing the roster. Even just Singleton looks like a hole unless he hits better (i.e., I expect pitchers to adjust soon). I don't trust Cabbage as a hitter over the guys who should be playing, and I would probably go with Kessinger as a defensive IF or Leon as a pinch runner for the last spot over Singleton. Edit: Granted, I don't have a strong feeling on the 26th spot except it shouldn't be Singleton. And I probably wouldn't have a strong feeling against Singleton except for him and Abreu playing way too much. I may be too rough on Singleton. It is not his fault how he is used.
Such a weird quote to be saying how Abreu feels about this demotion twice. Almost like he threw in the part about how the org sees it... "He got to the point where he was frustrated," Brown said. "It's rare to do it. But I think it tells us about his dedication and commitment and I don't think he sees this as a long term and I don't think we see it as a long term thing. I think it's more like ... let's go down, let's make some adjustments. Let's get the rhythm and timing back. And I think in his eyes, he's looking at it as I'll be back in a couple of weeks or whatever it takes to get better."
Singleton is batting 261 with an ops over 700 in his last 7 games. Let him get some consistent playing time and he might surprise you.
Purpose? Its my reaction to the state of the Astros. More specifically, Bregman. Singleton gets a lot of flack around here and as it turns out, Bregman is just as bad or worse to this point. Unlike a lot of folks, I try not to make predictions. I have no idea how either player will do going forward. My focus is in the now.
I agree with this, which is why I really want Singleton to get several weeks of everyday play. He will either stop getting so many walks and his production will crater, or he will start hitting more HR and he will be a stud. Right now pitchers know he has power potential and he cuts an imposing figure in the box, so they’re not being very aggressive with him. If he plays everyday there will be more data on him and pitchers will start to attack him more (they won’t have a choice with how deep the rest of the lineup is). The Astros really should see what happens then. He’s been a league-average bat with erratic playing time. That may be propped up by the fact that there’s no firm book on him and he’s being deployed in favorable matchups. But it might be pushed down by the fact that he’s not in rhythm and not getting a lot of good pitches to hit.
Bregman can play 3B and has been a much better player because of it. If you are focusing on the now, don't solely use what has happened as that is the past. We won't know how good Bregman and Singleton are right now until they've played 60-100 PAs past now (to judge right now, need enough data from the future as you are using from the past). I guarantee Bregman will continue to be a better player than Singleton. Granted if you want to judge Bregman by right now solely on recent history, Bregman started slowly, but he looks locked in right now (see graph below showing Bregman's LA's dropping into the sweet spot around 15-20 degrees). Maybe it fizzles, but man does it look like Bregman is on the brink of a hot streak. I see no reason to put blinders to the past and focus solely on season stats to determine how good a player is playing right now. Need a lot more than 100 PAs to say how good a player is. If you are focused solely on how well a player is playing at an instant, season stats are not the right measure. I'd look at the recent data, but focus more on the quality of contact data.
Victor is having a great season and rapidly becoming a fan favorite but he has been around Long enough that he is what he is- an excellent backup and injury replacement catcher who won't embarrass with the bat. His career high is 105 OPS+ and he has been over 95 exactly once. If your goal is to keep Diaz fresh by catching him less often then that is reasonable. If your goal is to play Caratini more for his bat that's a bad idea.
I truly think had singleton started more games, astros wouldn't be this deep of a hole. Still be in a hole and that's not saying much
ok, interesting flex bro... address the people/users, engaging in social disagreement/conflict instead of trying to incite a revolution. edit: typical (L) ideology
my comment about more Caratini isn’t to play him at expense of Diaz, but rather if he’s a better LBH option at 1B than others.
