With AJ Reed basically lurking in the shadows and more than likely being called in sometime in the middle of the season what is the plan to get by until then? Obviously we would hope Singleton figures out his Major League problems and breakout this year, but I don't have much faith in that. Will it be a Singleton/Gonzalez platoon until we see Reed? I know Valbuena has spent some time at first, does Duffy have any experience over there?
However we do first is okay if a legit bat added somewhere else.. preferably DH. I'd rather have Vally at 3B than Gattis hitting.
This is where Chris Davis would be the perfect solution due to his ability to play 5 positions (DH, 1B, 3B, LF, RF). You could start him at 1B and then if Reed or someone comes up, he could move to 3B or DH if Gattis isn't working out. Then next year when you likely lose Rasmus/Gomez, he could shift to LF. If any young players are ineffective in future years, you can just move him around to fill the weakest slot. It's rare that you have access to an elite bat that plays can play a whole lot of positions reasonably well that you have short or long term uncertainty at.
I would agree But that is a LOT of money for a guy who year before last wasn't as good as Chris Carter While I do think Crane will spend, I would be shocked to see them spend that kind of money on someone with that kind of risk (although the upside is huge)
Like it or not, there is basically zero chance anyone other than Gattis opens year as DH When you factor in the cost, even in a "bad" year he hit 28 HR I know he isn't very popular on this board, but per dollar he was pretty productive last year and if anything it's likely he gets better. For some people adjusting to DH and not playing in the field is tougher than most would think
Davis can't play 3B. That was pure spin by his agent. And anybody can play DH. Duffy does have 1B experience. If Singleton struggles at 1B and Duffy has a strong spring, he could potentially take his roster spot, as I don't think they will start the year with White/Reed.
Ah, I was wondering where that idea came from. He's been putrid at 3B at every level of his pro career.
Indeed. Davis commits tons of errors at 3B and has horrendus range. Lamb's problem was just with errors, and yet his Fielding percentage is actually higher than Davis at 3B.
Candidates for first from the 40 man roster: Matt Duffy, Marwin Gonzalez, Jon Singleton, Luis Valbuena, Preston Tucker, Evan Gattis Candidates for third from the 40 man roster: Matt Duffy, Marwin Gonzalez, Luis Valbuena Candidates for first who are non-roster invitees: A.J. Reed, Tyler White Candidates for third who are non-roster invitees: Tyler White, Colin Moran, J.D. Davis, Alex Bregman Marwin Gonzalez held the backup IFer spot on last year's 25 man roster. He is virtually a lock to make to the 2016 25 man roster as the backup IFer. As a starter at first down the stretch he hit well, so he is a dark horse candidate for either first or third, which would open the backup IFer roster spot. Luis Valbuena played both first and third last year. One has to assume that he is a lock for the 25 man roster, at either first or third. Now comes the tricking math part ... The Astros for the majority of last year carried 12 position players and 13 pitchers on their 25 man roster. For the 12 position players that includes 8 starting-in-the-field position players, a DH, a backup C, a backup IF and a backup OF. The 2016 backups project to be Max Stassi, Marwin Gonzalez and Jake Marisnick. The 8 starting-in-the-field 2016 position players are C: Jason Castro 1: ? 2: Jose Altuve SS: Carlos Correa 3: ? LF: Colby Rasmus CF: Carlos Gomez RF: George Springer The projected 2016 DH is Evan Gattis. Luhnow certainly would prefer a DH who could actually field to give the roster more flexibility. The Gattis-in-left experiment lasy year failed, giving rise to my speculation that a Gattis-at-first experiment might be in the works. This is an extremely long shot, due to the sheer number of competent choices at first who already know how to field the position. The careful reader will note that if Marwin Gonzalez as backup IF and Luis Valbuena as first or third are roster locks there only remains a single position player roster spot open. There is one player from last year's 25 roster (regular season and playoff) that is now on the outside looking in: Preston Tucker. Tucker can play a marginal LF and DH. Since Tucker has options (and Gattis does not), Tucker may very well start the 2016 season in AAA and be the first player called up if any of the OF or Gattis gets hurt. The only way I see Tucker breaking ST camp on the 25 man roster, barring injury, would be at first since he played that position in college. Preston has only played first in the minors for 13 games, so this would be a long shot at best. That last position player roster spot will likely be a battle between: Matt Duffy (1/3), Jon Singleton(1), A.J. Reed (1), Tyler White (1/3), Colin Moran (3), J.D. Davis (3), and Alex Bregman (3).
Plus Lamb had a guy named Adam Everett manning SS that covered a bunch of his shortcomings. Of course, we now have some dude named Correa that would do much of the same...but Valbuena is a much better defender than Davis at a small percentage of the cost. If you sign Davis, it's to play 1B and DH.
Yes, very easily. Once you get to AA you are a possible MLB call up. He has already succeeded at AA and will be starting at AAA. If he hits well at AAA he could be up very soon.
On the one hand, Singleton started younger and has had much less opportunity. On the other hand, Wallace showed more in the ML than Singleton has thus far. Of course, Wallace didn't show "more" until he got a bit older and had more chances. Singleton in the ML: Age 22: 310 ABs .620 OPS Age 23: 47 ABs .625 OPS Brett Wallace in the ML: Age 23: 144 ABs .615 OPS Age 24: 336 ABs .703 OPS Age 25: 229 ABs .746 OPS Age 26: 262 ABs .716 OPS (moved on) I'd say the comparison is warranted, but Singleton deserves more of a shot than what he's had before we give up. It's just tough to do on a team that needs to be competitive now.
Age 29: 100+ at bats .895 OPS Including a remarkable .349/.440/.698/1.138 line in 50 at bats as a pinch hitter.
Yeah I didn't want to talk about his stint last year out of nowhere (mostly because it's potentially depressing). Let's see if he reproduces it over a full season a la JD Martinez or if it was a random hot streak in a cold career. Also, somehow JA Happ pulled a massive contract out of a hot streak only a little longer than that..
Why is Preston Tucker at 1B not more discussed? I think if given regular at bats, he's a .270 hitter with 20-25 home runs and 70-85 RBI. Maybe not ideal from what you want out of a 1B, but serviceable and cheap.
Because he's not good at it right now? IF and OF are 2 totally different things. If he really worked at it, and he has the physical abilities (switch those 2 statements, actually), it could happen. But you can't just throw guys out there and say "ehhhh, he can play 1B/LF, LF/RF, SS/3B/2B, whatever. It would be great if he could.
