2022 Astros Minor League Thread

I'm a big fan of getting on base by any means possible. Think of Bregman still getting on base while his stroke was just off the mark earlier in the season. A good eye can help mitigate contact problems until you make the needed adjustments.

 

Agreed. I also don't blame him for giving Meyers an opportunity to potentially help the big boy club late this year. I also have no idea how much Meyers played, and where, after he was sent down. I'll let you look that one up.

I'm not really upset about the Leon IF Experience, but like I said earlier it's time for it to go away.

 

Or you're Nolan Fontana. Or you're Ben Zobrist.

"There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, 'Youneverknow.'" -- Joaquin Andujar

 

You're unlikely to walk if they realize you can't hit. You're unlikely to get balls to hit if you don't/won't take a walk. Either way, you don't get on base. Once again, getting on base means you're doing it right.

But I will go further. If you manage to advance ANY runner during your PA, I give you credit. sac Bunt, credit. Sac Fly, credit even if no one scores. FC when the a runner advances handled like a Sac Bunt. Same with ROE, HBP, CI and ROSO. Replaceing the guy on 1B, no credit.

Uncertain how to handle advancing a runner on a DP, particularly a scoring advance. But even advancing a runner to 3B on the DP should be considered.

 

No such thing as a SF if no one scores.

 

Man, I remember being SO into the draft stuff in the early years of the Luhnow rebuild. Getting so excited about Luhnow mid-round picks that seemed so undervalued. At one point Luhnow said in the mid-rounds all he was looking for were prospects with one big league skill (e.g. defense/Andrew Aplin).

Re: Fontana. Elite OBP skills in college (and even the low minors). People completely over looked that the guy never hit over .300 in college. That should have been a big red flag. The guy had an advanced eye and good swing decisions but couldn't actually hit.

Luhnow even had a pitching version of Fontana: Andrew Thurman: 2nd round pick in 2013. Selected cuz he had super low walk rates in college. Moved up the minor league ladder and that BB/9 rate ballooned while his success tanked cuz he didn't actually have good stuff.

Interesting thing about Luhnow's tenure. He didn't get that much better at drafting over time, at least not with the non-first rounders. That first draft of his was his most successful from a top 10 rounds perspective. 8/11 top 10 round picks from the 2012 draft made the majors.

 

I know that it doesn't meet the current definition which is why I included a widened definition. I never have understood why a Sac Bunt is treated differently than a deep fly ball (broader SF definition) when it accomplishes the exact same thing.

It is also in the context of many other things which accomplish the same purpose but are treated differently by traditional metrics.

 

Because the SB is intentionally giving yourself up.

 

What bothers me is that while he doesn’t take the best angles yet, he is still an above average MLB center fielder right now. He is a truly exceptional athlete with loud tools.

 

Defensively, how does he compare to Laureano since Laureano takes bad paths to balls

 

You can't teach true instincts, but you can, through repetition, teach muscle memory, eyeball memory, quick twitch stuff.

This is why he needs all the repetitions in games and in practice. Ball off Bat Equals X (scouting report says oppo tailing, pull curving, or whatever, like a ****ing golf shot), Then You're Immediately Running to Y and adjust as needed.

He has all the tools, it's all repetition and brain game now.

 

I actually think he is a little better than Laureano because he is faster and more explosive so he can make up mediocre routes more easily.

He isn’t consistently taking bad routes either. Sometimes he takes an 8/10 route and then will other times freeze for a second, and then rush and take a poor route 3/10 but still make the play.

I would be comfortable with his glove in CF next year. I think he will end up being a good CF at the MLB level for at least 5-6 years if he can stay healthy.
I think because he has some power that fans don’t realize how fast and explosive he is. He stole basically 40 bases in around 100 games this season and that is with them give him stop signs at times because they wanted to control what pitches the hitter at bat saw.

One concern I do have for Leon is that he puts on weight easily. I was confident Alvarez could play LF when he was in the minors because of his work ethic and his desire to keep weight off. I don’t know if Leon has that same level of dedication, as Alvarez is very dedicated.

 

Ideally he's good enough for MLB CF, this is what we should all be hoping for. If he, like you said, fats out of that (Hidalgo), then it's either corner if his bat makes it there. At worst he's a 4/5th OFer

 

I just want a CF that is good and plays most days. I don't care if it is Meyers, Chas, Leon, or Dubon (if he hits like he did in SF a year or 2 ago). I don't want four 4th/5th OFs. Astros have already gotten rid of Straw, De La Cruz, and Siri.

 

How is Leon's arm?

 

His arm is elite, and his speed is near elite

 

Does that include accuracy as well as arm strength?

I've been pleasantly surprised at both the strength and accuracy of Yordan's arm.