I don't think many people care abut Julks getting AB's, it's Diaz not getting AB's because so many are going to Julks that has been aggravating. Dusty has prioritized the development of the low upside player while our offense has been scuffling for most of the season. Chaz should probably play more as well, but against RHP it's not really a big deal if they split time.
A month ago, on Monday May 8th, the Rangers beat the Mariners bringing their record to 21-13. Since then, they have gone 18-7 making the entire baseball world nuts. They have rocketed up the power rankings and all the analysts are talking about their performance like they are the best team in baseball and of historic significance. That same day, the Astros lost to the Angels bringing their record to 17-18. Since then they are 19-6 but have actually lost a spot in the power rankings and nobody is noticing. GREAT !!! These Rangers are exactly like the 2022 Yankees 162 games is a grind specifically to make a team survive slumps and injuries and let hot streaks balance out so the best team usually comes out on top. If both teams play just as they have during this month, the Astros would finish 114-48 and the Rangers 113-49. The difference is that the Astros have done this before and won. The Rangers are going to face pressure they have never seen the more the world keeps talking about how historically great they are. My money is still on the Astros.
That's the thing. It's not that Julks is particularly bad. It's that he's not a kid - he's 27. Older than Yordan, Pena, Tucker, etc. He's not likely to develop more than where he's at, which is a .680 OPS bat. Yainer is three years younger, a better bat already, and was the Astros consensus top position prospect as the season opened. He needs ABs. He's got potential to be a difference maker in the lineup going forward for years to come.
Another thing is that playing him 2/3 of the time and him performing at an 86 OPS+ level basically kills his trade value. Not even a last place team wants a LF hitting that badly. If he had been in AAA and had a first half similar to his season last year than some teams may have wondered if he could hit at the MLB level and taken a chance on him by including him in a prospect for rental type deal. But now - no chance. He is essentially Taylor Jones.
There's always something to nitpick or some whipping boy these days. Def overshadows some of the more interesting developments like Bielak/France/Blanco somehow holding the rotation together.
I am betting Grae gets the start today at 2B. Altuve is out again and Dusty has given youngsters the day off when they first arrive but a single start soon after before sitting them on the bench until they resemble statues. Maybe him thinking Altuve and Dubon are the only 2 players worthy of leading off prevents this though. I hope: Meyers CF Pena SS Yordan DH Bregman 3B Tucker RF Abreu 1B McCormick LF Kessinger 2B Maldy C Edit: I forgot Salazar got sent down so Diaz will not DH and Maldy sat yesterday so he will play today.
Lol. Been here for over two decades. The stros forum has become kinda insufferable over the last 5 years as the stros went from the ascent to sustained excellence. Not saying everyone is a bandwagoner per se, but def alot of people have unreasonable expectations and/or just don't seem to enjoy the positives aspects of the team/game.
Most of the people who have come in since 2017 are more sports fans than baseball fans. Baseball is different and you can tell that by reading posts like “we better aim for the wildcard” and crap like that Ruck the Fangers
there is a small faction of gatekeepers, who feel superior because they were here during the tank years or before. So silly. We were all fans then too, regardless of whether or not we knew about this sub forum.
I completely agree with this. The team is looking for more run production, especially vs RHP and he is staring them in the face. As long as there are only 2 catchers on the roster he won't DH but he can play 1B w/ Abreu DHing.
I have been an obsessive Astros fan since my family lived in the Best Western Cocoa Inn (Astros spring training hotel) and my mom introduced me to many players and coaches. I played catch with some, played with their kids around the hotel and went to the stadium. Julio Gonzalez gave my mom a box of baseball cards for me and I was hooked. But I only found this site last year.
I think the rangers are for real, but I also think the Astros are for real. Both can be true, it doesn't have to be either/or. My bother in law lives in Plano and is a lifelong ranger fan. He says ranger fans are really frustrated right now because, even though they are playing out of their minds, they still only lead the Astros by 3.5. They can't shake us. A 3.5 division lead can evaporate over 1 weekend. I'm not worried about the rangers. Not because I think they're a fluke...but mostly because the Astros are really hard to beat in a 7 game playoff series. We don't play for division championships, we play for WORLD championships.
