Absolutely no way the Astros are currently trying to tell me that Cooper Hummel more worthy of MLB games than Shay Whitcomb
Said it in the GDT but clearly Dana isn’t high on him and/or is hoping to trade him at the deadline while he has some value. My guess is he sucks on defense in the OF as well as the infield and doesn’t want to expose him. Don’t see any other explanation.
He thinks the Tucker trade was bad value for us because “Tucker is a 10 WAR player” and therefore Suzuki should have also been included in the trade. Still won’t admit Dana made a good trade. Surprised you have missed it though - it’s been ongoing since the trade and half the board has told him why he’s wrong starting with thinking Tucker is a 10 WAR player lmao
Is Brandon Walter the third best SP on the team right now? What an absolutely brilliant acquisition by the org on a minor league deal of all things. It looks like they have greatly deemphasized his sinker/4S while greatly improving the performance of his changeup (not the first time that has happened with this coaching staff).
I would not sacrifice our defense for a better hitter. Christian Walker has been a disappointment at the plate, but he is still a gold glove 1st baseman. I am sure nobody really LIKES dubon as an everyday second baseman, but you aren't going to get the next Jose Altuve, much less someone who can hit left-handed for cheap. When it is all said and done, there just isn't a lot of options for the astros, as one thing takes away from something else. I just don't see the astros finding the unicorn bat. There are much more likely to find more pitching depth.
I guess if one was to start getting excited about Walter, his AAA numbers would only add fuel to that. He was dominant in Sugarland. 2.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP 28% K vs 4% BB. His average exit velo according to fangraphs was a pathetic 83 MPH. We'll see how people start adjusting, but so far professional hitters have been having a lot of trouble with the sequencing he is using this season.
Gotta have those out of nowhere guys. JP France, Brandon Backe, Lucas Harrell, etc. Even better of course when they end up with staying power like Collin McHugh.
Lux has really good bat to ball skills, this is very important in the playoffs and he's got an above avg glove, plus he's played in big games in the playoffs before. There's value in that. Matthews needs to learn how to cut down on his strikeouts before moving up to the Stros.
I remember when we gave credit to Maldonado for all the great game calling he was doing with our starters. Maybe he just had a better PR team than Yainer and Caratini do.
Yainer and Caratini actually contribute in tangible ways, so there's no need to go on waxing poetic about their intangibles. Maldonado the pitching whisperer was always BS. I'm sure he busted his ass, and called a good game. But as has been clearly evidenced over the last 5 seasons, the organizational system is what has led to this success. Castro, Vasquez, Diaz and Caratini all had zero issues calling good games as instructed. I've said it for years, he was baseball equivalent of Dumbo's feather. He was clearly very charismatic, combined with good results, pitchers gave him more credit than he deserved.
