They may be treating him like a pitcher because of limited PA over the last three years. They may rely on other position players on offense and give him a long leash to start the season.
I guess Gameday is still in Spring Training. Garrett Stubbs is still listed as an Astro player in today's game preview.
Haven’t seen it mentioned much by the writers but Houston’s AAA pitching depth, which has been excellent over the last half decade, might be the best it’s ever been. Brown, Whitley, Dubin, and Solomon all have extremely good stuff and at least MoR SP potential. Throw in the other arms who don’t currently project to make the opening day roster (Abreu, James, Paredes, Martinez, Bermudez, Ivey, Bielak, Blanco, Mushinski) and Houston is better positioned in terms of weathering injuries and making trades than just about any team in the league.
Apparently Blanco hasn't allowed a run since Sept 30th which includes Spring training and Dominican ball. Think it was 23 games.
I understand what was initially reported as personal problems turned out to be VISA issues. But I am wondering if he came in shape, are they working on swing mechanics or why he hasn't seen a PA for the supposed lock as 4rth OF? I see he has about 100 PA in DWL games and they ate his lunch. That's a very difficult league which is more mature (league average age close to 30) than the minors and often does a number on prospects seeking PAs.