Our best pitcher is still on the IL, Odorizzi and Baez haven't given us anything, we have gotten an unsustainably bad .276 OPS from Maldonado, Tucker has hit into some reprehensible luck, and 3 our our best players have already missed time. Still, we have the best run differential in the AL.
Best intel I can gather on eta of injured players: Whitley: mid 2022 Verlander: September at earliest, likely April 2022 Martes: likely August Baez: Mid June earliest Pruitt: June James: June Valdez: likely mid June Taylor: June Scrubb: Late May Paredes: Late May Odorizzi: likely mid May
I wonder what they do with Martes when his suspension ends. He did throw well in the spring and theoretically could be immediately useful out of the pen if they need him.
Yes, but assuming Martes has looked good, I think he easily carries more value than the fringe 40 man guys like Nivaldo Rodriguez and Taylor Jones. Of course there will likely be quite a few transactions between now and then so who knows, but I would be shocked if he was DFA once his suspension was up.
Oh I agree. Astros still have 5 years of control on Martes. His upside is worth carrying on the 40 man. I would add Pruitt to the list of guys that could be cut. Only making 600k and can't get on the field.
4 SP have now had at least 5 starts, where some stats start to become meaningful. Those results overall are very very encouraging especially considering that they have gotten better recently. Javier and Urquidy are looking more like solid #3 starters than the back-end types they originally projected to be. Through 15 career big league starts, Javier has a 2.93 ERA with 9.45 k/9 against 2.93 bb/9. He has been pretty lucky with balls not leaving the park but given his youth and inexperience I think it's very possible he gets established as a guy you don't mind starting game 3 of a playoff series. Javier's velocity is up this year as well, something to keep an eye on. Urquidy has had 18 career starts and has a 3.53 ERA with 7.22 k/9 and 1.99 bb/9. He probably profiles as more of a #4 on a contending team but still looks like a core piece moving forward. McCullers has had some good luck with balls in play but otherwise his numbers are close to his career marks. It is the same story with him, if he just stays healthy he will be well worth that $85M. If he somehow also finds the ability to consistently get into the 6th inning, he will be a steal. Only negative to note is that his velocity is down about 1 mph so far this year; probably nothing. Greinke is just finding a way. As effective as he has been, I am glad this is his last year with the Astros as I think he will gradually become less effective. Assuming Odorizzi and Valdez come back effective, the rotation for the next 2 years will be set (McCullers, Valdez, Javier, Odorizzi, Urquidy). That will allow the Astros to focus on upgrading their offense (replacing Correa, upgrading from Straw), as they should have a good amount of financial flexibility next season.
