I love Pena and he totally fits with this team. Him "not being a #2 hitter" mostly refers to his current skill level along with the current roster. There are 2 schools of thought on a #2 hitter Old school: a guy who does not strike out and can handle the bat, takes pitches in case the leadoff guy is on first and wants to steal and for rest of the lineup to see them. Player most likely to get the leadoff guy into scoring position for the heart of the lineup. Ideally a guy who gets on base at a high level to set up a possible big inning. Speed is also a benefit. New school: the best hitter on the team. Period. Pena does not meet either requirement. He simply strikes out too much and does not have the "hit tool" contact ability at this point in his career. However he has it in him to grow into that role in 2-3 years. Right now I would say his power and "clutch" ability make him a good #6 or 7 hitter providing some protection to the middle of the lineup. Especially with Tucker and Yuli on base and stranded quite often. Right now I would say: Brantley or Bregman is perfect old school option. Yordan is new school option.
I have best sluggers after 2 OPS+ leaders at 3/4 and OBP at 1/2. Slugging at 5/6. Currently 5/6 vs Lefties are Pena/Tucker and vs Righties are Matijevic/Meyers. ps - all line ups presume Brantley has returned.
if Pena continues to rake in the 2 hole this should be our everyday lineup when Brantley returns: Altuve Pena Alvarez Bregman Tucker Brantley Myers Gurriel Maldi If Pena regresses then switch him with Brantley. Of course, Dusty going to be Dusty so I don’t think it really matters what Pena does in the 2 hole.
I would hit Brantley 8th where his contact approach could drive in Meyers and/ or Yuli and so there aren't 3 LH in 4 spots then 5 RH in a row. He is also most likely to get on in front of Maldy in a potential sacrifice situation.
I simply don't get Dusty batting the likes of Dubon at leadoff with a healthy roster, or Goodrum at 2nd or 3rd... or last year having Robel batting leadoff or 2nd... We are not depleted. They need playing time, yes. But rearrange the players in the lineup to maximum the chances to win when you are resting your stars... great manager to keep a team together through 162... but... this is 6th grade Playstation level tactics.
That rookie for the braves struck out the first 9 batters he faced today. I guess he broke Jim Deshaies rookie record of 8 in 1986. I watched that game back in ‘86. I believe it was against the dodgers but i could be wrong on that.
Bringing back Odorizzi has created turmoil in the rotation. All five of the starters have had difficulties since their routine was disrupted. It is time to deal with this. Click seems to be paralyzed by the bad contract he signed out of over-reaction last season. That contract has created nothing but problems ever since. Click needs to man up and do whatever it takes to resolve it. Trade him and whatever cash or assets it takes to get him off the team now.
Jake Meyers just hit 50 pa for the season and the early returns are very encouraging. Yes he’s still sporting an elevated k rate and low walk rate but his hard hit rate is excellent as is his defense. Already been worth 0.5 fwar in just 13 games (120 wRC+) putting him on pace for star level production. At 1.7 fwar over 213 mlb pa, looks like CF is probably solved for the next 5 seasons.
Blum said something about how they changed either his arm angle or where he threw from off of the rubber.
Just throwing this out there for thought. Is Maldy, with his intangibles and the confidence of his pitchers, indicate a future Manager in the making? The Astros have a history of catchers turning into managers. Many managers seem to come from the battery of pitcher/catcher. Could Maldy skip the minors and replace Dusty when Dusty retires? Is there a search tool that could list all former Astros Players who later Managed in MLB to see what position they played as a player? Just trying to avoid selective memory.
I have to stand by it though. The starters looked very lackluster for the games following Odo's return. I am hopeful that the good results he showed in his last game continues and the rest of the staff gains some confidence in him. That game was literately against the leagues worst team. Every game they lose helps to cement their place in a draft designed to get them the best players available and to quickly make them competitive again.To say "that organization lacks a motivation to win" is an understatement. I expect the Astros to shut those kind of teams down with relative ease, playing their back ups and getting some rest. We, and more importantly the team will learn a lot in the first few games after the break if he is not traded. When we get back to a more trying schedule and need all hands on deck another shut down pitcher would be nice. After one good game I am not ready to say that Odorizzi is that guy.
