You know you have a solid roster when people are b****ing about the 26th guy. It happens every year. It's not the guy, it's how he's used
Well only ST but Dubon looked overmatched in his ABs. It would be nice to see someone take over backup shortstop that can at least make a little bit of contact. But truth is we are stacked.
Whitley has looked surprisingly good this spring. Really doing a good job of throwing strikes. Maybe Lance’s injury will allow him to spot start early on.
I think I saw he was assigned to Sugarland this morning. Question if a player is assigned to the minor leagues does he remain in camp for the rest of spring. With WBC going on kinda tough to field a team. Need bodies
He didn't play any spring training games and was just sent down to minor league camp. Surprised he didn't get a look. Unless he pitched against Venezuela which doesn't count towards Spring training stats. I wonder if he's injured.
nobody would be b****ing about Dubon if Baker wouldn't keep trotting him out there in CF while Chas was on the bench. LOL
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...ley-houston-astros-option-minors-17834720.php […] A day earlier, Whitley made perhaps his most encouraging appearance in a major league spring training game. His four-seam fastball touched 96 mph on the stadium radar gun and his sinker generated so much weak contact. Whitley smiled and seemed pleased afterward. A demotion one day later does count as awkward timing, but it is nothing more than a function of the shrinking calendar. It does begin perhaps the most meaningful season of Whitley’s career. This year is Whitley’s last with minor league options. Keeping a spot on Houston’s 40-man roster could hinge on his performance. Whitley never had a chance to make the team’s opening day roster. The pitchers that will must build their pitch counts and throw more innings, meaning fewer frames are available in Grapefruit League play for minor leaguers. Optioning Whitley on Sunday will allow the Astros to build his pitch count in minor league camp. Houston also sent its two other depth starters — Shawn Dubin and J.P. France — to minor league camp on Sunday, too, for the same purpose. Dubin, France, Whitley and Brandon Bielak are the extent of the team’s starting pitching depth on the 40-man roster. All should start the season in Class AAA Sugar Land. Bielak still profiles as the team’s top choice for a sixth starter, should the need arise, but Whitley made himself a legitimate major league option with a strong showing in spring training. “I think (Whitley would) admit that this was the first camp he’s come in, during this level of status he’s had, and he’s been healthy,” pitching coach Josh Miller said. “I think it showed. With that brings some confidence and with confidence brings a lot of things. Hopefully that can all stick together and equal him having a good, productive season.” Whitley made three Grapefruit League appearances: two starts and one out of the bullpen. He tossed 92 pitches during the two starts. Sixty-two were strikes, fulfilling Whitley’s one spring training goal to “fill up the zone.” For a pitcher who walked 6.6 batters per nine innings during his last minor league season, the strike-throwing is a welcomed sign. Whitley did surrender five hits in his four Grapefruit League innings, but his sinker-heavy arsenal can be prone to contact. On Saturday, for example, most of the singles St. Louis struck against Whitley were weak ground balls that found holes. Better execution of his slider and curveball will eliminate some of the contact and increase swings and misses. Whitley said a hangnail on his index finger impacted his command of both pitches on Saturday. “There were a few two-strike pitches that he left a little too general in the zone. It’s a matter of him getting feel for the spin, which is dynamite when it’s right. He’s going to have to get a little better at executing those pitches,” Miller said. “Yesterday was an excellent outing for him. I think he could have executed his spin weapons a little bit better, but threw a bunch of strikes, fastballs in the (strike) zone, showed premium velocity and looked healthy. I thought yesterday was definitely a good outing for him to showcase himself. It was a good spring training for him.” It still met an expected ending on Sunday morning. During their meeting to deliver the news, Miller said he and manager Dusty Baker told Whitley he “handled himself well” and “impressed us with his outings.” “If he’s pitching good and we have a need,” Miller said, “he’ll get his opportunity.”
He was never making the roster, he was never even in realistic competition. The bullpen is full, and other starters are ahead of him in the pecking order. Not making the roster opening day means nothing. Whitley is gonna get sent to AAA with the hopes that he can show regained form. Whether that will happen or not I have no idea, but him starting the season in AAA was always gonna happen. If he performs he could still very much be in the plans, if he fails in AAA again then it probably will be curtains for him in Houston.
Barring unexpected recoveries or new injuries, this is my expected opening day lineup/roster: 2B Altuve SS Pena 3B Bregman RF Tucker 1B Abreu DH Diaz LF McCormick CF Meyers C Maldonado Bench: Dubon, Lee, Hensley Rotation: Valdez, Javier, Garcia, Urquidy, Brown Bullpen: Blanco, Martinez, Gage, Maton, Stanek, Neris, Montero, Abreu, Pressly Optioned: Whitley, Bielak, France, Dubin, Mushinski, Paredes, Taylor, Bannon, Matijevic, Perez, Madris DL: Brantley, Alvarez, McCullers I think they’ll keep an extra RP so they can have Bielak all the way stretched out in AAA in case of another SP injury. Matijevic could get the nod over Diaz because he bats lefty and has more experience in LF; plus he’s had a pretty good spring.
