Another homer today for him to give him 16 on the year. Might be starting to figure some things out at the plate. Shay Whitcomb (21) and C.J. Stubbs (11) also homered in Asheville's 10-1 win in Winston-Salem.
I could see Diaz or Marwin playing SS for the 1st month to 6 weeks of the season. Then bringing up Pena. If Pena is as good as I think he will be that could free up money to bring back Graveman and give Tucker/Alvarez etc... extensions.
He has gone from almost no strength or power to going opposite field multiple times like this… he built his muscle and core the proper way… added weight and actually increased flexibility and bat speed.
On Pena, when I saw him earlier this year he was extremely impressive… nothing like the player I saw a handful of years ago… when I first saw Pena he was MLB ready with the glove but didn’t make contact with authority, was easily jammed and didn’t catch up to good fastballs up… he looked like a future AAA or short term MLB reserve middle infielder… then I kept hearing he was busting his ass in the weight room and was addicted to fitness and studying pitchers… I saw him this season and he looked and acted like a completely different player… he had improved bat speed, he was muscling balls and was driving balls that be swung at deep in the zone… most impressive player on the field and reminded me some of Bregman with his approach.
Crazy that Houston won’t have a single minor leaguer throw more than 120 innings over a full minor league season.
That's what you get with tandem starters. I have begun to think it is a bad idea for prospects in the upper minors.
Melendez is an interesting prospect. I haven't seen him in person but only in video and from a few that have seen him in person. The first thing that stands out about him is his size, he is one of the shortest pitchers I have ever seen in a professional setting. He is listed at 5'8" but in reality is closer to 5'6" based on those that have seen him in person. The only guys I can think of that size that had a really good career was Bobby Shantz of the A's a long time ago. There have been a few guys that were screwball pitchers that stuck around a few years.... but not many and none of them great. I guess the closest really good shorter pitchers are Grey and Stroman... but they are bigger than this kid. Stroman may only be 3 inches taller? Melendez also doesn't appear to have long arms either, which Stroman has. This doesn't mean Melendez won't be a good big leaguer, only that he is in very select company at his size.... and it will likely keep him from being high on commercial prospect lists. Ask Altuve whether height can keep a player from being a big leaguer. The second thing that really stands out is that he is only 19 years old, and that includes a year lost with COVID and he is now in AA. He will turn 20 before next season but is being fast tracked and in a very small sample size, has not had any issues with his stuff in AA. He generates a lot of swing and misses BUT he also is walking too many batters in A+ and now AA to be promoted to the big leagues. How long he will be in the minors will depend on his ability to stop walking batters. Some guys figure it out quickly..... some (Martes/Whitley/James) take years to figure it out (if they do at all). The reports are that he is very coachable and open to input from Strom and others.
Melendez is a rare one. Given he’s still a teenager there’s got to be a chance he grows another inch or two and possibly adds velocity. I am excited about him. Stroman isn’t really a good comp in terms of stuff or approach but he is at least an example of a guy about that size who can be a successful SP. Regardless, the track record of teenage pitchers who can get AA hitters out is really really good.
One knock on Diaz was that he didn't get the ball in the air enough to take advantage of the exit velos he generates, so spending some time in that bandbox might help reinforce an approach change. He's hitting the ball in the air at the highest rate of his career, without generating pop ups.
It doesn't bother me. It lets the Astros get more pitchers a shot at being a starter and the reality is that at the big league level there are not a lot of guys pitching a lot of innings.... the Astros leader is currently Greinke at over 160 and McCullers at 140..... so when the Astros starters get some of these kids up, they can stretch them out some. Good point.... I actually forgot that he did.
I could see Jeremy Peña breaking camp with the team. There is a reasonable chance that he will be a MLB league average SS next year.
Of course it’s just one game but after watching him on Tuesday my skepticism about Pena is greatly reduced. I still don’t want them to not do anything at SS since I think there’s a decent chance Pena may need a month or two in aAA to start next season, but I’m totally on board with them bargain shopping. I think Semien or Taylor make tons of sense for Houston since they can be moved around once Pena is ready. But even if they go cheaper with somebody like Villar or Galvis I think they’d be fine.
Redemption tour. He’s put up ~11 fwar over the last 5.5 seasons. Should be cheap, can handle every position except C. If the choice is Correa for $300M, Taylor for $100M, or Villar for $20M, I think Villar represents the best value.
