Astros are unshutoutable !!! Maybe we shock the world and win the SD series. W-L-W... because we can't win consecutive games
Christian Walker has been terrible. That obvious strike he was complaining about makes me think his vision is deteriorating. Seems very slow at the plate. First base for the Astros is becoming a career-hospice.
I was thinking that to, are they pressing or what, they just don't seem to be having fun. Blonco....................he looks out of whack It's still early but dam but we need "something", IMO Espada isn't the guy and sometimes that kind of change can cause a spark...............take one for the team Joe
I think most people came into the season concerned the offense was a bat short, but hopeful there’d be pleasant surprises; the opposite has happened. Not worried at all about Yordan or Paredes. They will be very good. I’m gonna be worried about Altuve for the rest of his career, but so far he looks like he will still be a decent hitter this season. He is probably not well-suited for hitting leadoff. Still too early to really worry about Yainer and Walker. Digging into the data, both have been unlucky but there’s also reason to potentially worry. Yainer showed some good life today and if I was betting I would wager he’ll be fine; maybe not taking the step forward we all hoped he would, but as good as he’s been the last 2 years. Abreu PTSD is strong with Walker. His k rate is very high but overall his underlying numbers look fine; his xwOBA is .320 which is only slightly below his career wOBA of .331. He needs to swing at fewer pitches outside the zone. Meyers and Pena are what they are: middling offensive players with plus defensive value. Dubon is the same but with even less offensive value. McCormick, Dezenzo, Rodgers, and Caratini haven’t played enough to judge. But I don’t expect any of them to be very valuable hitters. Dezenzo has a chance but he would need 6-8 weeks of consistent everyday play first, which clearly isn’t going to happen. Cam Smith is the unknown. He has definitely not looked overwhelmed. But he needs to hit for a LOT more power if he’s going to be the kind of difference making hitter Houston desperately needs. Hard to predict how good young hitters will be or how long it will take for them to peak, but for now I’m optimistic. Overall, yes, I’m very worried that Houston’s offense won’t be good enough for them to be a real contender. The next 10-15 games will tell the tale imho. For now they look like they’re at least one elite hitter away from having a contending lineup.
The amount of Luis Robert love on this sub boggles my mind. He played like **** last year. And is somehow worse this year. No thanks.
I haven’t looked under the hood, but Pena looks better than last year. Meyers much better. I think Pena made some swing and approach adjustments, maybe that could be real. I haven’t heard of Meyers doing anything different or new. He has had hot runs before, only to crap out for weeks/months at a time. But at least a tiny bit of hope maybe he finds higher lows and more frequent highs?
Pena is making more and better contact than previous years. Contact outside of zone is 57% this season vs 47% in his career. Barrel % 13% this season vs 6.4% career. Hard hit % 51.9% vs 37.4% career. If those stick then he’s leveled up into a legit star. His expected batting average is .320 and xSLG is .506. Pena with an 826 ops is a stud. We’ll see. Meyers’ k rate is down this season. He is swinging less outside the zone (21% vs 28% career). Making a little better contact in the zone. But overall his numbers are only slightly better than what he’s done over his career. Main difference with him is he’s been more aggressive stealing bases and if that sticks his value goes up; that could be the difference between him being a fringey starting CF and being a solid starting CF.
If both these continue then this is going to be a real fun team to watch and not a fun team to play. I'm slightly hopeful, but not ready to believe it yet.
Yeah, I love me some stat cast data. Let’s go Peña. Age 27 season, entering his prime. Physical specimen, blazing speed. Million dollar smile, runway handsome We REALLY could use the development of a star. Jake’s improvement, even if incremental, would let us settle on a full time CF, move Chaz for whatever we can get, and give those ABs to someone else.
