SSS and all that, but Dezenzo might finish April with the second greatest xwOBA on the team following Pena. Since April 3, his xwOBA is .439 which is 22nd best in the majors over that span with players that have about his number of PAs or greater.
Just get these bats going, stay healthy, and I feel a lot better about this season than I did a few weeks ago. Settling on an every-day lineup would be a good idea as well.
The Astros have recently moved from boringly mediocre to interesting. Young guns are flashing some skills and vets are waking up. Temporary or a trend?
The Astros will have cold and hot streaks. During the cold streaks, there will be calls for Espada's head. The Astros will end up somewhere between 85 and 98 wins. I'd say odds are good the Astros have a bye as long as they aren't too close to the low end.
When it’s time to get serious 1b- walker 2b- Rodgers 3b- paredes Ss- pena LF- Yordan/Altuve CF- Smith/ meyers RF- Dezenzo/ smith C- Diaz DH- yordan/altuve/ diaz Just do this for a month, see where we are. Let’s see what Dezenzo is made of.
personally I’d like to see more Dezenzo and Rodgers over the next 4-6 weeks just so we know what we are getting . If Rodgers is mediocre maybe flip a pitcher or two (from our depth charts ) for an above average /all star bat. Dezenzo in my view is a major dark horse /coin flip - but let’s see what turns up. Chas prob should be traded as he is wasting away on the bench. But the biggest upgrade will be when Alvarez , Diaz, and Walker all hit to their averages .
I would like to see them be aggressive in trading for a bat in June rather than July. I know it’s wishful thinking, but the AL is wide open. My concern is it’s going to cost us a pitcher that’s already contributing to this team.
The interesting thing is that during the offseason, most teams are usually not interested in trading for prospects. That's a big reason Seattle had trouble adding a bat. Teams still feel confident in their ability to compete, so want MLBers The closer it gets to the deadline, the more likely it will be to be able to get MLB talent by trading prospects. If the Astros want to hold on to guys like Gusto or Wesneski and use guys like Gordon or Ullola instead, it will most likely need to be at the deadline.
(This was from another thread, bringing it here). The above moves of trading pitchers on expiring contracts didn’t really “help” those teams that year make the playoffs. Also both those teams could have used those pitchers to advance further in the playoffs. The Astros may need another bat, but they are unlikely (and shouldn’t) trade any current pitchers for it. They need all the pitching. If there are other examples where teams trying to contend or attempting to contend traded pitching in order to further contend, I’d like to see them.
So you think the Astros should just stand pat? Or trade away what little position player prospects they have?
I don’t think they should stand pat. But I’m not dumping all the promising pitching prospects either (maybe one… max 2… and Chas if he has any value to anybody). Ideally, they have enough hitting as is if Diaz/Walker are consistent (not worried about Yordan) and Myers doesn’t do his fall off a cliff thing. An injury to any above average hitter in the lineup would have them at a crossroads, for sure. Cam continuing to develop and becoming a top 6 lineup guy THIS year (not succumbing to the rookie wall, or getting adjusted to) would also be a huge turn of fortune for this year.
I don't want to see Arrighetti in another uniform either, but gotta trade something to get something. He would not be my preference either.
Maybe if McCullers gets say ~10 starts by the deadline and balls out we can flip him for a bat and we’ll throw in Garcia for good measure . That’s 2 WS starters right there
Lance isn't going anywhere. With his contract and injury history there is no way he brings back anyone of value. He is good enough to be more valuable to the Astros. They just need to gamble that he stays healthy. I would trade Javier, though, if he has no setbacks and can pass a physical at the deadline. TJS recovery us pretty standard these days.
We just need to make Dezenzo and Cam everyday players and for Rogers to work out and we will run away with this division. If Rogers doesn’t work out then Altuve needs to go back to 2nd so Dezenzo can start in LF. Myers is fine as a 9 hitter even when he comes back to Earth. The main issue is how to get Dezenzo into the starting line-up most every day. The answer has to be either Altuve goes back to 2nd full-time or Cam moves to center and Rogers works out. We can discuss trades in June or at the deadline if we can’t pull this off. Our pitching depth is out of this world. Dubon should be a defensive replacement or an occasional starter when Pena or Paredes need a day off. McCormick should be sent to the minors or traded for hope and a prayer.
In the off-season Dana was on what this roster needed. He just got outbid. Jorge Polanco .351 AVG, 4 HR, .367 OBP, .963 OPS
