Pena had 133 plate appearances between AA and AAA then came up and got rookie of the year votes and won world series MVP. Yainer had 486. Chourio struck out in 33% of his first 100 at bats. Judge struck out in 45% of his at bats in his first cup of coffee. Dezenzo is going to play next year and will win rookie of the year or come close to it
Pena made the team for his glove. Any offense he provided was going to be a bonus and he was a league average hitter his rookie year. The Astros NEED the 3b to be much better with a bat partially because Pena (and Meyers) are projected starters. Pena did not have that issue. Diaz has a hit tool to rely on that Zach simply doesn't have. He has never and was never going to K 25% of the time much less 33%. Both of those guys have tools that give them a floor that Zach doesn't have, and were joining a much better, more complete team where they weren't going to be required to produce like the 3b will need to this year. If Zach is given the job, I really really hope you are right, but just don't see it.
How many games did Caminiti play at AAA? I've got faith in Dezenzo to be a good defender with a .250 is BA and a decent OBP. Rengifo or Urshela would be my vet min option
Dezenzo has a really high ceiling and if he’s given the 1B or 3B job next season I will give the FO the benefit of the doubt, but until he proves himself he should really not be counted on to hit higher than 7th in a contending lineup. A Eugenio Suarez/Jake Burger/Mark Vientos level performance is totally in range for him (and there’s ceiling for more than that) but so is a AAAA outcome.
I agree with this, but he also has a lower floor at this point. I would love to see him play 1/2+ season in AAA and perform there w/ a sub 25% K rate which would raise his floor in my mind, considerably. That said, he is absolutely the best option the Astros have right now. Let's hope we never see Whitcomb there again.
If they sign Walker and Comforto in FA and Lowe in a trade. That will make Pena and Dezenzo bottom of the order hitters where they should be more productive.
Unless they replace Meyers in CF, he and Pena should hit 8th and 9th. Whoever plays 1b, 3b, and LF should hit 5th-7th (unless a star level bat can slide Yainer to 5th) Dezenzo learning the position and hitting 7th isn't the end of the world. I just don't want to see Jeremy or Jake (or Dubon) above 8th in a lineup ever again.
What a horrible take. If those are the additions then Houston will be rebuilding in July. I’d be fine with Houston signing Rojas, Kepler, Heaney, Neris, and Turnbull, but only to very low value deals and only if they’d already signed at least one elite bat.
Rojas has hit lefties pretty well. That doesn’t make him a good fit for Houston as a bench/platoon player because their lineup is already stacked against lefties (Pena, McCormick, and Meyers have all been really really good against LHP). But Rojas has been weak against RHP outside of 2024. Houston needs guys that mash righties.
Absolutely !! I will add that Dubon has been good vs LHP and is a very good backup at multiple positions but should not be starting, even vs them. If they decide they aren't spending any money, they have: C between Diaz and Caratini/Salazar Starting 2b Starting SS Starting RF Starting DH. Platoon 1b vs RHP Platoon LF vs LHP Platoon CF vs LHP At the very least they need: All 3b games 1b vs LHP LF vs RHP CF vs RHP Top 4 and bottom 2 spots in the lineup are covered. Those 4 bats need to be #5-7 worthy at the very least.
The problem with all the theoretical platoon bats is the roster space. If there's a platoon in LF and a platoon in RF that's a minimum of 5 OF on the roster. That's not counting Dubon as a utility guy or Yordan at DH.
I think the Astros need to bite the bullet on Yordan in LF. Not saying he needs to start 150 games there, but if we're talking about addressing OF offense with a lefthanded bat, having him there closer to 50% of the time instead of 25% of the time would do that. Maybe he wears down and it ends up being a bad call, but I think we've move passed the point of being able to play it safe in the regular season. Defensively Altuve probably costs us more at 2B than he does in LF. It also widens the net on offseason lineup construction.
Roster space is a bear. 4 bench spots - if the backup catcher and Dubon are not expected to be regular starters, then there are only 2 spots left. It's only possible to platoon at 2 positions, which isn't ideal. Between 1b, 3b, LF, and CF at least 2 of them need to be regular starters and not platoon. That sucks since Singleton, Meyers, and possibly Chas need to be platooned. Only room for 2 of them on the roster.
I think so, although I won’t be shocked if one or both are traded. It depends on how the trade and free agent market play out. I don’t see any realistic CF upgrades out there. And neither McCormick nor Meyers will be very expensive so it won’t be imperative to move either of them.l, as they will be priced such that they’re affordable even in a bench role. I also think both guys have pretty low trade value right now.
Meyers’ defense is good enough to justify him as an everyday player, as long as he is the team’s 9th hitter against righties.
