Do you just post for the sake of posting? There's no other logical reason for saying that on a day he didn't even pitch and after his last start was at least promising.
If I could find an OF bat for Pressly I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm also wondering if a 1B or 3B might be available in a trade?
That may be the best option if we can find a couple of 1or 2 season rentals. I still believe Diaz and Mathews are the long term answers at 1st and 3rd base.
After a lot of hard work, the left-handed hitter developed into a player with the potential to contribute in the Major Leagues. His father Lester Alvarez was a pitcher in the Cuban National Series between 2002 and 2005 with his native province of Matanzas. Now his son Kevin is among the top talent in the 2024 class. His athleticism, power and hitting skills stand out. Alvarez projects to be an above average hitter/Power above average. He also excels with his arm and defensive skills. Scouts find his body and skills at that age similar to those of Kyle Tucker or young Paul O'Neill. Kevin's signing will become official on January 15. The Texan organization remains at the top of the list of most Cuban-born players on its system in the past 5 years. Kevin Reynaldo Alvarez Birthplace: Matanzas, Cuba DOB: 1/13/2008 HT: 6´4” WT: 180 Academy: Javier Rodriguez Scouts: Charlie Gonzalez Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55 Bats: L Throws: L
I saw some video of him and not sure when it was from but he was very skinny and definitely raw. Not sure where those scouting grades are from but if they’re accurate then he’d be an elite prospect. Houston has about $4.9M in their pool so $2M for this guy would be 40% of their entire allotment. But I’m certainly cool with Houston adding more tall lefty Cuban hitters named Alvarez. Pitching development and Cuban scouting seem to be 2 areas where Houston still has a competitive advantage.
Lotta misses here. Did ok calling Matthews as the breakout position player. Sleeper calls were a total mixed bag. On the rankings: Too high: Barber, Tredwell, Melendez Too low: Williams, Cole, Dombroski, Ullola, Jaworsky, Gomez, Whitcomb, Bloss, Brito, Encarnacion, Villarroel, several A ball international arms This reflects positively on Houston’s ability to develop talent. They had quite a few 3rd/4th tier prospects level up into 2nd tier guys. Houston backfilled their system nicely with aggressive promotions, a good draft, and a relatively quiet trade deadline. After next years draft they will have almost entirely flushed out the drafts where they lacked top picks and be back to having a nearly full complement of prospects. It’s nice to see their farm on the upswing while the big league team is still contending.
They are just sleepers now but I will be keeping an eye on these potential breakout pitchers in 2025, Ryan Forcucci, Parker Smith, & Jagger Beck. High expectations for all three.
Didn't Forcucci recently undergo Tommy John surgery? That probably means that he will not be seen until 2026
Surgery was in early June. Some chance he is out for 25 entirely but we may see him late in the season.
Me too. It's why I have boxes of TJ Steele, Jon Gaston, Mike Kavasnicka, Jio Miers, Felipe Paulino Eric Anthony and Jeff Juden cards.
I'm thinking , give Caratini a first basemens glove this off-season and let him learn to play first base., Trade for a bat OF bat and sign a vet 3B on the cheap like Rengifo.
Caratini is not actually a good offensive bat and he really isn’t for a first baseman. This is sort of a career year, and as a platoon partner for singleton it’s a problem because he’s much less dangerous as a RHH. We can and should do better.
If the Astros want to save money, keeping Singleton in the strong side of a platoon and signing a guy like Santana or Cahna would be super cheap.
