I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Click’s legacy and how the transition from Luhnow to Click to Brown will look years from now. This morning I am specifically thinking of the decision to bring in Neris and NOT pursue Graveman. At the time I was disappointed and confused at that decision (I almost always want players to stay with the team unless they stink). But he, and the Astros pitching brain trust, sure got it right
All minor leagues are off Monday. They mentioned that since Sugar Land is going on the road, they would just have Altuve play in Corpus starting today since they are at home.
First, no the Astros don't have three playable catchers (whatever the hell that means). The Astros OPS+ production from their three catchers are: 52, 63 and 34. In what world is that playable for a team that is 13th out of 15th in the AL in offense? What would adding Salvador Perez do? Well he has an OPS+ of 137..... almost 3X as much as what the Astros are getting from their catchers right now. Jose Abreu wasn't obviously in decline last year. He hit over 300 and had an OPS+ of 135, and had as many total bases as the year before. The White Sox as an organization changed the launch angle of a number of players in an effort to decrease team strikeouts. He also had nearly a ,900 OPS on the road last year. Abreu has a career OPS+ of 132 - which is almost identical to his OPS+ last year. Even this year, his BABIP is 290 and that is over 70 points below last year - so even with all of his struggles this year, he has had some bad luck. Alex Bregman has a career OPS of .860 and has had a lot of bad luck this year. His BABIP this year is around 200 this year, nearly 100 points below his career average. Neither guy is going to be pulled anytime soon based on history. If Abreu is struggling at the break, they will likely add someone that can play first and OF.
Abreu and Bregman are both MVP level talents who both also tend to start slow and be at their best the last 2/3 of the season. They each had about an .860 OPS from June- end of season last year. ( within a couple of pts. I estimated) If they get right over the next 2 weeks and then hit at that level they will finish with ABOUT Abreu: .750 OPS or about 110 OPS+ Bregman .795 OPS or about 125 OPS+ More importantly, they will be hitting at all star level production the rest of the year as the Astros try for another division title and 1st rd bye.
General question for @Nook - As our scouting force is situated deep in the regions of Latin America, do we have eyes on the regions of Japan and S. Korea? Thanks!
All teams have someone keep tabs on Japan and S. Korea, and they know the top prospects etc. The Astros do not have a crosschecker like the Red Sox or Yankees do. This is also probably why we have less of a splash in Asian countries. We put most of our finances and time into Venezuela and Cuba mostly. All of this could change in the next year though because Dana Brown in now in charge.
When Salvy's deal expires (not counting the option year), he will be younger than Abreu was when he signed his deal with us. Just saying.
