They were good enough to contend - they were basically the same team as the previous one that was so good that people claimed Dusty's the only reason they didn't win the whole thing. The Kikuchi trade was ridiculed because people didn't think he was any good and that Dana Brown was clueless. Here's the thread: Astros acquire Yusei Kikuchi | ClutchFans Here's your posts in that thread complaining that he's an awful pitcher - not that the Astros weren't good: https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/astros-acquire-yusei-kikuchi.323843/page-27#post-15306919 https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/astros-acquire-yusei-kikuchi.323843/page-27#post-15306951
They disagreed with you and they've been right for the last 8 or so years, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Besides I doubt they traded anyone that will become a star level player and will be easily replaceable IMHO. You're a prospect guy, I'm a if they make the playoffs they've got a shot to win a championship kinda guy.
The prospects Houston gave up for Kikuch look pretty good. All 3 project to be above replacement level in MLB this season, and Wagner projects as a fringe regular. Bloss is on the fangraphs Top 100 prospect list. So that trade could still end up looking pretty ugly. But Houston has secured their end of the trade; Kikuchi could hardly have been any better than he was with the Astros. Dana Brown was clearly right in his decision to acquire Kikuchi. It just remains to be seen if he misjudged what he was giving up.
Dusty was one of THE main reasons they didn't win it that year with his mind numbingly stupid managing. If you are disputing that, I don't know what to tell you except you don't watch any baseball.
Pretty surprised to see him at 66 on their list, especially since he got hammered in AAA after the trade. Personally didn’t see it either but I guess we will find out.
The hold up is STL is a delusional franchise who think they have a chance to make the playoffs and not get swept in the first round. They want prospects the Stros do not have to part with a player all playoff teams would like to have
I am curious what deal the Astros and Cards had agreed to previously and if anyone of the pieces are no longer available.
Had Bloss stayed down and taken a natural progression last year, he would have been widely thought of as a top 50 prospect. Its not about what we actually think he's going to be. We have to consider that the Astros gave up basically three top 100 players for a few months of Kikuchi.
I don’t think Wagner and Loperfido were top 100 level prospects. Loperfido always struck out too much to get that kind of projection (the Astros gave him an 100+ pa sample in the majors and he k’ed 36% of the time) and Wagner has defensive limitations and a lack of power that tempers his projections (a corner IF who never hit more than 10 HR in a minor league season). Not to say either guy won’t end up being a really good player, but they were pretty clearly 2nd/3rd tier prospects.
No chance. He’s not even on the other lists at all right now…only Fangraphs. If his stuff looked like a top 50 prospect, he would be on the lists regardless how he was promoted. And one could argue he’s actually on Fangraphs list because we promoted him so quickly through the minors. Loperfido and Wagner were not top 100 prospects.
Bloss is really the only guy with a chance to be a star, and with the nature of injuries to and sheer numbers of SP out there, he is much more likely a BOR guy that people outside of Toronto don't even hear about for the next 6 years. Loperfido K's too much and hasn't even been able to be a CF as we had hoped. He has defensive versatility but not good ENOUGH up the middle to be what he had expected 12 months ago. Wagner has a hit tool and not much else. He brings below average power and baserunning with limited and fringe defense. They also will both be 26 this year and were in AAA this time last year. Star players aren't usually in AAA at 25. Kyle Tucker had 2 cups of coffee before he was finally in MLB to stay at age 23. The chances that those 3 players end up totalling more than 15 WAR over the next 6 years in slight.
For me it was losing Loperfido more than anything. He is a perfect fit for us now. But no question Kikuchi have us great value. Sucks we didn't get a chance to use him in the playoffs.
Loperfido projects as a .220/.290/.380 hitter this season. I’m not sure I’d call that a “perfect fit” for anybody. He’s a fairly high upside player who presents power, speed, and good corner OF defense. But he strikes out a ton and doesn’t walk much, so he projects as much more of a 5th OF than a good everyday OF. Here is the current Astros OF: A player who has averaged 3.1 fwar per 600 pa in his career (McCormick). A top 5 defensive CF who is a top 5 CF in the league overall against LHP (Meyers). A Hall of Famer who put up 3.9 fwar and a 127 wRC+ last season (Altuve). The best overall projected hitter in baseball (Alvarez). A reserve OF who projects as a league average bat against RHP who can mitigate the otherwise-star CF’s weakness (Gamel). The Astros “need” an upgrade over Gamel: somebody who crushes righties and can play RF and maybe CF. But without that, their OF looks fine if you take a step back. The IF: A top 5 1B (Walker). A top 10 3B (Paredes). A SS who projects for 3.4 fwar (Pena). A platoon at 2B that projects for league average offense with top 5 defense (Guillorme/Dubon). A bench bat who projects to be one of the 75 best hitters in the league against RHP (Singleton). Would it be cool if they could swap out Guillorme or Singleton for Arenado? Yeah. But they will be pretty damn good as it is.
