[Educate Me] What are the bright spots on this team?

1. Carter is the midst of a crazy hot streak. I'd wait to call him a franchise player, but he could be a very valuable piece for years to come. With his strength and the crawford boxes (and him finally hitting at home), he has 45 home-run potential.

2. Springer is injured currently, but he has a bright future ahead of him. He has a lot of learning and adjustments to make, but the raw tools are clearly there. I think his floor is Hunter Pence, his ceiling is a top 5 MLB player.

3. Appel seems to have turned his poor start around. I'm not sure if he's #1 material, but he could be a very solid #2. Hader has taken a step back, but this position is still pretty deep throughout our system.

4. Altuve's skills should age well. Maybe his speed will taper off eventually, but the guy is only 24. Huge bright spot. He has many bright years ahead of him. Dude is, IMO, a top 5 hitter in this league.

5. Porter brings good intensity and the players seem to have his back. Not much more else you can ask for. I always thought what managers do in baseball is a little overrated, especially now that we're in the AL

 

The brightest spot is the depth of the farm system. In similar systems there are always guys not thought of as top prospects that become really good MLB players. There are probably four or five guys, hopefully, in our system that aren't highly regarded on prospect lists that will be very good players.

 

Likely not a "franchise" player (whatever that is in baseball)... but more of an Adam Dunn type (which is still valuable).

Good outlook... he definitely became this team's best player once he got adjusted to the big leagues. Needs to get healthy and STAY healthy.

All great... in fact, so good they're trading their young MLB pitchers. :grin:

If he was a fantasy player, then yes. In reality, he's signed through 2020 (two team options)... but there's chance they re-negotiate his deal prior to that to lock him up at a higher (but reasonable) rate.

Yes... till he's fired for continuing to make baffling/idiotic moves (along with bad mouthing players who are not his "boys" in the media... and over-relying on the lefty/righty matchups to the point that Marc Krause became an undeserved everyday player.

 

I love Altuve but no way he is a top 5 hitter in the league. Doesn't walk and has minimal power.

 

Yet doesn't strike out, hits for a super high average AND steals bases... which basically cancels out your above criteria.

 

Altuve is a career 298 hitter, a good average but hardly "super high".

How do stolen bases cancel out power? How many times has he stolen home this season? Getting on base is terrific, even better if you can get to 2nd or even third... but if the guys behind you can't drive you in it doesn't matter, there is no substitute for scoring runs and guys with power tend to hit more than 5 or 6 bombs per season.

 

Are you suggesting Altuve is somewhere around a top 5 or even top 10 hitter in the league?

 

Trout
Cabrera
V Martinez
Tulowitski
Posey
Jose Bautista
Encarnacion
Stanton
Votto
Cano
Braun
McCutcheon
Puig
Goldschmidt
Ortiz

I love Altuve but I would consider him at this point an inferior hitter to all of the above.

 

I don't think it's unreasonable to call active a top 10 offensive player . Maybe a bit of a strech and a little homerism but not out of the question . He leads MLB in average and hits , is top 20 is numerous other categories including extra base hits and is I think # 21 in on base percentage . He is 3rd in MLB in steals and has good percentage relative to the top 2 in SB % . He has done all of this despite being on the Astros who for most of the season have had a piss poor offense extremely reliant on HR's . This means that he is probably extensively game planned against . Is most definitely a top 15-20 HITTER and if you value steals maybe he becomes a top 10 offensive player . I know average and hits aren't sexy stats but in terms of scoring a runner from second a hit is just as good as a double and much better than a walk . Jose isn't an MVP caliber player but with this season he is definitely in the conversation for a top 10 offensive player .

 

Good, I'm glad you do.

When you factor in his age/salary, I'm thinking some of those teams would trade the above player for Altuve straight up (if the Astros agreed to take on the salary).

And yes... what a player makes vs. their overall production does matter (to me, at least).

 

In a vaccume, no... but taking into account his factors such as his salary/age, and what he's doing consistently with a pretty bad rest of the lineup, he's one of the game's top hitters.

 

Wow. I'm not even sure what to say. Altuve's not even the best offensive player on the Astros, and they certainly don't have 2 of the top 10 hitters in baseball.

FWIW, there are two general stats that try to encompass everything about a player's hitting - OPS and WAR. I'm not a fan of WAR because I think it's a bizarre stat (and in this case, takes into account positional considerations which aren't relevant here), but Altuve's #36 in OPS and #23 in WAR.

 

He's 7th in offensive WAR. Overall WAR takes into account his defense, which was not part of the discussion.

You can go back to not being sure what to say.

 

You have a great core.

Carter, Springer, Altuve, Fowler, Singleton(his approach at the plate is getting much better).

Still haven't seen Correa's name mentioned, but that guy has best player in the league potential.

You have a potential ace in Dallas Keuchel, and a middle of the rotation guy in Collin.

Up and down the farm system is littered with great young arms.

Team has a future.

 

And thus my aforementioned problem with WAR. Any stat that says Altuve is a better hitter than guys like Troy Tulowitski or Paul Goldschmidt is absurd.

 

Well, you're the one that brought it up to try to explain that Altuve wasn't a top 10 hitter.... when in fact the stat says he very well could be a top 10 hitter (at least this year). It's tough to simply look at OPS when you're trying to compare different types of hitters.... thus why I'll choose oWAR from your two choices.

Tulowitski and Goldschmidt also get to play in extreme hitters parks... Altuve's salary is a bargain and he certainly provides more value per what he's paid... other things that oWAR may not measure as far as the true value of having a player in the lineup.

 

There is much more that one can ask of a manager...defensive shifts, pitching changes, double moves, lineup decisions, pitch calls, pinch hitting, knowing the rules. There are a number of managers that don't come across as intense that are successful in this league.

 

I can't believe no one has touched on the broadcast side of things. Here you go, Stedd:

Julia Morales does some decent sideline reporting and boasts a large shoe collection. Alan Ashby has a solid over/under of 2.5 comments per game that people would find socially awkward that are pretty fun. Blum occasionally brings all 48 of his children into the booth and has what could easily be the best head of hair in broadcasting. Bill Brown (who disappears for stretches at a time much like Dexter Fowler) adds some dependability in the same sense a Marwin Gonzales does: while you have him, he is good but you may not notice if he is replaced.

Last, and certainly least, is HoChen. He is known for asking the tough questions like "Who would be the best Astros football player?", "Do you like it when Chris Carter hits homeruns?", and "Why am I employed?". Rumor has it that Bud Selig almost had the name of the team changed to the HoChen Astros, but decided to reserve that right for when we play in Milwaukee.