It's his lower half and hip rotation that look similar but the arm swing is different. But yea I had the same thought
Lance McCullers is a Part Time Pitcher, can't trust him. Spencer needs to be called up and take a Serious look at AA Pitchers.
The Astros stated they were considering a 6 man rotation and this series is where the additional starter would slot. I think if they identified wanting to shelter the starters from fatigue/additional innings here they need to do it regardless of who may be available to slide in. The Astros have not announced the rotation for the Angels series that starts today. Framber, Javier, France, and Bielak are lined up all on 4 days rest. Blanco started Friday so he is on 5 days rest. He threw 86 pitches in 5 1/3 innings giving up 2 singles, walking 3 and striking out 9. I fully expect him to be brought up to start today.
Anyone else thinking about adding Wrobleski to their top prospect list? My draft day assessment of him was simple. "Advanced bat from Dallas Baptist, could stay behind the dish but his bat makes RF more than a fallback option. C+" The 22 draft just keeps getting better.
After May... I'll do stock down in a separate post. Stock way up Grae Kessinger - OK, I think I've been converted. Kessinger has put it all together and I'll be a bit surprised if he doesn't see some time in Houston towards the end of the season. If Jose Abreu continues to stink it up, they may as well start giving him reps at 1B to see if he's passable there. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Rhett Kouba - Went from a back-end top-40 guy to probably a solid top-15 prospect in the system. I don't think he'll be in Corpus much longer. Zach Dezenzo - Dezenzo has kept on chugging along after moving up to Corpus. June/July will be a big test for him. Pass that, or at least turn in a satisfactory performance, and he's in line to see Houston some time in 2024. Stock up Jose Fleury - The walks have been a bit of an issue, but Fleury is figuring out that hitters outside of the complex leagues are a little more disciplined. They still can't seem to touch his stuff regardless. Another good month and I'd like to see him get tested in Asheville. Nolan DeVos - Out of the 2022 college pitchers still in Fayetteville, he's probably got the least left to prove. Should be in Asheville soon. Borderline top 10 guy for me IMO. Drew Gilbert - Not sure how much higher his stock can get, really. First AA adjustment period, but he's been as advertised. Stock rebounded Spencer Arrighetti - Capped off an outstanding May with that 12 K outing on Tuesday. There was a clear adjustment period to start but he's righted the ship. Should be in Sugar Land soon. Steady Shay Whitcomb - It all unraveled for him last May and it got a bit shaky at times this month, but I think he did a good job staying the course. Now is the time for him to start building his case for a promotion to Sugar Land. Joey Loperfido - Loperfido has been a little quiet as of late, but this is probably the first real adjustment period he's had to face this year. Still having a really nice season.
My updated Astros Top 30 prospect rankings for May: Spoiler: Snake's Top 30 for May Grade 55: 1. OF Drew Gilbert (preseason rank: 2): looking good in AA and making the case to get called up this season Grade 50: 2. C Korey Lee (6): has trimmed his k rate a bit and hit for doubles power; needs to walk more 3. OF Colin Barber (9): keeps walking and hitting for power but the k rate is still a little too high to start talking about a promotion 4. OF Jacob Melton (5): had a very good May; showing more baserunning value than expected, could be ready for AA very soon 5. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (15): breakout month and dominated AA. 6 weeks of continued dominance away from being deep in the mix for a big league callup 6. OF/2B/1B Joey Loperfido (HM): cooled off a bit and his k rate climbed a bit, I'm still very high on him 7. OF/1B Ryan Clifford (13): struck out a lot so far in High A but I fully expect him to adjust and put up great numbers there by the end of the year Grade 45+: 8. OF/2B Pedro Leon (4): not a good month, he is about 4 weeks away from dropping way down this list. Just too much swing and miss. 9. RHP Andrew Taylor (10): chugging along fine in A ball, may develop a little more slowly than expected but big ceiling still there 10. RHP Forrest Whitley (7): injury and flat performance, not great. Stock slipping very fast 11. IF Grae Kessinger (HM): looking like a potential long term MLB utility guy or fringe regular 12. RHP Rhett Kouba (HM): very good month and will likely see AAA in a month putting him in position to reach the majors next year 13. LHP Colton Gordon (27): another good AA SP raising his stock 14. LHP Julio Robaina (28): extremely good month for him and he looks like a good Bor SP or MR candidate 15. 3B Zach Dezenzo (HM): will probably have an adjustment period in AA but the breakout is real and the ceiling is high Grade 45: 16. IF Shay Whitcomb (HM): had a bad May but still leads the system in HR and is a capable IF so he's still projecting to a MLB future 17. RHP Jaime Melendez (11): injured, looks like it might be a lost season for him 18. OF Justin Dirden (19): even though he has struggled he hasn't fallen down my rankings because I was never that high on him 19. 2B/3B/1B Will Wagner (HM): very middling numbers which for a guy who can't play up the middle is not great. Looking like a future 13th or 14th position player 20. RHP Angel Macuare (29): still adjusting to AAA hitters, fine SP5 or MR 21. OF Kenni Gomez (20): can't wait to see how he does in A ball next year Grade 40+: 22. RHP Shawn Dubin (14): FB sat 94 on his first appearance back from injury yesterday, he was 96-97 at his peak and I'm now skeptical about whether he'll ever get back there 23. RHP Jairo Solis (HM): He also sat 94 in his most recent appearance after being in the high 90s at his peak. I am a little more optimistic about his potential but also he carries a lot of injury risk 24. RHP Michael Knorr (HM): 15k/9 in high a in his 1st full season is a great sign. Part of a very good pitching draft class all of whom could be justified in the top 30 25. RHP Alex Santos II (12): Stock is way down but I'm still hanging on to a sliver of his draft promise 26. RHP Misael Tamarez (23): Part of a generally disappointing AAA rotation but still has potential as a reliever where he could be an effective 2 pitch pitcher with serious velo if he can throw strikes; hitters are not hitting him hard, its the walks that are killing him 27. RHP Jayden Murray (16): not really a back end RP candidate so he needs to be able to succeed in a AAA rotation, he's really struggling 28. C Miguel Palma (HM) 29. OF Kenedy Corona (HM): still showing very good power in AA, worth taking the long view on him 30. 3B Joe Perez (8): 30% k rate paired with a low walk rate and not much power doesn't bode well for a corner prospect, but there's still time as he's only 23 (note, he's the same age as Zach Dezenzo). Honorable Mention / Grade 40+: IF: Tim Borden II, Camilo Diaz,Cristian Gonzalez OF: Zach Daniels, Tyler Whitaker, Quincy Hamilton, Jordan Brewer, Luis Baez, Esmil Valencia P: Nolan DeVos, Trey Dombroski, Blair Henley, Austin Hansen, Joey Mancini, Peyton Plumlee, Jose Fleury, Jose Guedez, Alimber Santa, Miguel Ullola, Diosmerky Taveras Honorable Mention / Grade 40: C: JC Correa, Collin Price, Ryan Wrobleski, Nerio Rodriguez, Sandro Gaston, CJ Stubbs IF: Narbe Cruz, Tommy Sacco Jr., Dauri Lorenzo, Freudis Nova, German Ramirez, Alberto Hernandez OF: Matthew Barefoot, Logan Cerny, Zachary Cole, Scott Schreiber, Marty Costes, Alex McKenna, Ross Adolph, Michael Sandle, Rolando Espinosa, Eduardo Perez P: all of them Graduated: Hunter Brown (1), Yainer Diaz (3), Corey Julks (18), JP France (25) Fell off the top 30: Tyler Whitaker (17), Luis Baez (21), Cristian Gonzalez (22),Miguel Ullola (24), Adrian Chaidez (26), Tyler Brown (30) My rankings are fluctuating a lot month to month because I feel like prospecting is still recovering from 2020. That won't be the case as we get to the end of this season and beyond, but for now there are a lot of guys who weren't very much on the radar who are now in the org Top10, while some of the top guys are tumbling down the list. Another mixed bag month, as high ceiling AAA guys like Leon and Whitley floundered while a few 2nd and 3rd tier guys jump up and Gilbert looks like a future star. This farm system is probably still average to below average. Hopefully at least 2 of Barber, Melton, Arrighetti, Loperfido, Clifford, or Dezenzo have a stellar 2nd half to solidify themselves as elite level prospects since Gilbert and Lee are likely to graduate by mid 2024.
May, stock down Alex Santos - no doubt the potential is still there, but he's got to find a way to finish this season in Corpus. Misael Tamarez - I agree, I think a bullpen move could help bolster him a little since he's not really getting torched. Jayden Murray - It's been a rough year for Sugar Land's pitchers and that puts stress on Houston's pitchers because there's not really any reliable depth options to draw from. Murray hasn't been able to get outs. Now he's looking like an up-and-down arm instead of a 4/5 starter option. Sandy Gaston - Obviously there'd be a big adjustment to make going from the DSL to Fayetteville, but Gaston looks like he's handled it poorly. He's playing this entire season as a 20-year-old, so repeating the level won't be a death sentence. I got entranced by his DSL numbers (never do this). Tyler Whitaker - Was slumping pretty badly before he hit the IL. Hopefully he doesn't miss too much time because he's inching his way towards a make-or-break 2024. Here's an out-of-nowhere "stock up" guy for me... Cole McDonald - He was awful in Asheville, let's be real. But in a season where he ran up a 6.86 ERA, he struck out 100 in 60.1 innings (82 in 47.2 as a reliever). McDonald recorded at least two strikeouts in all but five of his appearances (3 with 1 K, two with none) in 2022. The bullpen move must have gotten something to click for McDonald and now he's put himself on as a fringy, #45-50 prospect in the system.
Colton Gordon allowed two hits and struck out four over five shutout innings. He's lowered his ERA to 3.61.
Pedro Leon has hit 3 HR in the last 5 games. So hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. He still struck out quite bit in those games, but if he can start hitting balls out more frequently then he could be a Jose Siri type of player (with the added ability to play 2B).
I hope so. I am starting to lose hope on him. I think all the time he missed because of defecting, COVID, and freak injuries set him back years. But an MLB organization only has so much time to develop a player before they no longer control him. Sounds like Siri again.
Gilbert strikes me as the kind of guy who gets dinged due to his style of play. I could see him missing a few games here and there until/unless he tones down the intensity. Need a good 4th OF.
