I think everyone knows he's not a 5-tool player. He could very well hit .250 but steal 30 bags and hit 30 hr's. That's a valuable player. If he has a couple seasons like Chris Young's best season - .257/.341/.452 with 27hr/28sb and an all-star nod, then he'd easily be a success.
I think most of us expect Springers high K rate will probably prevent him from being an elite hitter, but unlike say a Chris Young, he has maintained a .300 BA through the minors, so i don't expect his BA to fall down into the, .240 range,and he does walk a fair bit. I think a .270/.340/.475 line is a realistic expectation, to go with the speed and defense. Ryan Howard too had an inordinately high K rate in the minors.
Hard to get used to it when he's not even had a chance to play at the big league level. Also, they're "stashing" him as if he IS a superstar-like prospect, in order to gain an extra year of club control before his arbitration eligibility. But the bottom line is, he needs to gain the requisite MLB experience prior to writing him off as a likely average player... its not as if he was a late round pick, and its not as if he hasn't crushed it at every level he's played at thus far.
Very well put. Let's give the kid 500-700 ABs before trying to determine what type of hitter he's destined to be.
ok miss cleo... good to know how chris young will do next season. i see him bouncing back. he's a great ball player, and would be an immediate upgrade over the riffraff that we're running out there. and what griping are you speaking of? is there an argument against the notion that if the astros do nothing this off season we are headed towards another #1 pick?
A great ball player? I don't think so. He probably will bounce back, but since he posted a 0 WAR last season, that doesn't mean a lot.
Would the #5 pick satisfy you? What about #8? 12?? Gradual improvement is neither important nor necessary in baseball. As the Red Sox (among many other instant, unlikely success stories) just proved, it can all come immediately. You aren't suggesting any reasonable offseason moves that they have already passed up on that you would have liked to see other than allocating $8million for a year of a corner outfielder who has sucked for the past two years. By 2015, Mark Appel, George Springer, Carlos Correa, hopefully Carlos Rodon, and other hopefully high-impact minor leaguers will be additions to the major league roster. Needless to say, those will be drastic improvements to the team. You will see prudent free agent additions between now and then as well. There's nothing to complain about this offseason. We've missed out on nobody that would make much sense for this club to throw money at at this point in time. Our time is coming. You won't have to be patient much longer. I'm with you big-time on Tanaka though. I think it would be one hell of a fun signing.
Young has been hurt the past two seasons. His last two healthy seasons, 2010 & 2011, he posted a 5.2 & 4.6 WAR. Not to mention he plays lights out CF. It's a 1 yr deal. With zero draft pick compensation. If we signed him, and he turned things around & stayed healthy, he would be a nice trade piece to dangle.
The Red Sox turn around is not a good example for the Astros. The Red Sox went into the season with many proven veterans: Pedroia, Ortiz, Lester, Ellsbury, Napoli, etc... While I hold our top shelf prospects in high regard, it will take a little while for them to get acclimated to the big league game. Trust me, I was completely on board with tanking the last 3 seasons to get Correa, Appel, and Rodon. Now that our pitching staff has a few decent arms (oberholtzer, peacock, cosart), I think a few additions (not involving draft pick compensation) can help us jump from 50 W's to 65-70 W's. It's time to start competing again. Chris Young was injured the past two seasons. If he stays healthy, I do not see why he could not regain his old form in Houston. With that in mind, he would be a valuable trade commodity come trade season. I do not see how a 1yr 7.25mil deal is not "reasonable" for a team with a 15mil payroll. I wanted LaTroy Hawkins as well, but obviously he is gone. I agree Appel, Springer, Correa, and Rodon will be difference makers. Not much to comment on there. But for once, I want to see Crane put is money where his mouth is and spend some cash like he claimed short while after last season. It was nice to see the astros in contention for jose abreu, but our bid was weak and it looked like a token effort. I am very in sync with our minor league system, and I love the surplus of talent ranging from DDJ, VV, Folty, Tucker, etc... But, the time is now for the Astros to start thinking about W's over draft position. And this is coming from a huge draft junkie who has had a great time the past 3 years watching our milb system go from worst to first. At least we agree on something Unfortunately I see the astros bid on Tanaka as nothing more than a token effort just like Abreu. I sincerely hope Crane proves me wrong. For now I remain skeptical.
You act like Springer is an egg about to be hatched and we just have no idea what to expect. I've read a ton of scouting reports on him, every single one projects him to be a .240-.250 hitter. Of course he could outperform that but he's not some unknown that we just don't have any idea what's going to happen when he gets here. Maybe you've read Luhnow wrong and Springer isn't here because he knows he's not ready. I wouldn't discount it as a possibility and I hope he's a huge star for us but everyone has talked him up so much I think we might be expecting too much. When I read Astros blogs it's like every prospect is an all-star in the making.
Even more reason to get him up here ASAP to see if he's a potential all-star, or if he's going to be another JD Martinez. I do expect him to struggle initially, regardless of when he comes up...and then what he does to adjust beyond that is up to his own work ethic/ability. If anything, the "stashing" or as you put it "he's not ready yet" treatment is further hyping up his potential. Luhnow and the Astros have promoted far less MLB ready and far less talented players over the last two seasons, but are keeping him down for what?... Because they want to delay his inevitable mediocre career? Another month of AAA is not going to make or break him at the big league level...but that's likely what is going to happen so that the club can extend/delay his free agency, along with ensuring his time here overlaps with the rest of the young kids/potential playoff contender.
The Astros bid a helluva lot of money on Abreu. That's not a token effort. They finished second in an auction...had they won, they'd be on the hook for major dollars to that guy.
Please... Luhnow knows what he's doing. I'm sure they thought they would have a shot with their bid, but knew there was a good chance it would not win. That is a token effort.
