No doubt he "could" And if the price reflected the tremendous risk, I would be all in. I'm not moving multiple years of Urquidy to take that chance though If Whitley, Chas and a lower level guy would do the trick, bring him on
Pena would be the third or fourth prospect for an "Ace". If you're picking someone up on an off year (like when we got Cole) then it's different... I like Pena, but there are some system he might now crack top 10 prospects. We're competing against other teams and by most outside observers we have one of the worst farm systems right now...
I don’t think your value of Pena is high enough. There’s no organization for which he wouldn’t be a top 10 prospect. I feel very confident in saying that consensus opinion across MLB front offices is that he is one of the top 75 prospects in the league.
Pena is already a top 50 prospect on Fangraphs. When the new rankings are released I would not be surprised if Pena is top 25 on a few lists. So, tell me, which systems do you think he would not even crack top 10?
Most outside observers have been consistently wrong about the Astros... some takes in recent months: Gurriel is a poor defender Altuve has the yips and is hated by other players Astros hitters need trash cans Astros will be the target of head hunting Dusty burns out starting pitchers
Most outside observers have felt that way for a while now, and in that time we have brought to mlb Garcia Urquidy Javier Chas Meyers Online opinions are just that, online opinions. Its also humans making these lists, and many of those humans hate our organization.
Does not excite me. He's already 33 and will likely want at least 4 years. He's a primary speed guy and he's hit the age where speed begins to tail off. Also he doesn't give us much power, which I consider a need especially as 1B and LF, traditionally power-oriented positions, are currently held by guys who don't have much power (though great contact). IMO Altuve being the only player with a homer in the WS is a very underrated issue behind our loss. Would rather spend the money on pitching.
Astros must make a trade Luis Castillo of the Reds, he would fit in with the Astros The offense will relax and produce more runs having a True Ace. The players will feel more confident as a Team, if you have a Number 1 Starter.
Castillo would be big because it means he didn't get traded to the Dodgers or Yankees who have shown interest. Actually a bunch of teams are interested so better us than anyone else. Although with Castillo being a good pitcher and lots of teams being interested, I would hate to see the package they get.
Uh.... while Castillo would be a good acquisition, how did the Astros manage to lead MLB in runs scored without a "true number 1"? And, the Astros are probably the most confident team in the league. How did the Rays score the second most runs without a "true number 1"?
the astros blew a lot of teams out but their bats went cold way too much. Confidence? They looked the opposite of confident against the braves.
That's how baseball works. Every team has blowouts and bats going cold. The Astros were no worse than anyone else in that regard. Boston's bats did it in the last 3 games against the Astros, for example. But when other teams' bats go cold, we call it "good pitching by the Astros".
The more I think about it, the more I would be totally on board with offering Starling Marte a 3 YRS- $36M-40M or 4 YRS- $45-$50M contract. I watched some interviews & highlights and he seems like a great fit for CF in the lineup and a perfect fit for the clubhouse. He is in great physical condition and seems like a guy whose peak years could be from age 33-36.
Marte isn’t going to take something in that dollar range. He will get an AAV comparable or higher to Michael Brantley. Something in the 3 year, 51-60M is more like it. Likely with the third year being a team/mutual option.