Remember when the Cubs were suppose to be the future of the MLB? Or when the Baby Yankees in 2017 were just the beginning of their "dynasty"?
Gotta say…I’ve seen a lot of posts critiquing Yordan’s approach at the plate and just find those posts so laughable. Dude is crushing it this year. Yes, he’s had some down spells…but my god, in 503 ABs, he has: 3.3 WAR, 32 HRs, 101 RBIs, 90 runs, 142 hits, slashing .282 .353 .896…I mean what exactly more do you want? How is that not good enough for some posters? Him and Tucker are quietly becoming the strongest under 25 offensive tandem in the league. Time to lock those boys up.
It is hard to predict short term success as well with how fickle the postseason is and how ToR pitchers can get hurt. All a team can do is accumulate a lot of perceived talent to give themselves more opportunities for luck to turn their way. While I am not as bullish as some here on the farm system currently (except for top 4 prospects, Melendez, and Tamarez), I do say I like a lot of the young players on the team such that I am much more worried about injuries, bad deals, and bad trades than I am in the Astros just not having the talent to build a good/great for the next 3-4 years.
Agreed. I fully expect them to contend for at least another 3 years. After that, not sure… but I don’t think anybody can necessarily predict/prognosticate more than 3 years ahead at any point.
I remember our future was suppose to be based on the triumvirate of Redding-Oswalt-Miller-Hernandez... and only one really lasted.
I feel like he would have retired after '19 had we won Game 7. In an interview he said he is still haunted by a pitch that was called a ball in the 7th inning. Grienke threw a strike on Soto on a 2-1 count that was called a ball. Strom said that one pitch changed the entire game and he said had that been called a strike we would've won that game. It has been eating at him and he feels he has unfinished business. Game 7 still haunts me too, let's win the damn thing this year and put Strom as peace.
I'm not liking what i've been seeing from Garcia. K% and SwStr% have both fallen through the floor in his recent outings. I wonder if he's about reached his limit this season in innings pitched.
Random question but could Framber top out as a Cy Young candidate or all star in the next three years? I feel like he’s most capable of leading the league in innings pitched provided another freak injury doesn’t occur, my only concern is the command holding up over an entire season.
All Star seasons are definitely within Framber’s ceiling; he has been worth 3.9 fwar in his last 190 IP. I think CY territory is probably a bit much to ask, given his previous issues.
Agreed. When you have a PROFESSIONAL HITTER like Brantley. You keep him for as long as you can. Besides, we are short of lefties.
You guys are too young. I remember when getting Nolan to go along with J R, Ken Forsch, Joe Niekro and Verne Rhule would take us to DOMINANCE. Things happened along the way.
Cy Young seasons can come from guys that aren't perennial all-stars. Rick Porcello being the most recent. Sometimes guys for whatever reason just put together a great season. Heck, maybe he suddenly discovers control the way Cliff Lee did and becomes one of the best in baseball.
Sure. But if we are talking about reasonable expectations, I think Valdez putting up a CY seasons is about as likely as McCullers or Garcia doing the same. In fact, I think McCullers value over the last 5 seasons is a reasonable expectation for Valdez (hopefully with better health).
If Jeremy Pena really is the kind of prospect he’s looked like the last 3 weeks, then SS is not an issue this offseason. It may even make sense to bring back Marwin on a minor league deal to backup Diaz until Pena is ready (if service time is still an issue). Here’s a hypothetical offseason: Free agent signings: Justin Verlander $40M/2yr Collin McHugh $14M/2yr Marwin Gonzalez NRI/minor league contract ($1.5M/1yr if selected to MLB roster) Trades: Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, and Yainer Diaz to Colorado for German Marquez Shawn Dubin, Colin Barber, and Blake Taylor to Minnesota for Taylor Rogers Resulting 2022 40 man roster: 2B Altuve LF Brantley 3B Bregman DH Alvarez 1B Gurriel RF Tucker SS Pena CF Meyers C Maldonado Bench: Diaz, Castro, McCormick, Jones Rotation: Verlander, Marquez, McCullers, Valdez, Odorizzi/Garcia Bullpen: Garcia/Odorizzi, James, Stanek, Maton, Baez, McHugh, Rogers, Pressly Optioned: Whitley, Solomon, Solis, Bielak, Bermudez, Ivey, Emanuel, Paredes, Scrubb, M Tamarez, Stubbs, Nova, J Perez, Siri DFA/Non-tendered: Wilson, S Martinez, Montero Rule 5 risks: C: Papierski, Manea, Salazar IF: E Valdez OF: Dawson, Matijevic, Julks, Costes, McKenna P: Blanco, Conine, France, Torres, Mushinski, Rivera, Jimenez, Taveras, Robaina
