He’s 25th all-time in career fwar among 2B, the active leader, no one else is even close. If it weren’t for the cheating scandal then he’d almost certainly be considered a surefire HoF if not a 1st ballot guy. As it is I think he has to get to 3000 hits to be a 1st ballot guy. I think he will probably get in if he has 2-3 more average or better seasons after this year.
It’s a sample size of 2 games in the World Series. He didn’t pitch a single leverage inning last year. If you don’t think Urquidy will have an incredibly short leash if he’s SP #4 in the playoffs that’s the weird take.
Urquidy is solid. I’m not saying there wouldnt be a short leash, but you act like he’s Brandon Bielak. Show the man a little respect. The only reason you feel this way about Urquidy is the ridiculous SP depth we have been blessed with the past 5 years.
https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/jose-altuve-is-the-best-astro-ever.301817/ Glad they didn't mention cheating Altuve's biggest advantage over most 2Bs who aren't in is MVP finishes, batting titles, and postseason. He has other advantages too, but those are main ones.
Solid is the perfect description for Urquidy. And exactly why the Astros will try very hard to replace him in the playoff rotation. He is very good as a member of a 162 game regular season rotation. He is the weak link in a playoff rotation, and not who a team would prefer to start a game if they expect to win a World Series.
I was waiting for brian kenny to bring it up lol. Seems like the ones always bashing Altuve seem to forget his 2 batting titles before 17. And Shining in the biggest moments.
Urquidy isn’t bad, but “solid” might be stretching it. He’s never pitched a full season and only once topped 107 innings in a season. He’s never posted a 2 fwar season. His career k rate is a pedestrian 7.40. He is homer-prone. It’s not a bad thing if he’s your #5 SP. But he is nowhere near established enough to avoid losing his job to injury. Both France and Bielak have pitched well enough so far that I wouldn’t necessarily want Urquidy to displace them in the rotation.
Yeah. He also pitched well in relief last year in the LMJ HR derby game and saved the rest of the bullpen… an underrated accomplishment given that they heavily used the bullpen over the next 4 games. Also, all playoff worries are going to be small sample sizes. Weird that you don’t realize that.
Last 15 days - 13 games Yordan 1.038 Meyers 1.036 Bregman .868 Altuve .856 Dubon .810 Tucker .809 Maldy .804 Julks .785 Pena .757 McCormick .676 Abreu .533 Diaz .439 Salazar .000
Bielak has had a couple of really good appearances this season, and a couple of pretty terrible ones where he got lucky. I can see France potentially sticking as an MLB SP, but I still think Bielak is best as a spot starter or MIRP. France actually has a lower xwOBA this season than Javier.
Yes, a team should try to improve. If Urquidy is healthy, he'd probably be the 2nd or 3rd best SP4 among postseason rotations as they stand today. The Astros currently have 2 holes that are so much worse right now. Maybe Abreu turns it around and fixes one internally. Considering there are plenty of teams in worse situations regarding starting pitching, I expect the Astros will be outbid for a better than Urquidy SP unless the Astros lose another SP to injury. I could see the Astros acquiring a SP as depth at the deadline if it didn't require current MLB talent.
Javier has not been as dominating as in the past so his xwOBA isn't the best this year. I suspect it is mostly due to him throwing a little softer this year. However, his BB% is way down. If his velo gets back to normal and he's able to maintain a low BB%, he could be as dominating as anyone else outside of Atlanta.
I like Urquidy just fine. He’s great great great as a 5th starter during the regular season, incredibly overqualified for that position. It he’s not a guy, in the playoffs that they will either: A) let the other side see a 3rd time (and maybe even not their premiere portion of the lineup 2X) or B) work out of trouble. When the game plan is to hope for 3.2 or 4 innings and hand the ball over o consider that a bullpen game. I promise you that’s how the Astros would approach that, especially with 5 or 6 leverage arms in the pen.
We are talking past each other dude. You are acting like I think Urquidy sucks. I don’t. I certainly didn’t say that. What I said is he will be on a short leash and it will be treated like a bullpen game. Weird you don’t realize that’s exactly what the Astros would do if he were pitching game 4 of an ALCS or WS.
Abreu has been a disappointment, and I hope he returns to at least league average but run production is about the lineup 1-9 not just a single person. No team has 9 guys who are above league average. Altuve, Bregman, Alvarez, and Tucker are givens to finish at 120+ OPS+. If this team can get 100 OPS+ from Pena, Meyers, and LF/DH then Abreu does not need to be great, only average. Even Maldy has had a good month of May, but shouldn't be counted on to continue it. The lineup doesn't need to be the 27 Yankees, it just can't have multiple holes.
How frustrated do you think the Rangers are? They are 14-5 in the last 3 weeks. The best chunk of games they have played in years, but the Astros are 14-4 in the same time so have actually gained 1/2 a game on them.
Urquidy has a career .238 average and .706 ops against. Bielak is .271 .812. I like what Bielak has been able to do so far but this is lunacy.
