For the sake of argument say 25% of pro pitchers will need TJ surgery. Let's assume that it is impossible to pre-determine who will or will not needTJ. What Aiken's medicals supposedly told the Astros was that IF Aiken needed TJ surgery (ie he blew out his elbow) his UCL would not support the surgery and his baseball career would be over.
The reconstruction would be more challenging secondary to the anatomy... but UCL reconstruction (TJ Surgery) requires a graft anyways (they don't rely on the bad ligament)... and I never saw any doctor say it would be "career ending", just that it would require some adaptive techniques at the time of surgery (if its required at all) to account for the possibly enlarged forearm muscles and the way his anatomy has adapted not having much of a ligament to begin with. Again, its a scenario that just hasn't been widely investigated. Back on topic... hopefully Appel is good to go in his next scheduled appearance.
Wojo has been getting a lot of positive buzz this spring. It's very early obviously, but he has 5 shutout innings, and is throwing a lot of strikes. He had 2 excellent season in the minors, and then had an injury plagued lost season last year and people gave up on him. It's still Straily's job to lose, but Woj is moving himself into position. Unlike Appel, I don't think the Astros will take service time into account if Woj clearly earns the job in camp.
Deduno has 5IP, 1R, 5K 0BB. I'd give him the advantage right now. He's a veteran, and can't be optioned.
Would be nice to see Woj put it all together this year. Those guys battling for the back of the rotation are making things interesting REALLY hope to see Appel make next start and be healthy, another bad year for him would not be good
He finished strong... but the first half of the year was a disaster. Astros admitted they probably could have handled his post-surgery training and A-ball (hitters paradise/tandem system) exposure better.
I agree with this. Nice finish, but for a 4 year college guy who went first overall I would consider last year to be a huge downer
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Here's the drawing of the Astros new spring facility <a href="http://t.co/gEqkgsTLJh">pic.twitter.com/gEqkgsTLJh</a></p>— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/575777192463958017">March 11, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Could multiple rotation spots be open? If both Deduno and Wojo outperform Obie, could they get the 4th and 5th spots? For that matter, if alot of the number 5 guys step up, could we see a trade open up a spot for them?
It is possible. Generally, a team needs at least 7 different starters during a season. Astros rotation does not have a long track record and Luhnow has already thinned the herd of potential BoR starters a lot with trading Cosart, Tropeano, and Folty. I'm not sure Astros make another trade of a BoR potential starter until closer to the deadline.
Oberholtzer has been successful in the majors, and is the youngest of the 3. It would be hard to see him losing his spot.
Ahead in his progress, Peacock faces hitters By Brian McTaggart March 11, 2015 KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Astros right-hander Brad Peacock faced hitters Wednesday morning for the first time since undergoing hip surgery in October. Peacock threw 40 pitches (two sets of 20) to Minor League hitters A.J. Reed, Brett Phipps and Ruben Sosa on a back field at Osceola County Stadium while general manager Jeff Luhnow watched. Peacock will face hitters at least one more time before possibly being put into a game, but he said he's way ahead of where he thought he would be. He said he mixed in all of his pitches. "I didn't even know what to expect coming into the spring or what it was going to take," Peacock said. "I feel like I'm way ahead of schedule and just ready for the next one and see what happens." Peacock, who underwent arthroscopic surgery Oct. 6 to repair a torn labrum and remove bone spurs in his right hip, started last season in the bullpen before making 24 starts, setting career highs in appearances (28), starts (24), innings pitched (131 2/3) and strikeouts (119). He went 4-9 with a 4.72 ERA. Peacock said he doesn't want to rush back to action, so he wasn't ready to put a target date on when he might pitch in a game. "I've never been hurt before, so I don't know how to put a timetable on it," Peacock said. "I wish I could, but you have to take it day by day and see what happens."
At this point it's almost impossible for me to envision a scenario in which Peacock makes the opening day roster. My only real question with him is if the Astros are gonna give him one more run at AAA, or if we just trade him and get whatever scraps we can.
I believe his options are used up. Besides for a rehab stint, he will be on 25-man roster, DL, traded, or designated for assignment. If designated for assignment, I suspect a team with an injury would pick him up and he would start his career as a journeyman switch from team to team, meet people, get into adventures.
It seems to me if we can flank the lake, take out their communications, and disable reinforcements from the South to Nationals plaza we can have that golf course by July. All their funds are in Shcherzer. Their security will be limited.
