Remember when the Astros used to have teams that hit a lot of home runs but struck out a ton, too? Looking back on those days, I used to hate them. So many great rallies destroyed by dreaded strikeouts. Then last offseason they brought in guys that put the ball in play consistently and didn't strikeout. That put this team over the edge (along with the addition of Verlander, of course). The Yankees went the complete opposite route.
You could argue that the Astros beat the Yankees last year while playing some of their worst baseball of the year. I would expect the Astros to beat the Yankees in similar fashion in a series where both teams are playing well. The Astros will have better pitching as well as better overall hitters. They still need to find a left fielder before the season starts and that guy may already be on the team in Derek Fisher or Kyle Tucker.
Astros strike out guys didn't walk much. Judge and Stanton both hit for power and are figuratively always on base. I'd take those two over contact guys Reddick and Yuli.
Yep, it is a crazy idea to prefer great players over the contact narrative. I take it back. Let's bring back Aoki.
Yup. I think both are big reasons why we didn't bite harder on Stanton. Fisher needs to shore up his hitting vs. lefties, but he's a 25hr/25sb threat with good OBP. He has a bright future in this league. Honestly, even Marisnick was playing well before his fluke injury. His hitting adjustment was noticeable. I'm excited to see both get ABs. We can let Tucker tee off in the minors until needed. I see a lot of Yelich in Tucker. HOU has a bright enough future in the OF to not risk 325mm on 10y of Stanton. [Sidebar: I bet we resign Springer, too] Stanton had a fantastic '17 campaign. I mean, if he does that for the next 3 years, then yeah, we may be in some trouble. With the new baseballs, who knows. I think he'll revert more to the player he was his first (7) seasons, but we'll see. Let em chase us. I trust Luhnow. We could've added Stanton if we wanted him.
In comparison to what Valbuena, Rasmus, Carter, Gattis, Castro, and Gomez did in 2015, it feels like it. Power and walks are much more important than the narrative regarding type of outs.
Ha yeah but those guys make anyone look like Bonds in his prime getting on base. I think Stanton is a good/great player but he's not as good as some make him to be IMO. A .360 career OBP for a guy with his physical presence and power in the box is pretty poor when you think about it (Correa had a .361 OBP as a 21 year old in 2016 and some people on this board were bashing him). Stanton was obviously very impressive last year but let's see if he can do it with the pressure in NY and on a winning team for once.
Regarding Yelich, would a package based around Marisnick and Martes interest the Marlins, or would they consider it cheeky?
Bregman making his twitter pic a screen shot of Drake's "back to back" is so vicious. I love it. Might de facto push him into a top 2 Astro ever territory.
Yelich is my favorite potential trade acquisition. He fits the needs and identity of the team more than Stanton that’s for sure (Astros already lead MLB in HR’s, he strikes out too much) Yelich is a LH bat, always hustles and plays the game with fun and passion plus he’s shown he can step up on a national stage in the WBC. I’d say Martes, Fisher and a prospect ranked between 7-12 would land him. I’d want to hang onto Marisnick Springer Yelich (LH) Altuve Correa Tucker (LH) Gurriel Bregman McCann (LH) Reddick (LH) Lucroy/Avila/Stassi Gattis Marwin Marisnick/Fisher Would def be upgrading the best lineup in baseball
