Walker is also still a plus defender. I don't want to ever relive the Chris Carter, Brett Wallace, Jose Abreu experience.
Trading Yordan for prospects is ridiculous. We already have potential log jams at every position for the next 2-3 years, as mentioned in previous pages, and this team is built to win now... when healthy.
Yordan is a top 10 hitter in baseball history according to stats. He is a bit injury prone but trading him is a hilarious thought.
The whole point of message boards is to discuss things like this. I mean why not. It is an interesting intellectual exercise. It also mimics what a good GM must do, consider all possibilities to improve your team. One conclusion is that we should not deal Yordan because he is too valuable. Fine. But you almost seem to suggest that it is silly to explore the thought process. If I am misreading you, my bad. My point is that it is something that can and should be discussed - because that is the whole point.
No log jam at starting pitcher or center field. I wouldn't trade Alvarez for just anything, but for an incredible haul I would give it some thought. We are in first without his help and have a lot of holes to fill. Landing Cam and Paredes and a starting pitcher was well worth it. Alvarez should get you 2 Cam level prospects and more (maybe a TOR pitcher). It all depends on the return. Anyone not concerned about Alvarez' injury history has blinders on.
When the Astros landed Walker in free agency and again before the break I said that Walker IMO isn't really a #4 hitter, he is ideally a #6 hitter in a great line up or a #5 hitter in a top 20% line up. Having said that, I am sure of the stark difference in numbers is because Walker started the season really bad and has progressively gotten better. Correa's power has just seemed to vanish - otherwise I would love to see him in the 3 hole and Alvarez in the 4 hole and Walker in the 5 or 6 spot.
Its likely another baseball anomaly... until somebody does a deep dive and figures out if he's being pitched differently as a #4 hitter vs. a #5 hitter...
Yes - and the organization is doing Lance and themselves a disservice not putting him in the pen for at least the remainder of the year. In the pen he can throw 75% curveballs if he needs to and still be effective potentially. His fastball as currently is constituted is at best a set up pitch and really is a throw away pitch. Lance can sit and cry about the fact that as a High School Junior he was throwing 99 mph and now throws 91 mph - or he can reinvent himself, and focus on utilizing one of the best curveballs in baseball and become a leverage reliever. If next year he wants to start and agrees to go to AAA and rebuild his tool box of pitches, that is fine - but starting right now is accomplishing nothing.
I agree - I think it is the timing of when he has hit 5th compared to 4th and will even out over time. Having said that, I do believe he is better equipped to hit 5th or even 6th in a loaded line up.
Correa’s on a 20+ homer pace with us and was on a 20+ homer pace last season. I don’t know what happened to him earlier this season but I don’t think that represents the current version of Correa.
100% agree, Lance should be in the pen...........the question I have is he "willing" to do it, I had heard someone say he would not......I would think he would want to do what's best for the team
Still doesn't matter if he can't throw strikes... actually it matters more if he's in the bullpen and can't throw strikes.
He's actually been very effective with his ability to make up the middle/opposite way contact... and still have the ability to pull one deep. He can still get on base... and he can still have the occasional K looking when his brain locks into a sequence/pitch/location... but he's more a professional hitter (in terms of approach) now than he was when he left. Hopefully those numbers after the horrid first month can better reflect that. He mentioned that he was completely off to start the season, and worked on a lot to get back to where he is now.
I suspect (and could be wrong) that knowing he is only going one or maybe two innings would allow him to lock in and increase his effort compared to starting, but who knows. Your point about walks in valid, it is why Stanek got little play in the post season with the Astros and why Michael Ullola is still in AAA right now. However - some guys cut down their walks with changes in role. Everyone harps on older guys losing velocity, but the lack of control/command does a lot of older guys in too, ask Dallas K and Felix Hernandez about that.
I think its a combination of already having spotty command (he's always had it)... but now he can't just throw his fastball (or any pitch) down the middle because its more crushable. So, you live with the walks as he is now either trying to force soft contact or strikeouts... but much easier to live with that when he's an opener or 2-3 inning starter, vs. trying to find a spot to bring him in via the bullpen. At no point do I think he has another gear as a 1 inning-only pitcher, where he becomes prime Eric Gagne, and his stuff gets augmented. We'd have already seen them try that (either back in 2022 or now)...asking him to throw "harder" with more "effort" will likely either just lead to even more walks and/or the eventual injury.
McCullers has thrown 94 in recent games so there’s reason to believe he has another gear. Either way, the point of moving him to the pen would be to allow him to throw more curves, so his fastball would be less important.
There is a wide birth between failed 5th starter and Eric Gagne/John Smoltz. I am not expecting or even hoping for anything close to prime Gagne or Smoltz or Eckersley. What I do know is that he is a failed starter at this point, and nothing is going to suddenly click to change that in 2025. McCullers does have a history of throwing harder in relief situations - he fell in the MLB draft for that reason, as many teams viewed him as a leverage reliever long term. It would take 2-3 more gears to be Gagne - but yes, I think it is possible he would be more effective in the pen for the remainder of this season over being released, put on the DL or being trotted out there every 5th day and losing. They could even schedule which games he would be used in. I don't think it is close to a guarantee, but I think it is the best option for 2025. What he does next year is up to him.
