Mark Berman reported earlier that there are some “roster moves” incoming. De Goti being called up leads me to believe that Bregman or Altuve may be banged up. Dusty mentioned sore legs
Odd that they wouldn’t just call up Toro since he’s already on the 40 man. Big opportunity for De Goti assuming he gets to play.
Baker confirmed they all are vaccinated with their 1st shots. So it’s unlikely any of them are actually sick. Shitty timing.
https://therunnersports.com/moose-tracks-to-alaska-houston-astros-brent-strom-hunts-johnny-meszaros/ Interesting article on a 26 year old pitching prospect Houston recently signed who then showed up on the minor league spring training roster. Supposedly throwing 96 up in Alaska and has worked with Strom. Was also a late round pick of the Rays 8 years ago. Will be interesting to track him as a reliever prospect. I would expect him to show up on the High A roster then move quickly as a single inning reliever if he has success. Coincidentally, there was another RP named Meszaros (Daniel) who was an older player, an extremely late round pick who moved quickly as a reliever. He ended up topping out at AAA.
When the Alternate Site roster was released it seemed obvious there were too many players for the AAA roster, but now it looks like all of those guys are likely to stay in Sugar Land when the season starts. With Whitley and Pena injured, Martes and Emanuel suspended, and 10 players on the big league IL, only 27 healthy players are currently at the Alternate Site: C (5): Stubbs, Papierski, Quintana, Shaver, Manea IF (4): Hinojosa, De Goti, Nova, Kessinger OF (4): Siri, Dawson, Meyers, De La Cruz P (14): Javier, Ivey, Solis, Conine, Dubin, Hansen, Torres, Hartman, LaRue, Blanco, Garza, Scheetz, Velazquez, Rivera I would guess that once the AAA season starts and assuming most of the big league roster gets healthy, they will just keep a handful of guys on the complex roster but let them just keep working out in Sugar Land (or maybe the roster rules have changed and they can all be on the AAA roster).
At first glance, Jordan Brewer, Nathan Perry, and Cesar Salazar are position players who are missing. Some aggressive placements there.
Here is the full list of players who are known to be in the US but not on a full season roster who have not been released yet: C: Cesar Salazar*, Nathan Perry*, Miguel Palma, Jose Alvarez, Freddy Guilamo, Victor Mascai, Yorbin Cueta, Gerry Castillo, Carlos Hurtado IF: Zach Biermann*, Cody Orr, Peter Zimmerman, Bryan Arias, Jake Adams*, Jeremy Pena*, Sean Mendoza, Deury Carrasco, Dexter Jordan, Dauri Lorenzo, Yohander Martinez, Cristian Gonzalez, Jose Mendoza, Rolando Espinosa OF: Jordan Brewer, Luis Guerrero, Carlos Machado, Tomas Ramirez, Roilan Machandy, Franklin Pinto, Yimmi Cortabarria, Raider Uceta, Rainer Rivas, Adonis Giron, Jesus Liranzo P: Santos, Vega, Carrillo, Taveras, Lopez, Solis*, Bellozo*, Chavez*, LaRue*, Gruller, Robaina*, Whitley*, Palmer, Plumlee, Benedetti*, Gayle*, West*, Deason*, Rodriguez*, Dickey, Barry, Matthews, Gusto*, Rodriguez, Chavez, Gonzalez, Bojorquez, Cobos I suspect quite a few of those guys are injured (likely Pena, Brewer, Whitley, Perry, Solis, Deason). But looks like it might be the end of the road for Adams, Salazar, Biermann, LaRue, and Benedetti.
Spoiler: AAA Sugar Land Skeeters Preview Org Top 30 Prospects: 1B Taylor Jones, OF Ronnie Dawson, P Tyler Ivey, P Shawn Dubin, P Brett Conine, P Austin Hansen. No big time prospects on this roster, although several pitchers (Dubin especially) have pretty nice upside. SS Jeremy Pena and SP Forrest Whitley would have headlined this roster had they not been injured. Sleeper Picks: OF Bryan De La Cruz, RHP Jojanse Torres. De La Cruz is the type of prospect that from afar you wonder why he hasn't been released; he's never put up big numbers and has been mostly relegated to corner outfield on defense. But digging deeper, it appears he hits the ball really hard and actually has some good defensive tools. Dusty Baker wanted to keep him on the big league roster at one point. If he can show he can be a plus RF (or even handle CF) and possibly change his launch angle to turn some doubles into HR, he may be a player. Also keep an eye on Jake Meyers, who is the best defensive outfielder in the system. Torres throws 100, so he will always have that late inning reliever ceiling. Overview: This roster is much like Houston's system overall: deep with 2nd and 3rd tier prospects but lacking in the kind of elite guys who typically become core major league players. This opening day lineup won't have any holes, and plenty of bench depth to weather injuries and promotions. Miguelangel Sierra is the only aggressive placement, but I suspect he is only there as a fill-in for Pena. The pitching staff is already deep, and if the major league staff ever gets fully healthy, they would add another half-dozen good arms in AAA. Spoiler: AA Corpus Christi Hooks Preview Org Top 30 Prospects: IF Grae Kessinger, IF/OF Pedro Leon, SP Hunter Brown. With Forrest Whitley and Jeremy Pena both suffering major injuries, Leon and Brown may be the 2 best prospects in the system, and Houston's best chances to have a Top 100 prospect by the end of the season. Leon has major upside as a potential future star with plus to elite tools across the board, but having not played stateside at all and not played competitively consistently in over 2 years, it's hard to know how good he will be. Brown is skipping A ball entirely, which can be taken as a very good sign. Kessinger doesn't have the ceiling of those 2 players, but his assignment to AA is a good sign as well and he will have a chance to raise his stock from "future utility guy" to "future everyday player" with a good year. Sleeper Picks: C CJ Stubbs, P Chad Donato. There's talent throughout Corpus' lineup, so any number of players could be designated a sleeper. Stubbs is skipping High A and being assigned to AA is big opportunity for him. He showed a very good offensive profile in his pro debut in 2019 so if he is able to be a viable option at catcher, his ceiling is high. Donato has great stuff and is in position to reach the majors this year if he pitches well. Overview: The Hooks will have a deep lineup, although I don't see any great options at 3B. Hensley and Wielansky are non-prospects for now, and Kessinger is better suited for 2B and SS than 3B. It would be a huge boost to his stock if JJ Matijevic were able to play 2B or 3B, as his lack of defensive value is his biggest knock. The pitching staff after Brown is pretty thin; I see Brown, Donato, and a bunch of relievers. Jairo Solis was not assigned to a roster, so hopefully he is just nursing a minor injury and will be in Corpus soon. Otherwise, I'm sure a few SP in AAA will be sent down as a result of the trickledown from if and when the major league roster gets healthy. Spoiler: High A Asheville Tourists Preview Top 30 Prospects: C Korey Lee, IF Luis Santana, IF Freudis Nova, OF Colin Barber, P Ty Brown, P Jose Alberto Rivera, P Blair Henley. In terms of top-end talent, I think this is the most talented opening day roster in the system. Nova's conservative placement is a bit of a red flag; same with Rivera. But Barber skipping A ball up to High A is a fantastic sign. Both Lee and Barber could easily end the season as Top 100 prospects with good seasons. Sleeper Picks: OF Alex McKenna, P Kyle Serrano. McKenna is a forgotten prospect, but he is worth tracking due to his broad set of average tools. Serrano's career is riddled with injuries and he has barely pitched as a pro, but he has excellent stuff; he may be stuck as a reliever due to his age, but he has a high ceiling there. Overview: There are no holes in this lineup and there's a lot of positional versatility. Lee and Barber are very important to this organization's future. I was hoping to see Jordan Brewer and Nathan Perry on this roster, but they must be injured. The pitching staff lacks elite prospects but features a few guys with high 90's velocity, and Henley has one of the best breaking balls in the system. Spoiler: A Fayetteville Woodpeckers Preview Top 30 Prospects: IF Shay Whitcomb, OF Zach Daniels, P Angel Macuare. Daniels is the best prospect on this team and given the hype he's gotten since he was drafted, he will be closely watched. Sleeper Picks; 3B Joe Perez, P Manny Ramirez. I'm a sucker for big bonus guys, and Perez has an elite arm and elite raw power. He may be Houston's best pure 3B prospect. Ramirez has elite stuff but has been plagued by inconsistency. You could take your pick from virtually any player on this roster and label him a sleeper. Overview: This is the weakest relative lineup of the 4 rosters, but it still features good depth, and there aren't any glaring holes. The pitching staff is missing a few high ceiling arms I expected them to have (Alex Santos, Gusto, Jairo Lopez), but still has a lot of guys with excellent velocity. May be a lot of strikeouts and a lot of walks from that staff. Spoiler: Extended Spring Training Complex Preview Here's the roster of guys who are likely to play in the GCL (not sure if it's still called the GCL): C: Miguel Palma, Jose Alvarez, Yorbin Cueta, Victor Mascai IF: Peter Zimmerman, Dauri Lorenzo, Yohander Martinez, Cristian Gonzalez, Cody Orr OF: Jesus Liranzo, Roilan Machandy, Rainier Rivas, Raider Uceta, Luis Guerrero, Franklin Pinto, Yimmi Cortabarria, Tomas Ramirez P Alex Santos, Ryan Gusto, Yefri Carrillo, Diosmerky Taveras, Jairo Lopez, Franny Cobos, Heitor Tokar, Zack Matthews, Kevin Dickey, Peyton Plumlee, Kyle Gruller, Julio Robiana Lorenzo and Santos are the only 2 top prospects, but that is a deep pool of guys waiting to be assigned to a full season team. Overall, this farm lacks top end talent, but has very good depth, especially at catcher and pitcher. Lee, Barber, Leon, and Brown are the 4 guys poised to burst onto the seen. Can't wait to see how they all play!
Where the players from each draft are assigned: 2012: MLB (2): Correa, McCullers 2013: MLB (1): Emanuel 2014: MLB (1): James (IL) 2015: MLB (3): Bregman, Tucker, Straw AAA (3): Ferrell, Stubbs, Garza 2016: AAA (6): Dawson, Toro, Hartman, De Goti, McKee, Jones AA (2): Hernandez, Donato TBD (3): Whitley (IL), Benedetti, Larue 2017: MLB (3): Solomon, Bielak, McCormick AAA (4): Ivey, Papierski, Meyers, Shaver AA (3): Matijevic, Mushinski, Julks High A (2): Serrano, Ruppenthal A (1): Perez TBD (3): Perry, Adams, House 2018: AAA (3): Hansen, Conine, Dubin AA (7): Taylor, France, Daniels, Wielansky, Costes, Bermudez, Hensley High A (7): McKenna, Freure, Schreiber, Holderbach, Conn, Henderson, Cabral A (3): Schroeder, Moclair, Paulino TBD (3): Pena (IL), Deason (IL), Salazar 2019: AA (4): Kessinger, Brown, Stubbs, Horrell High A (8): Lee, Barber, Henley, McDonald, Cody, Krabbe, Casey, Lee A (3): Barefoot, Holcomb, Drennan TBD (12): Brewer, Guerrero, Gusto, Gayle, West, Jordan, Palmer, Barry, Biermann, Dickey, Arias, Plumlee 2020: High A (1): Brown A (2): Daniels, Whitcomb TBD (1): Santos
Very good overview. Looking at the rosters, I'm very thankful the Astros have an MLB roster loaded with position players for a couple of years minus Correa possibly. I do like the potential arms in upper levels to provide some help whether as relievers or back end starters (maybe a little more with luck).
SS Leon 2B Kessinger CF Adolph DH Matijevic 1B Gonzalez RF Taylor C Manea/Stubbs 3B Hensley/Wielansky LF Julks/Costes Solid lineup.
