Sure it’s a gamble, but I’d take it. I doubt the defensive drop-off would be extreme and the LH bat and power potential make it a smart bet. At some point, our minor leaguers are going to have to pay off.
Some of Meyers’ defensive value is lost in an OF where the RF and LF are good defenders. Cam Smith is an elite defensive RF so if the LF was somebody like Melton or even Sanchez then Meyers is worth less because they don’t need him to cover so much ground. But in an OF where the corners are manned by Yordan and somebody else with poor range, Meyers has a ton of value.
I don't recall a better defensive outfielder for the Astros, at least in about 40 years. And that's crazy to say because he had arguably the worst arm of the whole group, too.
Taveras, Bourn, and Marinsick were very good defensive CF. They are really the only 3 in the conversation with Meyers as best defensive CF in modern franchise history, and really only Marisnick has an argument to be described as better defensively than Meyers. Zach Cole had excellent defensive marks in his very limited time so it’s possible he ends up being excellent but I will be very surprised if he ends up being anywhere near as good Meyers.
We do well with outfielders and specifically center fielders. We've had straw, Siri, McCormick, and Meyers. And did well to sell high on all but Chas. Why not roll the dice with Cole and Melton. Barring us signing a great 2nd baseman, we should have at bare minimum solid corner outfielders defensively. If Sanchez remains on the team, there's no reason to think he won't return to his career averages.
Jesus Sanchez’s wOBA projection of .326 is the same as Eugenio Suarez’s and one point below Luis Arraez. There are only 6 free agents who project to be meaningfully better hitters than Sanchez (Tucker, Bregman, Bellinger, Bichette, Ozuna, and O’Hearn). If he were a free agent (he’s only 28) he’d probably be able to command a 3 year deal upwards of $30M. A team with Jesus Sanchez as their starting LF and 7th best hitter has a really good lineup.
Michael Bourn won back to back gold gloves. I think he's the best we've had in center in that time frame. Meyers takes excellent routes and positioning but Bourn was faster and had a better arm. Bonus points for being a native Houstonian and a UH alum. I believe Tuck qualifies, too. An excellent RF who I think had the speed and range to play CF (but not the inclination). Again, a much bigger arm than Meyers. No shade to Jake, though. He's been excellent with the glove.
For some context on how good Houston’s offense projects to be as-is, Fangraphs has them projected for a .326 wOBA. The AL champion Blue Jays’ offense produced a .330 wOBA last season. FWIW the Blue Jays pitching staff produced a 4.26 FIP last season. The Astros currently project to a 4.32 FIP. This is a good team. They need one good SP and they’ll be a legit contender.
Weird how jake has such a noodle arm but he was a champion stud D1 pitcher. (his Of arm was weak sauce before the labrum tear) It’s kinda like how Framber can’t throw it to first.
In: Ragans, Eflin, O’Hearn, Garver Out: Walker, Matthews, Arrighetti, Brito, Meyers Roster: SS Pena 1B Paredes DH Alvarez 3B Correa LF O’Hearn 2B Altuve RF Sanchez C Diaz CF Cole Bench: Smith, Garver, Allen, Melton SP: Brown, Ragans, Eflin, Javier, Weiss RP: Hader, Abreu, King, Pearson, Sousa, Okert, Munoz, McCullers That roster would be on par with any in the AL in terms of run production/prevention projections.
I don't think it was "the plan" as much as it would be viewed as a possible avenue that could open up.
True. In retrospect, Meyers arm keeps him off the best for the Astros. Hell, Springer was pretty damn good too.
