2015 Astros Minor League Thread

lets not go crazy, that's a 2011-2013 Astros level rotation.

 

The Brewers GM said that the Astros only made Phillips available after Fiers was included on the Brewers end.

Phillips is obviously a very nice prospect, but he is not as big a loss in my opinion. He can run but doesn't steal bases, he is a good fielder but a lot of scouts project him as a corner outfielder. He hasn't shown much pop outside of Lancaster. If you don't steal bases, and you don't have much pop; how valuable are you really?

 

My interpretation of the GM quote was that Philips was the primary piece the Brewers wanted for Gomez and it wasn't until they added Fiers to the deal to sweeten the pot that the rest of the deal came together.

That makes more sense to me because Philips is the better prospect; he's a five tool possible centerfielder. Fangraph's said he might jump into the top 30-40 prospects next year. Granted his five tools might be 55's but that's a huge prospect.

 

I wonder how many meetings, resources, front office guys, and hours of Luhnow's sleep these sorts of critical decisions monopolize?

I expect to get a live feed of the parade on Fresno if they win it all!

 

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It is an interesting question honestly. I will only say that the real valuation of a prospect isn't always inline with what Fangraph's says or other publications.

As for Phillips, he is a nice prospect at first blush. However, what good are tools if they do not translate to in game performance? Phillips can run, but he is a mediocre base stealer. He has mediocre in game power. His power has almost all come in Lancaster. He has a strong arm, and is a good fielder. However a lot of scouts believe he is ticketed for a corner outfield spot.

How valuable is a player that doesn't hit for power or steal bases, plays a corner outfield spot? He still walks and hits double, so there is value there. However there are serious question marks and limitations as well.

 

Had a random thought yesterday with the Duffy call-up...

They advanced to the championship round, so it's different, as I guess he's still "locked in" to baseball mode, but let's pretend they either got eliminated, or just finished winning the prestigious PCL title, THEN he got called up:

That's gotta be an odd sensation - being in postseason mode, where that probably consumes all your thoughts, then it suddenly ending, and the come-down and unwinding that you'd naturally experience after that. Then you get called up to debut in the big leagues, in games that are roughly 1 trillion times more important than the ones that, in your world, were the most important things on the planet.

Seems like a tall order to handle to me.

 

If these guys have true MLB aspirations, they should be able to put things in perspective.

On no planet is a minor league championship game as important as a stretch-drive regular season MLB game.

Hell, I'd venture to say no minor league playoff game is as important as ANY MLB regular season game.

Maybe for the guys who are literally branded as career minor leaguers... but I wouldn't expect the younger guys (especially the ones with the bonus money) to put all their emotions/eggs in that basket (other than the usual competitive nature that exudes within any athlete... hell, I get competitive at random weekly NFL pick em's that have no real impact or money at stake).

 

Yeah, I'm just wondering how strong of an indication Duffy (or anybody) is given that there still may be a call-up looming, or if they have it in their head that they are in the midst of their final few baseball games of the season, only to suddenly have their season extended by 25-40 of the highest stakes games possible. Gotta be a mind**** at minimum.

 

A.J. Reed named minor league player of the year by Keith Law of ESPN. Tyler White was one of 10 honorable mentions.

His write up on Reed was free, but everything else is behind the paywall.

Spoiler

Also Bregman was one of 5 honorable mentions for top performances from draftees (Benintendi won).

 

3-5, Double, HR, 3 RBI - Astros sure could use that guy. But hey, if Matt Duffy can't get time, White probably wouldn't have either.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tyler White puts Fresno back in the game with a two-out, 2-run HR to left field!!! Grizzlies trail 7-4 in the top of the 7th. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Growlifornia?src=hash">#Growlifornia</a></p>&mdash; Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) <a href="https://twitter.com/FresnoGrizzlies/status/643979028278349828">September 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tyler White does what he does. He gets hits. This time providing the go-ahead run w/an RBI single. Grizzlies have taken over 8-7 in the 8th</p>&mdash; Bryant-Jon Anteola (@Banteola_TheBee) <a href="https://twitter.com/Banteola_TheBee/status/643986015355465728">September 16, 2015</a></blockquote>
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If White does that in Chris Carter's spot tonight, Astros win.

 

While I still highly doubt any more moves are made... the combination of Gomez, Lowrie, Marwin and Castro all getting injured at the same time may allow for just a little bit of relaxation on the "stringent" front-office promotion tactics, no?

 

I still can't believe Reed fell to the second round. I understand not being a top 10 pick given his question marks, but this seems like a classic example of scouts overthinking something.

 

Yes, because AAA production is the perfect proxy for MLB production.

 

It is the best proxy there is.

If you don't think a guy that hit 370 in his first season at AAA can't out hit Chris Carter, then I don't know what to tell you.

 

Good scouting is the best proxy.

 

Honesty is the best prolixy.