Absolutely love him otherwise but the baserunning and those no swings occasionally still drive us crazy.
I don’t see anything really unsustainable in our pitching. Framber has been inconsistent and below his norm. Brown won’t stay THIS good, but he is absolutely the TOR pitcher he is performing like. Blanco wasn’t particularly good until this week. Gusto has been what I expect Arighetti to be (or worse), so that’s a wash. Wisneski is about what I expected … good but not great (3.91 era). Hader and Abreau have the track records to be as good as they’ve been, and there are many power arms behind them, so I don’t expect a bullpen falloff. Then McCullers will hopefully bolster further plus the wild card of Garcia. On the hitting side there is far more upside than downside on track record (esp Yordan, Diaz … no reason to think either forgot to hit, and Walker’s bat speed has remained near-elite so I believe he will come around). Only Jake is really outperforming. Net … I do think it’s very reasonable to expect pitching to stay at or nearly this great, and the bats to improve. This is a 95-win team waiting to click.
If anything, Altuve at his age needs more off days (once every other week). Dezenzo's bat might also force Tuve to play more 2B when our fly ball pitchers are on the mound.
Brah is about at terrible at staying in shape as possible - I think he and Javier use Frances Martes as their personal trainer.
In fairness to Javier, by the time he signed his extension he had actually started working out ..... but before then he did not workout at all other than throwing and the mandatory ballpark jogging required by Murphy and Miller.... and Javier was at a half trot.
LOL. I’m smart when I more or less quote from your podcast (which, as a reminder to the board, is really good for detailed, nerdy Astros talk - “Breathing Orange Fire”).
We didn’t really talk about the pitching yet- doing that this Monday. I think I’m going to come to the conclusion you are dead balls on accurate in your assessment of if it’s sustainable. Andrew gonna mention half their arms fall off I’m sure. that’s the only way our pitching gets derailed imo- unreadably high amount of injuries and guys not coming back when they should- which has been the story of the last 3 or so years for sure.
I agree with this, by the way. The depth of #3-#5 type SP in this organization is absolutely top notch. You can't hoard tradeable depth because of fear when you have legitimate holes on the roster hindering a championship run. Hunter Brown is untouchable. I would trade Framber if the return was impactful. In order to do it though, there must still be 4 potential postseason starters that Miller/Murphy are happy with. If both of those things don't happen (unless they fall out of the race) he stays. McCullers and Arrighetti are the guys I want to be traded the least. McCullers is a team icon, and he has been in the rotation of both W S. Championships - it's good luck to have him if he's healthy. Besides, I don't see much trade value. Arrighetti is a step above the others in talent and potential. Strikeout stuff is very very important in the post season. If this team has a post season rotation, 100% healthy, of Briwn, Framber, McCullers, and Arrighetti it will be very formidable. Javier is the next guy who is proven but expensive and not head and shoulders above the next few guys. He may not bring much, even if healthy but I dream of using him in a package for a guy like Yelich where his salary makes the deal reasonable. Blanco is the 1st guy I would offer. He is a proven starter with 4 1/2 years of control and no injury risk (besides what all SP gave) but not really above the next 5-6 guys in projected performance. If none of them get traded, that leaves 6 guys. Hopefully at least 4 are healthy at the deadline. Then there is still: Wesneski, Gusto, and unlikely but potentially Garcia who are proven/semi proven MLB level, even if they have various values. I don't necessarily WANT any of those guys on other teams, but would be happier with a good position player. France is a guy who, if healthy, can be a depth guy eating innings in August/September if they aren't frantically chasing every win to get a top 2 seed, or even into the postseason. I see no trade value ( see Brandon Bielak). Gordon, Blubaugh, Ullola, Pecko, Hicks, Brito, Nezuh, etc. . . Of all the guys mentioned above, only Framber will be a FA in 2026. The projection/potential of all these guys is comparable enough. Therefore, trading away 3-4 of them should still leave plenty of pitching depth.
I have zero faith in JP France. Javier, if healthy, is a damn good pitcher. He has been up and down, but when he is up he is elite.
