At this point Colin McHugh is a needed safety net starter. But If Martes, Paulino or Whitley really start to deal at AAA and we have a decent offer for McHugh he will be moved. Gattis I'm a little more unsure of. If he's not catching, then he really isn't very valuable. Tyler White was pretty good in his brief run, can be put in the field if necessary, and has 6 years of cheap team control. I'm personally not a fan of having a pure DH unless that guy is an absolute monster, which Gattis isn't. Obviously winning is the only true concern for 2018, but I'm really hoping we can find a way to convert some of these AAA purgatory assets into productive and cheap MLB contributors on the fly.
C Andrew Susac was dfa by Milwaukee. At one time he was a top prospect who I hoped Houston would acquire during their rebuild. He’s been plagued by injuries and strikeouts but I believe still has some upside. He has a minor league option remaining, and I would like to see Houston claim him as their 3rd catcher as they have the open 40 man spot and I think he would be loads better than Fedorowicz in AAA.
2018 World Series Odds Los Angeles DODGERS 5-1 Cleveland INDIANS 7-1 Houston ASTROS 5-1 Washington NATIONALS 7-1 New York YANKEES 6-1 Boston RED SOX 12-1 Chicago CUBS 8-1 https://www.gamingtoday.com/Futures/mlb/article/72814-2018_betting_odds_to_win_MLB_World_Series
https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/2018-top-100-starting-pitchers-january/ 2018 Top 100 SPs Astros: 9, 21, 22, 30, 44, 68. 6 of the top 100? Not bad. Cole higher than Keuchel?
Based on this the Astros have 4 aces, a #2, and a #3. Interesting they don’t have McHugh even in the lottery ticket section.
Even before getting Cole, McHugh wasn't really hyped up in fantasy. They probably see Peacock getting the first shots so McHugh isn't all that interesting of an option in fantasy
Cole strikes out more batters and they probably trust his health more than Keuchel and believe in the Astros fixing him.
If it's fantasy-related, I would imagine that's due to strikeouts. For his career, Cole generates 1+ more per 9.
McTaggart posted an article on the team website this afternoon. https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/astros-confident-in-prospect-forrest-whitley/c-265617994 Had some interesting insight from Luhnow regarding Whitley and spring training. Some interesting quotes from Luhnow... Think that's a pretty good reason for not having Whitley at the big league spring training. Although he did mention that Whitley will likely get at least a few innings in some spring training games. He also had this to say... It makes all the sense in the world to rely on guys outside of the starting lineup/rotation at the beginning of spring training to allow the starters more time to get back in the swing of things at a little slower pace than normal due to the shortened offseason.
February is here and there are still 16 free agents I think would improve Houston’s roster: Jonathan Lucroy: could represent a multi-year solution, would be an obvious upgrade over Stassi and fit in a platoon with McCann this season. JD Martinez: obviously would represent an upgrade in LF and could DH at the end of what would be a 5 or 6 year contract. Likely too expensive for Houston. Carlos Gonzalez: career wRC+ of 115, will be cheap on a 1 or 2 year deal. Probably makes more sense as a DH upgrade over Stassi (with Gattis shifting back to backup C) than in LF over Fisher, but being able to play LF provides insurance if Fisher busts. See also: Melky Cabrera, Logan Morrison, Adam Lind, Lucas Duda. Jon Jay: really only makes sense if they don’t believe in Fisher or they expect to trade him. But Jay represents an above average bat and defender for LF who would only cost a few million bucks for a year or two. Jarrod Dyson also makes sense if they don’t think Fisher can play. Eric Hosmer: unlikely his price would be low enough to justify the resulting positional shakeup (and giving up a draft pick), but his bat would look good in the lineup for the right price. He could DH (shifting Gattis to backup C) or play 1B, with Gurriel or Marwin potentially moving to LF. Neil Walker: I know he’s a second baseman, but he’s a very good hitter (career wRC+ of 115) and he’s had some measure of professional experience at 1B, 3B, LF, and C. If he were somehow willing to sign a 2 year deal for <$10M/yr, I’d stick him in LF (or again, have him at DH with Gattis as the backup C). Mike Moustakas: See Hosmer above; Bregman would have to play LF (where he’d be a stellar defender), so he’d improve both the offense and defense. See also: Todd Frazier. Yu Darvish: the only true star remaining in free agency in my opinion, he’d make for an all-time rotation. McCullers or Morton would be forced into the bullpen, but either would profile to be an excellent closer. Or, more interestingly, Houston could go to an 8 man tandem rotation like they’ve used in their minor league system over the years (at least until injuries sorted it out to a 5 man rotation). He’d also serve as a long term solution on the rotation as Keuchel and Morton are free agents after this season and Verlander and Cole are free agents after 2019. Essentially, replacing Tony Sipp (or Anthony Gose) with Yu Darvish is a meaningful upgrade. See also: Jake Arrieta. Greg Holland: Simply would make the bullpen better as an upgrade over Sipp/Gose. The draft pick cost makes it an unlikely match. All in all, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Houston add a bat, but don’t necessarily expect it at this point.
I've been on the Carlos Gonzalez bandwagon but at what cost? We have to give Fisher a shot and if not now... when? We need to see what he can do with a bigger sample size. Tucker, Springer, Reddick is the OF of the future till like 2021. Idk, I'm a bit torn on if I would rather have a CarGo or Fisher. Regardless, what a great situation to be in.
of the above, I only see Lucroy, Cargo, and Melky as realistic. Anything else on the list feels like < 5% chance of happening
I don’t see this team adding any more pieces but Tony Watson would be a significant upgrade in the LHRP role. So a left handed bat and backup C would be the only two questionable spots too look at and they aren’t going too add long term contracts to this club..CarGo, Duda, Moustakas on a 1yr deal. I’d like too see what Fisher can do more than adding CarGo or Duda. Both options have question marks. Lucroy makes some sense though I gather Luhnow is high on Stassi. A left handed bat who can form a righty/lefty tandem with Gattis at DH and catch two to three times a week.
I considered including Watson on the list but I am really not a fan. He has not been very good the last 2 seasons as his HR rate has skyrocketed, his walk rate has increased, and his k rate has decreased. I really don’t see him as a meaningful upgrade from Sipp or Gose. Many of Houston’s potential moves would require a current player changing positions or having a decreased role, so I’m sure Houston is being sensitive to chemistry. If signing Lucroy would piss off McCann, it’s probably a bad idea. If McCullers and Morton would be disgruntled in the bullpen, Darvish likely isn’t worth it. Same for any signing that would require Gurriel or Bregman to move to LF. If that’s the case and if the front office has faith in Derek Fisher, then it probably makes the most sense to stand pat. Without knowing all that, I’d like Houston to be involved with Lucroy, CarGo, and Darvish, as I think those are the 3 guys who make the most sense for Houston.
They aren’t spending 100 mil on Darvish with the players they want to re-up over the next few years. Rotation is already top 3, if not #1 in MLB with Whitley, Bukauskas, Martes, etc waiting in the wings
