Yup - one hits and you are okay..... two hit and you are doing really well. The Astros have to be patient with him, but Corona has a lot of ability.
I agree on Corona. It's going to be an interesting roster crunch when it comes time to choose who gets protected from the rule 5 draft
Valente Bellozo was promoted to AA this week and is starting for the Hooks tonight. He is a pretty small kid 5’10” 170 lb and I don’t know much about his stuff, but he has been pretty effective throughout his time as a pro. Doesn’t post huge strikeout totals but really limits walks. He may be another in the line of control guys who get by on deception, command, and variety. Most of these August promotions are probably mostly about getting a guy acclimated to a new city/coaching staff in prep for next season. I suspect the current rosters will look at least 80% the same on opening day next year, although I am hoping a half dozen or more of the current FCL position players will be promoted to Fayetteville before the FCL season begins, as there’s just so many guys in the DSL who look ready to come stateside.
Agreed, I look back on the 2017 WS and Fisher's speed was big in winning game 5. A guy like that isn't currently on the roster.
Right now I kind of see Loperfido as a versatile bench player replacing Dubon during next season. He is a legit bat everywhere but catcher and SS. Plus I'm a little anxious to see Dubon go in trade for a prospect to help rebuild the farm.
I agree that Loperfido can be Marwin 2.0 But unless you are just hoping to rebuild the farm system quantity over quality and hope to get another 40+ grade prospect or 2 in the system, I wouldn't count on Dubon as the savior. He's a very valuable bench player but he doesn't walk, hit for power, or steal bases. His low ceiling will prevent him from bringing back any kind of an impact player.
We shouldn’t put too much weight on Loperfido’s defensive versatility/value. He is a good athlete and can be solidly average in the OF or 1B. He is a below average 2B but there’s very little chance he can handle 3B or SS. So he might be a valuable bench player, but that would be as a 4th OF or 13th position player, not as a Marwin/Aledmys/Dubon type of player. My hope is that his bat is good enough to warrant playing him everyday (likely in the OF),
Both were/are very good baserunners, just not the best of basestealers. I'd have no problem with Jake being "that guy" in the postseason (if we make it) but I'd rather see him as an option in CF as either starter or defensive replacement Not gonna happen, but I threw out Leon as a "that guy" for the postseason.
Houston has 10 position players locked in for next season. They will have to do something at catcher. That leaves 2 spots that I assume they will leave open for competition, with Singleton, Julks, Kessinger, Whitcomb, Hensley, Salazar, Loperfido, Leon, Barber, Corona, and Daniels all in the mix, with Dezenzo and Wagner on the periphery. I feel pretty good about 2 guys from that group emerging as really good bench players, although it may take some time to sift thru them.
Catcher is an easy fix...backup vets are plentiful and cheap. I love your optimism re: Singleton That guy needs to start learning Korean.
I'm sure it do, from what I hear it's got just about everything. If Singleton wants to sign back and play there after he's DFA'd this offseason, fine. He'd most likely do better financially overseas (avg salary in the KBO is about 200K with no expenses, he'd make more)
Agree on catcher, and a defense first veteran is where they should go. As for Singleton, he is currently one of the 13 best position players on this team. He certainly belongs here even if he isn't anything special. wRC+ of 95 for Houston. Abreu (2023) 78 Gurriel (2022) 85 Gurriel (2023) 79 Mancini- Hou (2022) 81 Mancini (2023) 74 That's said, it should be easy to find a player who is at least as good and with more versatility for next year. If not it's fine.
There's a difference between being fast and being able to run the bases fast. Meyers doesn't seem that fast.
The area has great Korean, Indo-Pak (Himilaya, Aga's, etc), Indian, Halal, Kebab, Vietnamese, Chinese (Cooking Girl, etc). I got dumplings recently from this place on Highway 6 where the owner only spoke Mandarin. Not so many brewpub type places though like you can find on the West side of town.
