In regard to Marisnick, he struck out 35% of the time last year, and his HR/FB ratio skyrocketed from around 6% to 21%. Those 2 numbers are more than a little alarming when trying to gauge how well he will be able to repeat his results.
I'm pessimistic on further significant improvement as a hitter, and I think he peaked 2 years ago as a defender. I'm hoping he rediscovers his top 3 MLB OF defense while staying replacement level at the plate to be a valuable guy at the end of the bench.
Its a great luxury that Springer was able to go back to CF seamlessly. Agree that Marisnick may not be the defender he once was... thus his bat needs to maintain where it is (and not regress).
He is definitely part of the fly ball revolution. Harder to make contact with the upper cut, but it makes better contact more often. Marisnick was an extreme example of this last year. I expect some regression in both numbers, but expect he'll continue being a high K, high HR/FB guy as it worked better than what he was doing.
Are you seriously bashing the front office of the World Series Champions? I'm not talking like the cowboys where they haven't won anything in a generation but still strut like it was yesterday. I'm talking about the one that won a championship in an amount of time you can still easily count in days. I think there are some who think anything less than going 162-0 and 11-0 in the playoffs is unacceptable and a waste of time.
No I am not. Surprised anyone would take what I said that way. But since some are, let me clarify what I meant, a second time. I dont think anyone would think badly of our front office if they made one more minor move and called it a day. They are not under any pressure to make a big move. That is why I said it would be ballsy for them to do so.
Your exact words were that you're not sure they have the balls to make a big move. They've proven they do and will if the situation is right. Why should they be under pressure to make yet another big move? Not doing so for the sake of placating some fans doesn't mean they don't have the balls.
It is weird and I’m not sure it’s great. If Houston is legitimately connected to any starters outside of Darvish and maybe Arrieta (and not just trying to drive the price up for other teams), it may be a sign that one of their pitchers has a serious injury concern. Outside of Darvish, I don’t view any of the available free agent starters as a significant upgrade over McHugh/Peacock. The only other explanations would be if they plan to move Morton or McCullers into the closer role (which I consider very unlikely) or if they plan to go to a tandem rotation (which I consider even more unlikely).
Just an update from Ken Rosenthal on Hot Stove this morning. He mentioned that Houston is trying to secure a SP before Spring Training. Their main reason of landing another pitcher is because of Morton and Dallas are both up after 2019. Houston wants to have another SP in place ready to go so they're not feeling pressured for 2019. Ken Rosenthal said it's either Darvish or another SP via trade that they Astros are looking to obtain. Lynn and Cobb could also be looked at. Darvish is who the Astros want per Ken Rosenthal.
I'd say it is primarily for a McHugh replacement. I think they fully intend on Peacock having the same role as last year, knowing they should expect DL stints from Morton & LMJ at the least. Since it is FA or trade, it doesn't have to just be those 2 guys they are looking at. Lynn is also a FA potential upgrade over McHugh
This is all about setting up for 2019 which is very smart. I can't see them signing anyone outside of Darvish. Ken Rosenthal said Cole is also a possible trade target for Houston. I rather they sign someone rather than making a trade. Save our prospects for a bat or something else during the season.
I'm not thinking straight tandem, but I am thinking Astros plan to use some starting pitchers (McHugh and Peacock if they add another guy) as multi-inning relievers like they did in the playoffs.
Darvish, Arrieta, Archer, and Cole are the only guys I believe are available who in terms of value I’d rather see than the 5-10th starters Houston has in house (McHugh, Peacock, Martes, Musgrove, Paulino, Rodgers).
I also think they are thinking about injuries. We had some awesome luck with Fiers being able to pull out wins when we lost like three to four of our starters in July
So the question becomes: do you spend $100M+ for Darvish and keep your elite farm system talent, or do you trade away some of your top prospects for Archer, who is on a much cheaper deal? If the front office truly believes that Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley will be above average players, then you almost have to go with Darvish, as Tucker and Whitley will provide you with 5 or 6 years of immense surplus value. I previously preferred to trade prospects for more established players (i.e. trade for Archer, or trade for both Yelich and Realmuto), but I am now starting to lean with keep the elite prospects and just sign Darvish and Lucroy.
