I didn't like the Hader signing at the time. Felt like a "back of the baseball card" big splashy name type signing when we had more pressing needs and the money should've been spread out which is what Click would've done. He really wasn't that good with the Padres and I remember him giving up bombs to the Phillies in the NLCS.
What's this supposed to mean? Are you saying that they dont miss Luhnow after all of the misses and wasted money on contracts for guys that haven't played, played very little because of injury or got cut and paid off just to go away so that the team would be better? I'm sure if Luhnow had it to do over again he would've traded for a different pitcher other than Fiers, even though Fiers did help the team win that season.
If Lunhow had never made that trade he would likely still be the GM of this team. The only really bad trade he made during his time here and it ****ed him on and off the field lol
Funny how we keep having the near the worst farm system but we keep promoting MLB talent that is good enough to play on a WS contending team. LOL
I never noticed before today, but Kikuchi is 33 years old too. Even if he performs well and re-signs, he doesn't seem anywhere near a semi-long term solution. The trade looks terrible right now, but like you said... maybe we look back and laugh. It just seems the Astros have been "wasting" prospects the past few years. They've damn sure been wasting money.
Best lineup vs LHP Caratini, Diaz, Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Chas or Leon, Jake, Tucker- DH- Yordan. best v RHP Caratini, singleton, Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Yordan, Jake, Tucker- DH- Diaz. I’d like to see Diaz play 1B 10 or 12 times coming down the stretch against LHP and see how it goes. Gets another bat in the lineup and lengthen it because we obviously didn’t need a guy like Randy A or even a guy like Canha.
Just looking at the the numbers, there's no scenario where Chas isn't one of the best 5 or 6 hitters on this team for the past 2 months depending on what metric and time frame you look at. unfortunately it's at a well below average rate, but he still needs to be playing. And in July Dubon struck out nearly 30% (29.6) which really surprises me. This team is playing with 4 hitters.
Current options for 13 position players. Guaranteed spots: Diaz, Carantini, Altuve, Bregman, Pena, Tucker, Alvarez. Dubon 5 spots left: starting 1b, starting LF, Starting CF, 2 bench spots. 40 man: Salazar ( C), Amaya (inf), Kessinger (inf), Singleton(1b), Cabbage (of/1b), Corona ( of), Hummel (of/1b), Leon (of), McCormick (of), Meyers (of) A.Diaz (1b/LF) AAA options: Dezenzo (3b/1b), Whitcomb (inf/Lf), Melton (of), Bastidas (inf) Amaya and Bastidas don't play any needed position and Corona has not had a season worthy of consideration. That leaves 12 players for 5 spots. 1b: Singleton, Cabbage, Kessinger, Hummel, Dubon, Dezenzo. A. Diaz Singleton is the incumbent. He has no options and has been just good enough that nobody has been able to take the spot. Cabbage has played mostly OF and also not been good. Kessinger is a glove first option and the current issue is a lack of run production. Hummel has had a good season at AAA but has not shown much power or run production despite the nature of the league. Dubon is much more valuable as a backup utility player and also does not have a power profile. I don't even know why Diaz is here. Dezenzo has missed most of the season and has very few PAs above AA and not a ton there either. He is not rule 5 eligible this Winter so the Astros don't want to add him to the 40 man until it's absolutely necessary. They also don't want to rush him and hurt his development. LF: Cabbage, Hummel, Leon, McCormick, Whitcomb, Melton. Cabbage has been the backup by default as a LH bat but has not been good. Hummel won't provide any power or run production and has never hit in his limited opportunities in MLB. Leon has had a great season and the talent to upgrade this position. McCormick has not had a great season but has been better recently and has a very good track record. Whitcomb has had a great season at AAA, needs to be added to 40 man this winter anyway and may be the best bet for power and run production, but has never played in MLB. Melton has very few PAs in AAA and still needs to work on his Ks. He also does not need to be added to 40 man this winter so the team would need to be convinced he is ready and I don't see how that can happen. CF: Leon, McCormick, Dubon, Meyers, Melton. Meyers has had an exceptional defensive season with an up and down bat that has graded out average overall. He won't he replaced unless it's a clear upgrade. See everyone else above. Results: 1b: unfortunately Dezenzo looks to be the only option that is likely to be an improvement over Singleton and we talked about why the Astros won't bring him up now. It's a shame Whitcomb hasn't played any first or it would be smart to give him a shot. I think Singleton holds on to the job until Dezenzo has enough AAA PAs and comes up in September to platoon as long as he is good in AAA in August. LF: Chas has the upper hand but needs to continue improving towards 2021-2023 Chas. Leon should get lots of playing time until Tucker gets back and the more productive guy should start here when he returns. If both have a weak August, then give Whitcomb a chance. CF: The only way Meyers loses this spot is if he does a nosedive AND Chas and Leon or Whitcomb just make it impossible for the Astros to not play him. The only other player is Salazar. The only way he makes the team is if LF remains terrible so they play Yordan there often enough and Diaz DHs so much that a 3rd catcher is a benefit. Singleton, Meyers, Chas, Leon, Cabbage for now. Whitcomb or Dezenzo are September callup depending on if 1b or Lf is the bigger need. Both could come up w/ Leon, Chas, or Cabbage going down if they have a bad August.
1) Tucker comes back 2) Either Chas or Leon have a 110 or better August. 3) Dezenzo continues to hit AAA pitching and looks ready for a September callup. September lineup Altuve Bregman Yordan Tucker Diaz Dezenzo Chas/Leon Meyers Pena
Pretty solid analysis. I would be extremely skeptical that they’ll bring Dezenzo up after ~100 AAA pa to install him in the everyday lineup for a division battle and playoff run. Houston is stuck with Singleton at 1B and some combo of McCormick, Cabbage, and Leon in LF. We just have to hope they get hot at the right time. I think the plan is a L/R matchup deployment of Singleton/Diaz at 1B and Cabbage/McCormick at LF, which isn’t a bad idea. Next season I could see Dezenzo being an option at 1B and Whitcomb in LF. Both players played those positions in last nights AAA game. I would hope Houston would sign a cheap veteran bat or 2 (Mark Canha, Michael Conforto) as insurance. But they can’t go into next season with Singleton on the roster. I really like Salazar as the 13th position player. He can play 2B and 1B in addition to C. He can help with game planning and be more familiar with the pitchers. He also hits lefthanded and rarely strikes out and seems to be a good clubhouse guy. Plus he is older and AAA doesn’t have much to offer him in terms of development; he is what he is. The 13th guy rarely plays so it needs to be someone earning the minimum who won’t be hurt by not playing.
If Dezenzo, McCormick, and Diaz can be 120+ wRC+ guys at the 4-5-6 slots next season, then they can probably be ok with Singleton, Pena, and Meyers in the 7-8-9 slots sitting in the 90-110 range. But that’s a lot of pressure on Dezenzo and McCormick to be something they don’t project to be.
