With the desperation creeping into Dana Btown's office he will be in Houston much sooner than that if things don't change. Send Cam Smith to AAA For 6 weeks to play everyday. There are so many reasons to fire Espada, but his handling of Smith, wasting his rookie eligibility and delaying his development should be at the top of the list and enough by itself.
You’re awful grumpy these days. I am sure if Dana Brown had been telling Espada to play Smith, he would be. I think there is an (ill-conceived) plan that the front office and coaches have agreed on to give Smith frequent days off to study video and rest in an effort to help him adjust to the majors. But (especially now that it looks like Dezenzo is a decent hitter) that looks like a real waste.
Good to see the Astros having young promising Pitching and finally OF prospects. Hopefully we can avoid a true rebuild and come back to being a true championship contender by next year
This year’s draft is very deep in HS infielders. I’m really hoping the Astros draft a couple of the top ones with their 1st and 3rd rounders. They are pretty solid in OF and P, and Janek is a fine top catching prospect. But they really only have 1 good infield prospect (Matthews). After him are a lot of guys who might be interesting but would need a major breakout to project as future core everyday big league infielders.
I just saw that the Astros signed former 1st rd pick Greg Jones. He is in that FCL game as well. High ceiling guy that didn’t pan out. Recently released by the white Sox. Power/speed/strikeout guy.
I agree that Brown probably hasn't been telling Joe who to play and when. I have heard him ( not that he tells the truth) say that he lets Espada make playing time decisions. But I would be surprised if he is happy with Smith's lack of playing time. My opinion is that with every 3-3 week with less than 25 runs scored that passes, the pressure builds. There are 3 truths regarding this: 1) Cam Smith has, without question, more run production potential than at least 7 of the current other 12 players on the roster 2) He needs PAs to get to the point where he can possibly meet that potential. 3) He doesn't get PAs sitting on the bench. The sooner he hits that PA threshold the better for the team. And if this team finishes the year in a disappointing fashion, that will be scrutinized.
He homered. Now on to a kid who might be gaining a bit of helium. Germán Ramirez is starting to make some real noise down in Palm Beach. He's a Dominican IF who signed for $1.2 million at the start of the 2023 IFA period. Ramirez has been pushed rather aggressively; he spent his first year in the DSL, then spent most of last year with the FCL team as a 17-year-old and got a three-game cameo with Fayetteville late in the year, after he turned 18. Ramirez entered today leading the FCL in runs batted in and he added one more today to give him 16 so far. The biggest development is that he's hitting the ball with much more authority. He's got a double and a triple today. Entering today, six of his nine hits went for extra bases (3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR). Make that 8-11 now with 4 doubles and 2 triples. Last year, he had 6 extra-base hits in 164 at-bats (187 plate appearances) in the FCL. He matched that total in just 37 at-bats (47 plate appearances) and exceeded that today. He's still just 18 and won't turn 19 until the end of July, so his ceiling and likely track could be anything at this point. But, the upside for this kid is real and it'll be very interesting to see if he gets more than just a cameo in Fayetteville at some point this season.
Ramirez got into a couple of big league ST games and looked pretty good. Good looking athlete. I also really like the early numbers from Hector Salas. He’s an older complex league guy so will be viewed with skepticism at least until he gets to high a but he’s been really really good in the FCL so far, walking twice as much as he’s struck out and hitting for average.
Salas is an interesting case. He's leading the FCL in on-base percentage right now. It's pretty rare to see a position player who didn't play in Cuba/Japan/Korea sign at 20 years old, so I wonder what his story is.
I don't remember mentioning this, but James Hicks and Miguel Palma were both placed on the 60-day IL in Corpus back on May 12.
Chase Jaworsky hit his second homer of the year for Asheville. Jose Guedez has been roughed up a bit lately but he turned in a nice start: 5.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 BB, 4 K
They're a true championship contender this year if they add a bat and now a pitcher. Not to mention another manager.
What happened to Hicks? I really think he's got a chance to make it to MLB and be a very good reliever.
Dana (what a terrible name for a male) already made it very clear how he felt about Whitcomb playing the infield at the big league level. I don’t think Joe playing him in the infield any way last year and getting like 5 errors in 2 innings with Dana watching is gone from the memory bank.
