according to Heyman, the Stros are determined not to trade phillips because they believe he'll be an absolute stud. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer...lardo-padres-trio-may-shift-market-more-notes
Lol. Sometimes catching up on threads is way more entertaining than taking part in them. Didn't expect to come to the minor league thread to hear bag-of-air-o stumping for Dan Haren.
Pitching certainly wasn't the problem on the 2-8 road trip. In their 6 game losing streak, they gave up 2,4,3,3,3,4. Also, the Astros have scored 215 runs at home in 49 games and 211 runs on the road in 47 games.
Bobby Wernes has really gotten off to a great start in Tri-City. He was the 30th-round pick from Arkansas.
How far are these guys away? The team really could use a Schwarber or Bryant like bat to leap to the big leagues. Are all of you on the trade upgrade bandwagon or wanting to keep the prospects we have and see if getting Lowrie and Springer back can at least get us to the wild card game?
When Springers is up, we have 3 centerfielders in the outfield, that helps fly ball pitchers. If there is a team Haren can pitch effectively is in Houston with those 3 outfielders. Now, if we have Gattis in LF and Tucker in RF, then, .....
I'd like to hear your take on Phillips as a prospect (apologize if you've already posted it and I missed it). I'm really excited about this kid. Especially if the power translates over. I've read all the scouting reports but you always have a great take on Stros prospects and are a good read
I'm beginning to wonder with Reed. If Carter and Singleton continue to suck, and he continues to tear it up, could we see him this season. Luhnow said Tyler White would be an option first, but Reed is seeming like a possibility also. Given the 40 man situation, and arbitration it's not likely, but possible. I highly doubt we see Phillips until the arbitration deadline next year. OF doesn't really seem to be a pressing need right now. Superman patrolling CF, Rasmus has been good, Tucker is starting to hit again, Springer will be back, and Santana has to be back up eventually One way or the other they should both be up early next year. Now that they are producing at AA, it's hard to not start getting really excited about the duo. Luhnow just keeps the pipeline flowing.
Lets also "forget" Marlins gave Austin Barnes, a catcher that "only" hits .300 in the minors, and is a step to the majors. Dodgers have top 5 minor leagues, and he is only number 15 prospect. Hmmmm, is Dee Gordon worth (at least last year where he had a .289 average with low OBP and slugging numbers) a number 1 prospect and a catcher that really hits the ball? Hmmmmmm Plus, they gave a nice utility player plus a reliever that was good for the Marlins last year. If Dee Gordon is able to get all that, well, then we can get half the team from another team trading Altuve. Then we can get a number 1 prospect plus a number 15 prospect in a premium position, plus a nice utility guy, plus 2 more goooood prospects for Altuve, right??????????
Don't waste too much time on this guy, he wants Straily and Haren to anchor our rotation, wants Kemp (who is struggling in the minors btw) to replace Altuve, and loves to talk trade in the minor league forum Just sayin
What's the story on Matt Duffy? Having a pretty good year at AAA, and has had a steady if not spectacular treck through the minors. He has also been getting some run at 1B down there since Singleton has been up. Is he a possible option at 1B, or simply organizational depth?
Dude, this makes me happy. I have been wondering if the Astros know they have something here with Phillips. His improvement is on the level with Mike Trout. Not that he will be Trout but he has progressed about as well as any HS CF prospect that wasn't extremely highly rated like Buxton, IMO. The improvement and work he has put in is impressive and I am guessing he might be one of those guys that can continue adding muscle while still maintaining speed and quickness. The big key to becoming a "stud" will be if he can continue to hit home runs in AA away from the CAL league. It seems the Astros think so but I guess we will see if they include him in any trades or not to whether they think he is the real deal or not. I always think if Luhnow is including certain players in trades he has data and scouting that points to them not being a star player. Guys like Cosart, Tropeano, Ruiz, Perez, Folty, etc. are replaceable in his mind even if they turn out to be solid MLB players. At least he knows they will not be All-star type talents. I think Luhnow has changed minor league scouting/analytics from an inexact science to a not-so-inexact science.
