To improve upon the Black hole in our lineup occupied by the first baseman. Ideally this would have happened a few weeks back to see how dire the need was for a new first baseman before the trade deadline. Just because Singleton is better than Abreu doesn't mean we can live with is production. He also brings nothing else to the table. No defense. No pinch running. No positional versatility. Nothing.
It's been surprisingly good. So has his bat. I'm shockingly happy for him. But there's no reason you can't try and do better.
After Brice Matthews was promoted to Corpus- he struggled for a good while. But it looks like he’s started to adjust well to double A pitching. Over the last 6 games Matthews has: - raised his batting Average .045 points - raised his OBP by .089 points - raised his OPS from .654 to .932 - has tallied 8 hits, 3 HR, 1 2B, and 6 R
Pedro Leon blasted his 19th HR of the year tonight for Sugarland. In the month of July, Leon is hitting .345 with 6 homers, 11 RBI’s, and an OPS of 1.071
His wrists and bat speed are elite. He doesn’t seem to always know what is coming, but with his bat speed, he can wait so long into the pitch to swing that it gives him a massive advantage. They seem to want to pitch up and inside to him trying to neutralize some of his advantages- but his wrists are so quick and strong that he ends up turning on the pitch. He certainly is on his way to a break out season and could be in Houston next year. I don’t see how he isn’t a top prospect at the end of this season - his success isn’t from smoke and mirrors or being polished, it’s genuine physical talent with a go getter personality.
I can get on board with the Dana Brown experience. What’s his positional outlook? Keep him at short or heir apparent to Bregman (perhaps with 2025 as a platoon or bridge year)?). Peña’s bat has disappointed, but he’s still got some pop he can break out and is a legit gold glove caliber defender under team control entering his prime. There was some talk he could play CF too, but looks like they’ve kept him at SS and 3rd (with a little 2B last year).
Bregman’s wRC+ in his minor league career: A 108 High A: 126 AA: 179 AAA 166 Matthews’ wRC+ in his first full season: A 120 High A: 176 AA: 125 Matthews has played 9 games at 3B and the rest at SS when he hasn’t DH’ed. Bregman played only 13 games at 3B in the minors before reaching the majors.
Bregman has been a stalwart at 3rd base since 2017. But he’s about to get paid, and a lot of his contract will be based on what he did previously. He’s still doing well, but few if any baseball people will confuse him for an all-star level player. He’s a savvy veteran that delivers under the bright lights of October playoff atmosphere. But Brice may be ready to be called up by next season to take over 3rd base. The money saved with going with Brice Matthews over resigning Bregman could be used to resign Kyle Tucker, as he is going to be a multiple MVP candidate.
