Rays are a good trade partner for Astros in part because Rays don’t give a **** about what the prospect rankings and evaluations of other teams are. They are really good at identifying ball players. The Astros have some undervalued prospects that the Rays will likely be interested in.
I don't know about batting average - you would have to ask an old person. Both are fine, and yes, both are + for their positions. But teams can work around Alvarez and Tucker in a short series, and that puts hitters 5-9 directly in the spotlight. Think about all the wasted opportunities last year in the ALCS - Maldonado, Diaz, McCormick, Dubon... If half your line-up isn't a credible threat, your chances are greatly diminished in the postseason. They need Bregman to stay right, Tucker to get healthy, one of Diaz/Pena/Meyers to get hot and at least one more bat.
Wouldn't that be bad for us though to some extent? If we think Melton and dezenzo are not everyday players and another team is just looking at the rankings, we could in theory dump these guys on them. But if the Rays hold out for let's say Kenni Gomez and Miguel Ullola and those two are who the Astros also think have the best chance to become perennial all stars ....it would be bad for us.
It will depend on which org evaluates and develops better. TB might take a guy Houston doesn’t feel great about then turn him into a good player; that could mean a misevaluation by Houston OR it could mean TB is just better at developing him than Houston would have been. I have often wondered what would have happened to a lot of Houston’s traded prospects had they stayed in Houston’s org. Maybe some of those guys who busted for the other team would have ended up as really good players with the Astros. It also could just mean whatever trade Houston makes with TB will be more “fair” at the time of the transactions if both orgs value guys similarly.
Batting average still matters in baseball. It may not always transcend to runs scored (as that's a team stat anyway) but can effectively show the mentality of the player. BA shows how a batter can put the ball in play and shoot the gaps. Can rally a team in the dugout down by 2-3 runs hoping someone can just get on base. And can prove that he's determined to work the counts, understand the pitches coming at him and adjust to the pitchers as they adjust to him. BA may be a lost art for fans in the stat sheet but it makes a hell of a difference in the makeup of your team when the pressure is on. I for one would rather have a few guys on my team that can get on base down by several runs than rely on guys to hit homeruns to get us back in the game (when most likely they'll strike or pop out).
It'll be interested what they do with Melton. I'm okay with trading him away for the right piece. Wouldn't be surprised if he's no better in the majors than Meyers anyhow.
What you’re describing here is OB%, not batting average. OB% *does* matter; batting average does not. It’s an archaic measurement that doesn’t really have any relevance in today’s game. Batting average does not reflect a hitter’s ability to “get on base” - again, you’re describing on-base percentage. A few guys getting on base is mostly worthless if they don’t score - so how is that better than a home run? That’s a silly idea. You’d rather a player go 9/10 with 9 singles than 4/10 with four home runs? There is no sensible scenario where the former is better than the later, assuming all is equal.
Yep, but if they don't stay hot the Stros likely won't make the playoffs. Pena proved he can play on the big stage. I'm thinking all Yanier needs is a chance to prove himself. From what I've seen he's more likely than not to produce in the playoffs. They need one more middle of the order bat to solidify the offense.
Peña was 8/40 last October with zero extra base hits & 1 walk. Diaz posted a .143 OPS. Small sample size, obviously, and postseason performance doesn’t carry over. But when you factor in regular season performance, I don’t know why anyone would assume either/both will be hitting all cylinders come the postseason. They might! Anyone can get hot. But the evidence suggests it’s more likely they won’t be hot.
Because 2 years ago when he hit well in the regular season, he hit well in the playoffs. Last season he didn't hit well in the playoffs or the regular season.
Walks is plate discipline only. Hits show the ability of the batter to adjust to pitches and put them in play. If a batter has a low BA then they don't do a good enough job of adjusting, allowing the pitcher to pitch what they want. HRs are fine until you're down and need a rally. You need people on base to extend a rally and a high batting average can put doubt in the pitchers mind of what to throw compared to another batter with a low BA and higher k %. If it's the 9th inning and a team is up by 2-3 runs, best believe that a strike throwing pitcher may challenge a HR hitter because it's 1 run if he connects, but most likely it'll be an out. That same pitcher will likely be careful not to leave something over the plate to a contact hitter, who can direct the ball seemingly at will, because the next guy could now tie the game. Harder for a team to hit 2 homeruns in a row compared to a base hit and a homerun (according to stats). But again, we are talking about something more valuable (or at least just as much) than scoring runs and that's mentality of a player. A mentality that can spark the rest of the club to be alive in the game at all times. Best believe I want a guy that can spray hits around once to twice a game and would depend on that player to rally the troops more so than a guy that can kill it with 3 swings and an out. Oh and I'd rather have a guy that can get a base hit 3-4 out of 10 times in the 9th inning down by 2 than a guy that hits a hr every 5-8 games but ks twice a game. But I'm not discounting the HR as much as showing how much BA does matter.
