Chances are they would both come up only after July 4th (to avoid super-2 arbitration)... much like Cosart and Villar did this past year. The lack of the CSN thing being resolved makes the bottom line as big of a factor as ever.
The Astros are exciting, not because they are competing for a playoff spot, but because they are building a club the way fans have been clamoring they do it. There was no band-aid approach. I've even read how some national sports writers are climbing on the Astros bandwagon as to how to build a team in today's day and age. Suck bad to be good!!! There is youth and prospects sprinkled all over the Astros minor league organization, with the some of the top prospects being almost ready. With Springer and Singleton, definitely being called up in 2014, and possibly even Santana. Cosart, Oberholtzer, Peacock building on their limited success last year. Fontana pushing Villar to be better. Stassi pushing Castro to keep improving. Best of all, there is a list of young prospects lining up to step up if prospects falter in their exhibition. 1. Fowler (CF) 2. Altuve (2B) 3. Castro (C) 4. Carter (DH) 5. Dominguez (3B) 6. Wallace (1B) 7. Grossman (LF) 8. Hoes (RF) 9. Villar (SS) I would expect that Singleton will be a September call up at the latest, but if he tears it up in the AAA or there is injury concern, he'll be up a lot sooner. As for Springer, it seems that the Astros might wait a couple of month before they call him up. So, he might not be up till July. With the line up I think is in the Depth Chart right now, there is not a lot of power, but there is a lot of strike out potential. I think that Grossman, Hoes, Villar, Fowler, Altuve, and Castro will give the Astros a fighting chance through small ball. In that group with Castro being your big bat, it isn't much to be ecstatic about. But small ball will prevent the Astros from losing 100 games for the 4th consecutive year. If the small ball approach works well. And the bullpen can do it's job adequately, which they do have talent. Plus the Starters continue to have quality starts. And most importantly the coaches don't get out-coached, then this team could win between 70 and 80 games. Felton (R) Oberhotlzer (L) Cosart (R) Peacock (R) Keutchel (L) Then there is Woji inkling to step in if anyone falters or gets overwhelmed. And a bullpen that has stability starting with: Crain (All star) Qualls Albers And some youth: Fields Zeid Lo Chapman etc. Best of all, there are on over the hill veterans collecting pay checks for what they did 10 years ago!!!!
I'm excited about all this potential. The next best thing to winning is a promising future. Between getting a chance to see Springer in the bigs, and adding Carlos Rodon to our list of promising rotation pitchers, I'm very excited to see what kind of progress our system can make in 2013. Anyone know how Nolan Fontana is projecting these days? I know he wasn't hitting the ball well, but that kid's plate discipline was incredible. Also thought of him as the potential SS of the future should Correa make the probable move to the hot corner.
He can take a walk like a champ, but as he goes up the ladder pitchers are just going to challenge him down the middle to hit their stuff. He'll need to make adjustments to make more contact. Hitting .259 in the Cali league and .111 in the AFL ain't gonna cut it. If he could up his BA he'd make a great number 2 hitter but its gonna be a big challenge for him. On the defensive front, most people say he profiles more of a utility INF than an everyday SS. I could see him as a second division starter or a utility INF but not a first division starter, especially with his contact issues.
Yea, I knew contact was an issue, but I wasn't aware of the .111 avg in the AFL. The .250-.270 averages weren't awful when getting on base .410+, but half the Mendoza line in a fall league? You're right; that won't cut it. Also disappointed to hear the avg defense. Guessing it has to do with his arm, because I remember the footwork & glove to be solid.
He might make an average SS at best. I hear he's a technically sound defender but he'll never have the range of a Villar or Everett.
His bat is the main problem. If he hit for a higher average he would be a starter easily, he would make a plus defensive 2B, and a capable SS. His defense is an asset, not a problem, he's just not gonna be a plus defender on the left side of the infield.
Speaking of 2B; is DeSheilds being moved to the OF permanently? Heard he was playing out there in the AFL. Seems like a lot of our middle infielders are moving, or are expected to down the line. Was very happy to see the improved contact from him last season. Seems like he hit the ball pretty well in the AFL also. Hope that continues as he makes the jump to 2A.
Yes, he's a centerfielder. That was his position when we drafted him and frankly where he should have been all along.
Seemed like they moved him to 2B because his dad primarily played there. I guess his bat would have also played up at 2B compared to OF.
Man, it's really sad but I've been waiting for months on John Sickels new top 20 and BA's top 10. Sickels says that he still has the top 20 lists for the Jays, Reds, Orioles, and Brewers to get to before the Astros. BA's list comes out on Monday the 20th. I know their lists are not gonna be that much different than Fangraphs or Baseball Prospectus but I really love their takes on prospecting. BA is by far the best in prospecting and its nice to see who they rank as top tools in the system. Sickels in particular is great because he goes 20 deep and lists a lot of HMs. That and his website leads to awesome discussions in the comments section. There are so many non-top 10 players with interesting stories: -Danry Vasquez and Teoscar Hernandez: two high-upside 4-5 tool players that are 3+ years away -Aaron West and Nick Tropeano: two college draftees whose FB's have improved in pro ball and had great peripherals last year despite mediocre ERAs -Reymin Guduan: lefty who can hit high 90's but has only 3 innings above complex ball -Preston Tucker: bat-only LF who has higher power upside than Hoes/Grossman -Gonzalo Sanudo: Acquired last off-season for Wade-draftee bust Mike Kvasnicka. Had a 51:4 K:BB ratio out of the pen in the low minors last year. -Joe Musgrove/Kevin Comer: two former 1st round HS draftees acquired from the Blue Jays who've done jack squat since coming over. -David Rollins: came over the in same Blue Jays trade, probably the 2nd most ready lefty starter in the system behind Rudy Owens. Local San-Jac product -Kyle Smith: a guy Luhnow tried to get from the Royals two years ago for Quintero but managed to snag last year for Justin Maxwell. Had a 2.85era in HiA before the trade and then proceeded to put up a nice 7.33era in Lancaster (Thanks Lancaster!) buffered by an absolutely dominant 9 inning, 9k, 0bb, 2hit shutout in his 2nd start there. It's amazing that top to bottom there are interesting high-upside and high-floor prospects to be seen.
Musgrove is the prospect that I feel will most improve his "potential" this season. Not seen him play, but it looks like he has very bad luck. A very high percentage of runners score on him, and he has good K% and BB%. From scouting reports, it sounds like he has 1.5 pitches at the moment so he may end up being a bullpen pitcher.
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nice. even in a crappy season, i'm excited by that video for next. Just wish there were more highlights of returning players
Ranking the teams: 30 through 25 30. Houston Astros How they can get to 90 wins: Score 130 more runs, allow 193 fewer. The Astros have managed to lose 100-plus games three years in a row … and get worse each season. Needless to say, they remain a long way from being competitive. Big offseason moves: Acquired CF Dexter Fowler from the Rockies for SP Jordan Lyles, signed SP Scott Feldman, RP Jesse Crain, RP Matt Albers, RP Chad Qualls. Most intriguing player: George Springer. The Astros should finally start seeing the fruits of a farm system Keith Law just rated the best in the majors, starting with Springer, the 11th overall pick in 2011 out of Connecticut who soared up the prospect lists with a monster season in the high minors in which he hit 37 home runs and stole 45 bases. The strikeouts -- 161 in 135 games -- are the big concern, but Springer still hit .303 because he makes such hard contact. He has the range to push Fowler out of center field. He may spend a few weeks in Triple-A to save on his service time, but he’ll be up before long. Due for a better year: Ummm ... the entire team? The Astros became the first team since the expansion Mets to lose 100 games three seasons in a row. Those Mets actually did it four in a row and five out of six. Due for a worse year: Jarred Cosart posted a superficially impressive 1.95 ERA in 10 starts even though he walked more batters (35) than he struck out (33). That’s the lowest ERA since World War II for a pitcher who made at least 10 starts and had more walks than strikeouts. The stuff is good with a plus fastball that sits 93 to 96 mph and he generated a high rate of ground balls, which helped limit batters to three home runs in 60 innings. Still, his BABIP ran very low for a ground-ball pitcher (.246), who usually allow more hits than fly ball pitchers. He may be good, but he’s going to have to improve that strikeout-to-walk ratio. I'm just the messenger: When Jeff Luhnow took over as general manager, the Astros set up a long-term plan that gutted the entire organization and basically started over as an expansion team. It's led to three miserable seasons on the field but has helped the team rebuild its farm system. The Astros will make North Carolina State lefty Carlos Rodon their third straight No. 1 overall pick this June (assuming Rodon stays healthy) following Carlos Correa and Mark Appel. It wouldn't shock me to see them make it four in a row next June. Here's the issue: Should a team be rewarded for essentially trying not to win at the major league level? The final word: Hey, at least Astros fans can dream of this lineup in a few years: LF Delino Deshields Jr. SS Carlos Correa CF George Springer 1B Jonathan Singleton RF Domingo Santana DH Rio Ruiz C Jason Castro 3B Matt Dominguez 2B Jose Altuve SP Carlos Rodon SP Mark Appel SP Mike Foltynewicz SP Jarred Cosart SP Vincent Velazquez CL Lance McCullers Jr. Prediction: 61-101
Really? That record? I figured we would at least have people guessing below 100. I mean the team has improved more than a fair amount since last year.
Not really at the MLB level. Sure, they could be better... but I wouldn't be surprised if they still lose 100+ games. Now, if every prospect pans out at an elite level, they can get better really really fast.... but that is highly unlikely to happen.
I feel like the addition by subtraction alone could be huge for this team. And not at the MLB level? I think trading for Fowler, signing Feldman, and boosting the bullpen has been a great improvement. I am not saying that we will be a .500 by any stretch, but I would be more than willing to say we will be closer to 90 losses than 100.
