He's going be invited to spring training and start in AAA. If he keeps progressing, we will see him middle of next season. Dana doesn't fool around. If we don't resign Bregman, it will be quicker than that.
Brice is still raw (with huge talent), so I have no idea what his progression timetable will be. That's kind of up to him, I'd say.
I could see this team being dominant for a long time as long as the pitching is still great. Signing Kikuchi and re-signing Framber is big. They've got the next wave of pitching coming in the low minors and guys like Blubaugh/Gusto to add to the staff. If Matthews can become what they think he can become along with Janek/Baez/Meton not to mention the other talent adeed in the meantime the dynasty should continue. Gotta keep Diaz/Pena and of course Yordan though.
I dont know about this, I dont think Matthews will be ready that quickly. As talented as he is, he's very raw.
It was an overpay because that’s what the market required. It’s not a criticism of the trade or saying the Blue Jays would have taken less. It’s a statement that waiting to the trade deadline this year meant a higher cost. By not addressing starting pitching or a 1B in the offseason or earlier in this season the Astros wound up paying a very high price for pitching and didn’t address 1B. That was a miscalculation based on the expectation there would be more available at the deadline.
^^^^ This The trade is still TBD. The Stros got what they needed to have a chance to win a championship this year.
He’s 22 and in AA. While he may be “raw”, thats the level that if you have success (which he has been)…. You’re essentially fast tracked (presuming nobody blocking). For comparison sake, you can see how long Correa, Bregman, and Tucker took to make the big leagues after they finished the AA season. (Not including Springer as he was intentionally held back). Also, curious as to everybody’s definition of raw…
I've always like Wagner and thought he was an overlooked prospect. Everywhere he's been he's hit. A Pham type career is what I see as Wagner's outcome. Maybe a Belt type career.
It's my view that his strikeouts have been because he hasn't had that many AB's due to injury. I'm thinking this improves with a season in AA/AAA ball next year and maybe a late season call up depending on if he improves and can stay healthy.
I know you dont like Pham as a person, I'm talking about Pham as a player and this would be a good outcome for Wagner.
9 teams in 11 years is a good outcome? I may not be the only guy who doesn't like him. There may be good reasons for that.
I'm talking being able to hit and field the baseball. I've got a friend that's a Cards fan that said Pham is the kinda guy that if you ask him a question he will give you a truly blunt answer. He's also a loner. Come to find out Pham had eyesight issues during the early/mid part of his career. Got that fixed and has been more productive in the later stages of his career.
Also sometimes a ceiling is a ceiling. guys who are good enough to be on a roster, but not good enough to get long term deals, will always be there… in all sports. The Astros currently have at least two of those guys. Maybe three. (And that’s without any attitude issues)
In the middle of a long conversation with Tommy Pham, New York Mets manager Buck Showalter listed the veteran outfielder’s five former teams. As the two sat in Showalter’s office in Kansas City on the day of the trade deadline, discussing yet another new organization for Pham, Showalter noted that the Mets had played against all of Pham’s previous clubs. Then Showalter’s voice softened as he shared an observation that, more than a month later, still resonates with Pham. “It says a lot about a player,” Showalter told Pham, “when you have former teammates, coaches, people in the PR and the media coming up to you during BP from every team you’ve played on.” After responding with a smile, Pham cracked a joke. “Well, you know, Buck,” Pham told Showalter, “I am a very likable guy.” https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4840461/2023/09/07/diamondbacks-tommy-pham-mlb/
The other way to look at this is that the Astros didn't spend oodles of money on a starter that everyone insisted they needed, they lost a crazy number of pitchers to injuries/bad recoveries, and they are still ending the season with 5 top-tier starting pitchers plus a hall of famer. Maybe their lesson is that they trust their farm system and ability to develop or trade for pitchers when necessary instead of needing to start the season with all these free agent pitchers. Spend the money on hitting where they seem to have a lot less success developing talent.
Oh, here's another: Tommy Pham's reputation among baseball fans is that of a hot head and a “clubhouse cancer.” He calls the perception he's been given by fans “comical.” The Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder has had multiple incidents during his career that gave him that persona. https://clutchpoints.com/diamondbacks-news-tommy-pham-clubhouse-cancer-perception Again, 9 teams in 11 years does not happen by accident.
Do you know how ridiculous it is to say a team that has the best starting rotation in baseball and has five playoff level starters on the DL didn’t address starting pitching? The only reason they waited till the deadline is because Garcia, McCullers, Javier and Urquidy all are hurt. Two they expected back at some point and two got hurt during the season. And what the market required is exactly why it wasn’t an overpay. Let’s say you know how good any of these prospects actually are…I mean we know you don’t because the actual people paid to evaluate them barely knows. But let’s say you do. The Dodgers package for Flaherty was about the same. What’s crazy about your mindset is how obvious it is that the Astros know more about pitching than anyone in the industry. They trade for the guy make him throw sliders and now he’s a ******* ace and you think its an overpay? He’s basically been the best pitcher in baseball since we got him. Unless you measure him against the other three guys on our own staff. Questioning this org about pitching is very very dumb. You aren’t smarter than our front office. They haven’t miscalculated **** cause we are in the same place we’ve been for the last 7 years. The favorites that no one wants to face.
Give some respect to JP France's name. And if they knew Javier would get hurt and Garcia was done, I doubt the team would have released Bielak.
I will be shocked if Wagner has a Belt type career (13 yrs, 29.7 bWAR). Or even Pham (11 yrs, 17.7 bWAR). I think Cavan Biggio (6 yrs, 7.0 bWAR) would be much better than most expect. Jack Mayfield (4 yrs, -0.1 bWAR) is also a possibility. I will be shocked if he plays more than 750g in his career.
