At some point if all three guys are healthy and playing well then they’ll have to make a move, but if they believe in all 3 then they can just get by this season then let Brantley walk.
This is where I was hoping Goodrum could provide value, but it hasn’t worked out that way in the early going. Luckily Siri has played well enough that it hasn’t mattered.
I think Astros really hope Leon can become that guy that starts almost every game, but bounces between positions.
True. Especially with Leon in the wings as well potential a factor next year. The Myles Straw move was a really clever one -- getting a controlled, high leverage reliever and a flyer prospect at a position of glut was a big.
Pitching staff has been extremely effective this first cycle thru. Baez, Stanek, and Blanco are the only guys who didn’t get good results, and Baez is really the only one whose stuff didn’t look good. Montero and Neris looked great and Abreu showed his ceiling. Could be the best pen Houston has had in a long time.
Watching the Blue jays game against the janks, they shifted to 4 outfielders. Wasnt that banned? Also Vlad is a gawdam monster.
At what point in time do we need to move on from Maldonado as unplayable on offense? I know catcher is a defense first position, but will we tolerate a guy with a 400 ops getting 2/3rds of the starts there? The slash line for pitchers dating back to integration is 138/187/188. What happens if he makes a run at underperforming that? He is getting long in the tooth, he wasn’t great defensively against Anaheim and if his regular season keeps going like the playoffs last year and he collects basically one hit a week is that something we can live with? If not- what are the options? I’m existed about Lee but not ready to turn over the job to him in the stretch run as a rookie. Any potential options at the trade deadline if it comes down to it?
Barring injury or trade (or something completely unforseen), Maldy and Castro will be the 2 catchers this season. Lee and Maldy will be the catchers next season.
Probably. But what I’m asking is what if he has a 400 OPS at the all star break? I have been bullish on this season. I predicted 98 wins. I thought our pitching would be really really solid. I suppose they figure he’s a big part of that and will let it ride, but I would think there has to be a point of no return. really excited about the pitching so far.
If Lee looks like a player? Maybe they trade Castro? I doubt it though, and I highly doubt they cut bait with Maldy during the season.
If they feel the need to demote Maldy, then I expect Castro to get a bigger load at catcher, with Martin staying as the 2nd catcher. I don't see a move being made at the deadline, nor a real shake up of the catching room.
I would like to see Gurriel and Brantley retire as Astros. But not necessarily as starters. At this point, they both deserve their starting assignments.
I doubt Dusty would demote Maldy. I expect Maldy to be the starting catcher. If Maldy isn't the starting catcher, I expect he gets shipped out like Straw.
Maldonado is not going anywhere this season no matter how bad he hits. If they determine he is no longer worth his lineup spot, they’ll start giving Castro more time and relegate Maldonado to a little used backup role. But it is way too early to draw any conclusions; hell, he’s currently got a 20% bb rate and 13% k rate! That’s the highest xwOBA (.353) of his career!
So when I read this, my first thought is "how the holy hell does one have that low of an xwOBA with a 20% BB%". Quality of contact numbers suggest he's still in the bottom 2% of the MLB the same as last year with his xwOBA being propped up solely by a large BB%. I highly doubt pitchers keep walking him and that he's basically the same hitter as last year.
Totally agree, he will end up being what he has been overall as an Astro: a pretty bad hitter but playable because of his defense and impact on the pitching staff.
The Astros aren't likely to trade prospects to upgrade the catcher position at the deadline, and Korey Lee hasn't shown the abilitiy to hit AAA pitching yet so we are probably stuck with Maldy and Castro barring injury. Hopefully Lee gets on track and hits more like he did in AA.....
