Christian Walker is every bit as good as what Alex Bregman gave the Astros last season. He’s had an .OPS above .800 each of the previous three seasons and led all first baseman in defensive runs saved over that time period. He’s a big upgrade at first base. Downgrading from Tucker to Paredes is a big loss, but Ryan Pressly was not very good last year. He was a big reason the bullpen cost the Astros so many games early last season. To his credit, he turned it around during the middle part of the season, but his WHIP was 1.34. That’s really bad for a high-leverage reliever. Right now, the Astros should be a mid 80s to low 90s win team, if they stay healthy. The top six in the order of Altuve, Pena, Alvarez, Walker, Diaz and Paredes is still very solid. If they can add one more bat to their outfield, they are definitely capable of winning more than 90 games.
Dicenzo will get lots of play. I bet he is at least an average everyday player. If just he steps up we will be as good as last year offensively. I think Paredes and Walker are going to beast at home. I don't know if it'll be soon or at the deadline, but the Astros will bring another good hitter in this year.
Walker/Paredes is a clear upgrade over Singleton/Bregman. The Astros’ infield improved significantly. Losing Tucker is a huge blow. The Astros really needed to add another above average everyday bat to account for that. If Garcia and McCullers were healthy I’d say the rotation is as good as last season, but until at least one of those guys is back, Wesneski is a clear downgrade from Kikuchi/JV. I’m fine losing Pressly but I am much higher on the lesser RP than most. I think the BP will be plenty good.
I was fine losing Pressly when it was part of finding money to sign Bregs or another bat. If it was just a salary dump, I’m less excited.
Yeah, this is where I’m at. Need a 7th quality batter in the order (preferably in the OF), and another “at least” quality SP of the #2 or #3 kind to say this team hasn’t “dropped off” from last year’s team that couldn’t get out of the 1st RD after failing to secure a BYE. “Hoping” that emerges from within the organization seems less likely than more likely. Whether that happens before the season or at the trade deadline now becomes the thing to monitor, though the current state of the farm doesn’t provide a lot to offer at the trade deadline from where I’m sitting, even at “rental” prices.
I have high hopes for Dezenzo. But he had a .648 OPS last year with the big club while striking out 33% of the time. We're slotting him in the OF when he's played 3 games in the outfield in the minors plus 8 games in winter ball. We should temper expectations and give him time to grow.
Agreed, but disagree about the farm. Don't buy into what the national media tells you about the current state of the farm.
It’s weird, I’ll certainly miss the guys (springer,Correa, breggy, tucker), but it is kinda fun to see some new faces! Hopefully Walker and Parades have some good years here too.
After last season I have to assume Garcia and McCullers are never going to return. I will be happy if either of them are able to contribute at all but certainly not counting on it. I have hopes for a healthy year from our regulars and am looking for a couple of fast moves from AA pitchers to shore up our depth.
I agree about the offense needing another bat, but the Astros rotation is as good as it was before they traded for Kikuchi. Hunter Brown was awful in April, and Framber Valdez missed a few weeks with an elbow issue. Justin Verlander was average at best once he debuted, and he cratered in the second half of the season after spending months on the IL with a neck issue. Then, Cristian Javier landed on the IL with neck inflammation on April 21 and a month later, he had elbow issues and needed Tommy John Surgery. Spencer Arrighetti came up in April and spent the first half trying to find his feet at the big league level. Having Hunter Brown in a much better place to start this season is a big deal as is Spencer Arrighetti coming off a strong finish to the season. They also don’t have to carefully manage Ronel Blanco’s innings this season.
One other thing that caused our slow start last season was Joe Espada finding his footing as a manager. Not really sure what the deal was but some of the players and him didn't see eye to eye once he become manager but that seemed to have corrected itself in May/June when they started playing better and looked like the team of old. Could be a big factor if Espada can keep players happy/motivated/etc. but it will be a tall task without Bregman and Verlander as veteran figures in the clubhouse.
Dezenzo posts elite exit velocity. He is a big kid with a plus arm and good straight line speed. In the minors his k/bb numbers were ok. He projects to hit more doubles than homers but if he doesn’t strike out too much he could be a legit power bat who also hits for average. General consensus projection for him is something like .250/.310/.400, but there’s a ton of upside on those as if he actually taps into his power consistently that SLG number would be more like .500+. A .260/.340/.520 line is not likely but definitely possible, and that’d make him a legit star. His development was thrown off track slightly by his wrist injury last spring, so his 2024 numbers probably aren’t representative of his talent.
I wonder if that’s a message to Arenado of “you either accept a trade to Houston or you stay here, where we can’t necessarily guarantee you’ll play every day.”
The Astros have had great success in turning line drive hitters with home run power into home run hitters. Don't get me wrong, most of them bust or have middling success. For someone like Dezenzo, there is a fine line between AAAA player and a very good MLB player. About 20 good swings.
