<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/kidkeuchy">@kidkeuchy</a> just what the doctor ordered... on to Arlington!</p>— Jeff Luhnow (@jluhnow) <a href="https://twitter.com/jluhnow/statuses/454442011903655936">April 11, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yep. Picked off 8 times last year with another 3 "picked off, caught stealing". In addition he was second in the league in getting thrown out trying to take an extra base (e.g. score from second on a single, go from first to third, etc.). He is a bad base runner. I get tired of Porter publicly chastising Villar for his base running blunders yet never publicly chastising Altuve.
And he benched JD for swinging at that first pitch, but never did that to anyone else. Players held to different standards, despite none of them being stars.
Well, they are on different pay-scales. Altuve is likely an Astro for the next 4-6 years, regardless (and them moving DDJr back to the OF all but confirms it). Villar is just a place-holder till Correa comes up (and the team is likely hoping he props up his value enough to get something back in a trade).
He is a liability everywhere but in the batter's box. His range at 2B is atrocious. Dominguez is great, and I haven't seen Fowler enough to have an opinion, but they are below average to average at every other position on the field. The pitching staff doesn't need any extra hurdles to overcome.
He certainly has benefitted from the increased commitments to "shifts" this year (by seemingly every MLB team). He covers that OF 2B like no other.
Boy, do you really think he'll be with us that long? in my head ive always envisioned\hoped for a scenario in which villar or fontana took over at second when correa came up. Hopefully, altuve would be the one with some trade value what with his decent hitting and (somewhat) team friendly contract.
If Correa comes up before Villar hits arbitration (a big likelihood), I could see Villar being the one let go. Then again, if Altuve regresses, they have to explore all opportunities.
Feldman's father died yesterday. Funeral on Saturday. Feldman says he will pitch tonight...because his dad would be pissed if he missed a start.
