Who is this mythical “CF that can hit” that the Astros can magically add to their roster? Meyers is a good player. Elite defender at the 2nd most valuable defensive spot. Can steal bases. Below average (not terrible) hitter. So far this season he’s been above average due to good luck and chasing less. Meyers is not someone you look to replace in mid-April. The problem with this offense is that Diaz and Walker have been unplayable, and they are counted on for middle of the order production. That’s exacerbated by the Astros’ hall of fame caliber DH hitting like a replacement player. In Friday’s game we saw what happens when those 3 guys produce.
Meyers is ok. He won't win a gold glove with that noodle arm but he covers lots of ground. He historically doesn't steal bases but he's got 5 early so maybe he's developing that skill late in his career. He's not proving anything to me because he excels every April/May and then absolutely sucks thereafter. The opposite of slow starters like Bregs last year. Check back with me mid-July. The fact that you are counting on 5 specific players to produce at the same time is a problem. Baseball doesn't work that way. The team has been good in the championship era because of a deep lineup 1-9 (at least, 1-8). We're at least a hitter shy to begin the season. It doesn't have to be at CF. But when you're expecting or getting sub-.700 OPS from your CF, SS, 2B, and RF, that's too many mid to bad hitters. Walker, Diaz, and Yordan will improve, but it's still not a good enough lineup if this pitching staff stops limiting opposing teams to a historically low batting average. I agree April is too early to make changes. I think Smith, Dezenzo, and Chas all still have a chance to be above-average hitters this season, and need a real chance to show that. But I don't see Espada giving the latter two that opportunity.
Like I said, the lineup is a bat or two short. But Meyers isn’t the guy they need to replace. RF and LF/2B are the spots that need to start producing (along with DH, 1B, and C).
I don't get it. Fun Fact: Josh Hader has as many hits off of Kyle Hendricks as Dubon does. It's weird that outside of Walker, no Astro has faced him more than 5 times. He's been around forever it seems.
Personally, I would have liked to see Chas get a chance to see if he could rebound from the terrible year last year, then he could be that mythical CF that can hit. We will never know though Meyers is a really good defender but not elite in my opinion. To be elite you have to have at least an average arm, and he doesn't. Also, he hasn't been above average as a hitter this year, it just seems that way because those around him have been so bad. I thought he had a chance to be a great player, and if not for the shoulder injury who knows. But he is what he is, and that was fine when we had Altuve/Tucker/Bregman/Yordan. Now we don't but we get more Dubon today along with Jake with the one guy who has had a tremendous offensive season still glued to the bench. I'm glad it makes so much sense to most of yall, personally I just don't get it
We moved to the AL in 2013, his first year was 2014 Damn, doesn't seem like we have been in the AL that long
OK, I hope he ends the season with a .850 OPS and wins a gold glove Just don't see him as any different than he has been and without Bregman/Tucker tagging along with Altuve/Yordan/Diaz I personally think we need more offense. And no, I don't know that Chas would provide that, but I know it's possible and wish he was getting at least a LITTLE opportunity to find out. And for the record, i'd MUCH rather have Altuve at 2B with Chas in LF and Jake in CF today than the current lineup, but Joe gonna make sure Dubon gets his run
And another is named Walker But honestly, at the end of the year if all 3 of those guys numbers look they should, we are probably still at least 1 bat short
I agree the temporary solution is to leave Altuve at 2B most days and have an OF of Smith, Meyers, and McCormick and Dezenzo as the primary backup at LF, RF, CF (with McCormick sliding over), 1B, and DH. Maybe let Altuve play LF when Framber is on the mound. Rodgers would be the odd man out. To me, adding Rodgers so late in spring unnecessarily complicated the roster; if they were gonna do that they should have done it way earlier, and once it was done they should have traded McCormick or sent Dezenzo down. But there’s not much evidence to suggest McCormick’s odds of rebounding to his 2022-2023 numbers are much higher (if at all) than Meyers’ odds of repeating his 2021 numbers (or sustaining his early season success he’s shown previously across a whole season), especially considering the certainty Meyers brings with his glove.
I wish Crane would take on an experienced and successful manager over Espada. At least that way we would know for sure if the team actually sucks. It’s hard to know with Espada - as it’s easy to second guess a lot of his moves and it’s a head scratcher that our offense, with all the big bats, once again can’t find the barrel from their butth****
