I think the idea of bringing in Niko was to make sure Pena doesn't sit on the bench. He's a Diaz, Gonzales type utility player until Correa returns or Pena shows he can handle the position both offensively and defensively. The last thing you want is for Pena to sit on the bench when he's already behind getting ABs.
A few people have mentioned moving Pena to CF I think this is a terrible idea. You move a bat first, questionable glove shortstop prospect to CF not a top defensive prospect. In CF his bat leaves him average at best. At SS he is a potential above average starter. The question is: is your future ( 2023-24+) starting CF in the organization? If the answer is NO then If Correa resigns and is committed to 3 or more years then trade Pena for that CF. If he doesn't then keep Pena at SS and find another way to fill that role.
There are numerous prospects who can force the Astros to make room for them with a breakout season like Yordan did in 2019. One of the biggest, though least mentioned, rule changes is the 3 call up maximum from the minors. COVID responses making multiple call-ups easier are history. We'll just have to see how this plays out.
Baseball Prospectus ranked him at number 16: https://climbingtalshill.com/2022/0...ctus/#:~:text=No.,the up incoming position is.
Think of the biggest names right now and when they were in the big leagues... Guerrero Acuna Tatis Alvarez Robert Harper Soto 24 or 25 year olds becoming super stars are more rare than 21 year olds.. Obviously college draft choices are a little different... Nothing is absolute obviously...
Looks like a new list, hadn't seen it yet... thanks for sharing... I still question upside of 24 year old shortstops with one great half a season and a bunch of solid seasons.. Doesn't mean he can't be a good mlb player... just may take a season or two...
College draft picks are a little different? They are drastically different. One is starting their journey at age 16, the other at 21. You have to have the 16 year olds on the 40 man roster by the time they are 21 more or less. The 21 year old college guys don't need to be there until 25 more or less. 23 is the normal debut age for great college players such as Kris Bryant and the like. 24 might be one year behind schedule but that can be chalked up to the extreme circumstances faced over the last 24 months. Pena is just fine debuting this year. I think you are selling his potential short as well. He is a future all star in my opinion. We need to find a way to get him in the field.
Ok, so where's the public apology then, Tony?? You created a metric ****ton of fuss for no reason other than the fact that you're an old drunk curmudgeon.
He gets on base but his power was non existent until last season for a few months. That's ok if he's a .380 ob% guy at the big league level and hits near the top. That's not a star though. Yordan displayed his power for years, not months. It's unreasonable to expect more than 15 homeruns out of him next year at this point. Kris Bryant was a top 5 pick. There was expectation he would move quickly. Not sure that comparison makes sense... Not sure why you are bringing up 16 year olds. That has nothing to do with Pena...
