I was very unconfident (I think that's a word) that Marisnick and Marwin would revert to their norm - I actually have a tipjar bet with somebody where I said Marwin would be back to his pre-2017 self. That being said, I didn't think they'd be this bad. And, that being said, it is still really early and as has been posted many times before, if they were hitting like this in the middle of the year, it wouldn't reflect in their stats as drastically as it does early in the year. Hopefully, they get back to some semblance of their 2017 self.
Marwin, he should be fine. Not 2017 Marwin, but still a good player. Fisher, last year, he was having trouble laying off high fastball and breaking balls low and inside. He seems to have fixed that problem. He's lost the ability to make contact with pitches in the strike zone. He was bad at it last year, but this year has been so much worse. It would not surprise me to see Davis, White, or Kemp get called up to replace him. I'm usually more forgiving on sample size, but such a horrible magnitude over this sample size is not promising. Marisnick, defense looks better than last year. He's having major contact issues at the plate.
Beltran did that before during his first stint with the Astros, He robbed Michael Young of a homer in CF but sat on the ground for a few seconds looking all pissed like he missed it, then he showed the ball and threw it to infield. It was pretty damn cool.
I suppose I was confident you could get a .240 ish BA out of Jake and Fisher, .260 out of Marwin. Nope. Yes, its early. But early losses are still losses. You have to put a clock on those factors causing you to lose games. Not saying we sign a big time FA. But some minor league movement (call-ups) should happen soon if things remain as is.
While players will be judged by their performances, it is highly unlikely Astros are going to freak out over losing early games at a rate that would not prevent them from winning 100 games.
Some things are needed for completeness. There is a huge difference in what Marwin is doing (striking out slightly more than expected and hitting some balls well, but at the fielders) and what Fisher and Marisnick are doing.
I have been told repeatedly not to try and fix things that are not broken. How about when they are broken? I realize it just a characterization, but changing something doesn't equate to "freaking out" to me. I mentioned a clock. The time may not be right this moment. I think most of us can agree we wont tolerate some of our current shortcomings forever. If change is inevitable, lets not wait till the All-Star break to address it.
On the positive side, who thought our catching duo would be this effective, both at the plate and otherwise?
Astros are on pace to win 100 games (don't think the pace has dropped below 95 wins since the first series). That is not broken. Your post comes off as if the Astros are stockpiling early losses, and that the Astros are going to look all those losses and be forced to make a move. Tucker and/or Alvarez are already planned to be brought up after Astros are no longer worried about Super Two. Astros might swap out a bandaid in left field, but that isn't fixing a shortcoming as it is only a temporary measure. Who is on this clock that is expected to make postseason roster? Maybe the 4th OF and the DH, and Astros most likely will give those spots until near deadline before making a change. Astros biggest problem scoring right now is that Correa, Altuve, Springer, Bregman, and Yuli aren't absolutely destroying opposing pitchers. I think those guys are going to be all right.
Marwin is striking out more than he did last year, but walking more, too, and continuing to lay off pitches outside the strike zone. His BABIP (before last night) was a dreadful .200, which is more a component of bad luck than any kind of concerning regression. I just wrote about this - but I think he's due for a blazing stretch in which he gets closer to his '17 form.
Sure... I have the same questions about whether he can be used as a more frequent bullpen guy, or be just a 1 inning guy. You figure most guys with the arms to be a starter could eventually transition to this (see Peacock and Devenski), but then again as you know, there’s a rhythm/method that all starting pitchers go through to get ready for starts. The issue I have is that yes, he may eventually be needed to start... but he’s got absolutely no place to go till then. Can’t send him to AAA to stay sharp. Can’t predict when there will be solely mop up duty or the long relief opportunity when all the Astros starters have the ability to go deep into a game any given night. He’s stuck in the middle in a really hard way... at least he’s getting paid $5 million to have a non-role role. There’s also the fact that its doubtful the Astros would trade him to another contender within the league... with possible contenders likely being the only ones who would make a mid-season move like this (and taking into account recent trade partners/ties, the Brewers and Pirates being the likely candidates). And I doubt any of them would trade guys who are current contributors, hence the Astros would have to take prospects back... and not sure that’s what they’d really use now. TL/DR: Yeah, they’re probably going to keep him.... and might as well throw some 3 inning saves his way to keep him sharp.
Prospects are what are the Astros will likely need to acquire what they need at the deadline. If Astros need a starter, they can trade the prospsects from a McHugh trade with other prospects to get a starter better than McHugh. I don't think he will be much use as a spot starter unless he is getting consistent work.
Lets hope they don’t need a starter... let alone a starter better than fill-in McHugh. Unless you were referring to position player/DH type... the annual Joey Votto sweepstakes?
"Need" probably is too strong a word. Astros will likely have better odds of winning series than anyone entering the playoffs. I tend to value starters more than relievers. I'm perfectly fine adding a ToR starter with the thought that Astros could use a modified 6-man rotation to finish season with having the new starter being a reliever in the playoffs or having Keuchel be the playoff loogy. I see DH, high leverage reliever, and lefty reliever as spots Astros may try to improve. LF if Tucker flops.
