2014 Astros Minor League Thread

Since his fastball was sitting at 95 in college I would be more concerned with a health issue than a stuff issue. Because he had the stuff when he was in college.

 

He was 95-96 in his ST start against the Mexican team at MMP.

I'd be more worried about fatigue, body not fully strengthened after his surgery, along with possibly trying to "overthrow" in that launchpad.

Or maybe he was trying to work on his location, sacrificing speed. Maybe he was trying to throw a cutter or a sinker.

Waaay too much to be read into a simple velocity decline.

 

oopsie-doodles!!

 

Something is certainly wrong with that kind of drop off in velocity.

Maybe dead arm, of he's still not recovered. Has his velocity been down since his return, of was it just last night?

 

95-96 in his first extended start (last ST game at MMP).

Has been down since then.

Not sure he's thrown enough this year to have a dead arm... but would like to hear Luhnow's thoughts on what could be going on (is he working on other pitches? Is he still trying to get in shape just 3 months after abdominal surgery?)

 

lol whatever helps you sleep at night.

 

He's a guy I had as a sleeper a few years ago. I'm like you, I'd love to see the random obscure international signings make it but I was doubly rooting for him because the dude's asian.

He's just got too much depth ahead of him now considering he's 23 in single A ball. Even if he hits at QC, which isn't impressive considering he's old for the league, he's behind Villar, Correa, Fontana and potential comeback kid Jio Mier. I bet he gets released after the season.

 

I don't get it, how can you be so sure that Gray is going to have a better MLB career than Appel? That's right, you can't. You think he will, and you have every right to that opinion, but it's just that, an opinion. Personally, both Bryant and Gray intrigued me for the 1-1 last year, and I probably would have gone with the more risk/reward of Gray over Appel, but I can understand the logic of Appel's projected higher floor helping mitigate his risk. I think Appel's ceiling is not quite as high Gray's (just a tick under), but he offsets that with a much higher floor. I also won't complain each time Gray has a good outing. The fact is, both Gray's and Appel's futures are question marks at this point. And their success is not mutually exclusive either. Both can be dominant aces, and both, unfortunately, can flame out. I hope that both do well. Being that their future is uncertain, I see really two options: to either be optimistic about Appel, or pessimistic about him. It looks like you are more pessimistic, which is not inherently wrong, but it just seems like an unnecessarily negative stance to take for a team I believe you are rooting for. If the Astros' success is what you ultimately want, wouldn't you wish Appel fulfills his potential as a frontline starter? I guess I'm just not understanding your "certainty" that Appel will not live up to expectations.

And although you are entitled to your opinion, tellitlikeitis simply stated fact, which was that Corpus hit him hard. Facts typically beat out opinions in discussions.

 

Marky Mark.. yikes. Too early but certainly alarming. Tradebacks for Kris Bryant?

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>This guy did a full range of baseball activities today. He could come back quickly <a href="http://t.co/ERK8P3Sogv">pic.twitter.com/ERK8P3Sogv</a></p>&mdash; Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/statuses/459462589135589376">April 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

I wonder how much longer the excuses will rain down for Appel. Not looking good so far imo.

 

Appel's ceiling is not a frontline starter. It's a solid #2. That's why I never wanted him. Call me a gambler, but I wanted a guy with a 100mph fastball and a filthy slider to boot. In case you didn't know, that guy is Jon Gray. I know people around clutchfans hate when someone criticizes Jesus, oops I mean Luhnow, but he missed badly on this pick. It should have been Gray or Bryant, the two players with the highest ceilings of the draft. End of discussion.

To be honest, I am not sure what kind of career Appel will have. Obviously he is advancing much slower than any of us could have imagined, which is disappointing to say the least. I want him to prove me wrong, but I don't see it happening. In all likelihood Appel ends up as a very good #3, while Gray is an Ace and Bryant mashes 35+ HR. Luhnow struck out on this pick. Let's hope he does not do it again.

 

You really think Gray is most likely going to be an ace and Byrant is a 35+ HR guy?

You are very optimistic.

 

LMAO!!!

 

So in revisiting the last draft, IMHO Gray was probably the Astros' pick. Until he tested positive for Adderall. There were other red flags on Gray, the guy has to work hard to stay in shape, he can be wild and his uptick in speed on his fastball was kind of sudden (which some scouts don't like). I'm with you, I wanted Gray/Bryant as 1 and Appel as 1A. The thought of having a masher like Bryant who could play 3rd or at worst play LF was intriguing. Lord knows we could use a big bat right now.

Appel has a tendency to start slow, he did last season and the season before when he was at Stanford. His ceiling is still a frontline starter, but his floor is a #3 workhorse. Appel's delivery is very easy and repeatable, whereas Gray's has some effort and some scouts say maximum effort, which could lead to injuries down the line.

Instead of pointing and saying I told you so prematurely, lets root for the guys that we have in the minors and hope they reach their ceilings.

I'm not a Luhnow apologist. I like a lot of what he's done as far as rebuilding the minor league system and employing tandem starters to help keep guys from getting injured early. I believe that Luhnow whiffed on the Lowrie trade. Carter is a bench player and doesn't make enough contact, Peacock looks to have lost a lot of polish from his lofty prospect status when he was in the Nationals' farm system. Stassi could still make the trade salvageable, but we'll see how long he can stay healthy (crossing my fingers).

 

my head is not in the sand.