My response on Leon was based on prospect rankings and expectations prior to this year. Maybe you are the exception, but I doubt many, if any, fans expected those players on the Astros before Leon, a year ago.
No. But he has a chance to be a decent SP. Of course with pitchers you never know; Keuchel didn’t look like his stuff was as good as Gordon’s and he was an ace for a few years.
I have his ceiling as a #2 starter, floor is a #5, pretty likely to be in Sugar Land shortly. ETA in Houston is 2024.
Does Whitcomb has any chance to be called up this year or compete for a spot in spring training next year? Outside of his homerun power, how is his defense?
I would be surprised if Whitcomb were called up to Houston this season, since he doesn’t project to be good enough right now to warrant an add to the 40 AND jumping over Dubon, Kessinger, Hensley, and Perez. So it’d likely take multiple injuries for that to happen. My opinion on Whitcomb’s defense from what I have seen in person (4 games) and read about him is that he is adequate at SS and would likely be plus at 2B. He can handle 3B but his arm is well below average there. He hasn’t seen time elsewhere but I’m highly confident he could handle LF and 1B and he would be fine in CF or RF in an emergency. So he would fit in a super utility role if he isn’t good enough to command an everyday position. It’s hard to find star players who struck out 32% of the time in AAA (Javier Baez?). So that is definitely a red flag when getting excited about him. But he could possibly take another step there to open up a higher ceiling. For now I think he’ll be an exciting backup infielder who is a HR threat off the bench; that is likely to be with another team.
Lynn has negative value given his contract and performance this season. The price for him should be a lower level lotto pitching non-prospect assuming Chicago eats (almost) all of Lynn’s contract. Somebody like Diosmerky Taveras. Chapman will be in high demand so he may cost more than expected, but Whitcomb and another lesser prospect might be an adequate return for him if the Royals really like Whitcomb.
Tyler Whitaker is beginning a rehab assignment in the FCL today; he's at 3B and hitting in the #2 spot.
I expect Arrighetti to struggle for awhile in AAA. It wouldn’t shock me if Gusto breaks out in Corpus. If you take his HR rate down to normal his numbers look good and he’s got pretty good stuff.
Kenni Gomez appears to be back for the FCL team, but Luis Baez has only played one game since the 17th, and he was removed after 5 innings. Nolan DeVos and Nic Swanson have been promoted to Asheville.
I know he struggled mightily in AA his first couple starts- why do you expect him to struggle in AAA?
