I am actually glad Reed and Moran are going down. I would like to see them rip AAA apart everyday for a month then find the weakness at the major league roster and trade what makes sense.
39 players remaining in camp. Evan Gattis and Brian McCann are now the only two catchers on the 40-man roster.
For someone like Morton, though, it's a good thing. Going into the season with confidence in his stuff. I'm hoping he becomes the surprise McHugh was a few years ago.
I remember reading somewhere that he hadn't been given good run support in previous years. Looking at his game logs, it seems as if 6-7 innings with less than 4 runs allowed was the norm. Mostly 3's and lower though. Having a good bullpen should help him to, he just needs to stay healthy.
Italics - non-roster invitee Current status as of March 28: 33 players Pitchers Kevin Chapman Chris Devenski Dayan Diaz Michael Feliz Mike Fiers Edison Frias Ken Giles Luke Gregerson Reymin Guduan Jandel Gustave Will Harris Brian Holmes James Hoyt Jordan Jankowski Dallas Keuchel Francis Martes Lance McCullers Collin McHugh Charlie Morton Joe Musgrove David Paulino Brad Peacock Tyson Perez C.J. Riefenhauser Brady Rodgers Tony Sipp Cy Sneed Ashur Tolliver Aaron West Catchers Juan Centeno Evan Gattis Tyler Heineman Brian McCann Max Stassi Garrett Stubbs Infielders Jose Altuve Alex Bregman Reid Brignac Carlos Correa J.D. Davis Marwin Gonzalez Yulieski Gurriel Colin Moran A.J. Reed Jon Singleton Tyler White Outfielders Nori Aoki Andrew Aplin Carlos Beltran D.J. Fisher Alejandro Garcia Teoscar Hernandez Jon Kemmer Tony Kemp Ramon Laureano Jake Marisnick Josh Reddick George Springer Preston Tucker C.J. Riefenhauser was granted his unconditional release. J.D. Davis, Reid Brignac, D.J. Fisher, and Juan Centeno will remain in camp, although all four of them were informed that they wouldn't be making the Opening Day roster. That leaves 30 players vying for 25 spots.
Yes. They will start out on the major league DL and be optioned when healthy. Assuming McHugh starts out on the DL, it looks like there are 2 spots undecided with 4 contenders: Hoyt, Gustave, Peacock, Diaz
Sure hope Gustave gets a chance. Can't get excited about any of the other 3. Hopefully we can find a left handed reliever somewhere. I don't think Sipp is going to ever get it back.
Hoyt's more interesting than Gustave to me. He had an 11.5 K/9 in the big leagues last year. He was home run prone but his HR-independent xFIP was 3.10. He's a solid choice for a middle reliever job. Diaz and peacock are the underwhelming guys for me.
Looks like Peacock has been told he made the team, so it's down to 1 spot for Hoyt, Gustave, or Diaz, with Hoyt probably being the favorite especially considering he is good against lefties. Peacock will have a short time to show something while McHugh is on the DL. The bullpen is stacked, and the guys waiting for a chance in AAA provide excellent insurance. This team could've used a ToR SP, another lefty reliever, and another bat (1B or LF), but depending on how the rotation performs it might be the best team in Astros' history.
Hoyt when ahead in the count: .129/.129/.226 Hoyt when behind in the count: .348/.515/.957 (that's SLG not OPS) Basically, if batters can take away the threat of the slider, they tee off on his fastball.
I think it's close. The 98 team had a better rotation and outfield. But I think this year's team profiles to be better overall both on offense and fielding, and if the rotation hits it ceiling I would take this year's team.
I hope we're having this discussion in September. eta: and I hope the question is answered in October.
