Astros Prospects

Name one prospect that they "held back", who should have been pitching or playing earlier?

 

Robbie Wine ... and they are still holding him back

 

Chris Burke, duh. They ruined him.

 

Right now for some reason, they are holding JD Martinez back in their system. I have no idea why. I mean he's 23, I think if he dominates one level, you should promote him quicker rather than letting him waste the rest of the year in a league you know he is going to dominate. If he does the same thing next year, there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be in the league at this time next year or by 2012.

 

The Astros have an all-star LF
The Astros have an all-star RF
The Astros reigning team MVP is in CF.

Rushing Martinez up through the system does nothing for them. The team needs to improve at the catcher position, so Castro has been rushed. The team needs starting pitching, so Lyles has been rushed. OF is where they don't need help, so no need to rush him.

I'm certainly on the side of promoting him, but I have no reason to expect him in the big leagues next year. If they start him off in AA next year, then it is fine. He will be right on track for when an opening on the ML team opens.

 

Martinez's numbers would just be more ridiculous at Lancaster, so there is no reason to promote him to high A. There is no room for him at CC or RR, so he's in a bad spot.

 

What are your thoughts on him? Tell me about his game, his fielding prowess, his swing, his approach...anything. You seem to be quite familiar with him.

Do you think the Astros have seen him once or twice? Do you think that maybe there are reasons why he is where he is, and that maybe they have a plan for his development? Or just maybe he's Roberto Petagine redux?

Statsheet scouting rocks.

 

Lol I didn't know suggesting that we move up our best hitter in Lexington would piss off so many people. He's probably going to get moved to first at some point. Chris Shelton needs to be released and Koby should be bumped up to AAA. I'm pretty sure we have absolutely no future plans with Chris so what's the point of him blocking Koby or anyone else.

 

IMO Martinez is being held in Lexington due to learning the outfield position (he doesn't have the strongest arm) and the fact that there is no room for him in AA or AAA. If TJ Steele continues to struggle at AA, then I could see Martinez being promoted to take his place.

Lyles is not being rushed. The Astros wanted to see if he could handle the jump to AA with the intention if he struggled he would get moved back to Lancaster (this is what I heard on the radio at the beginning of the season by Ricky Bennett, who also talked about the adverse pitching conditions at Lancaster). So far he is pitching great and looks like he could make the majors by next year, but IMO should stay in the minors to work on his pitching repetoire. The Texas League (AA Corpus) is the perfect place for Lyles to work on his pitches (curveball, slider) and work on his control. If he has been pitching this great so far without a good off-speed pitch, then imagine what he could do with them (his last start case in point).

The Astros don't necessarily hold players back, but they do hold onto them for far too long. Burke was in a tough position because he was drafted as a SS and it was quickly seen after he began his minor league career that he would have to make the move to second base. Burke also had a future HOFer at his position and considering the fact that he came out of college, he would have been 24-25 by the time he made his debut with any organization. Jason Lane is another one, he was in the minors for way too long, but the FO didn't want to trade him. You had Richard Hidalgo, Lance Berkman (who was also platooning with Daryle Ward) and Moises Alou on the outfield at one point in time, where was there room for Lane? Prospects are only as good as what they produce. If your prospect comes up and produces at a major league level (even as an average player) then you've gotten production out of him. If said prospect is traded and nets you a player that helps you produce on the field (playoff run, winning WS) then you've gotten production out of said player.

 

Its the temerity in thinking that from looking at a stat sheet you can provide better scouting advice than a team full of professional player development people. It is hubris.

 

repped.

 

Chris Shelton exists at AAA as a solid veteran that could be called up if an injury happens. I'm sure at the end of the season he will look at the best option to make a ML roster, which may or may not be here. It doesn't look good right now for Berkman to get traded, but if he did we'd have a ML veteran to come in and play 1B.

 

Perhaps rush wasn't the right word, but a lack of pitching talent both in the majors and in the minors is why he is in AA so quickly. And I admit, I'm pretty happy he skipped Lancaster after watching all of his former rotation mates go there and have their numbers balloon.

 

Then why even have this thread? I mean, there's no point in talking about Astros prospects if the team knows better than all of us. We should just accept whatever the team tells us without question!

Some of you guys need to relax. Posters are just giving their opinion and you want to jump down their throats. And for the record, we have neither an all-star in LF nor RF. Carlos Lee shouldn't be the reason you keep a guy in A ball. We're going to suck for at least the next two years -- I've accepted that. It's fun to pay more attention to our minor leaguers now than ever.

Thank you Jared for giving a reasonable explanation instead of trying to jump on someone. We're all better off for it.

 

I have no problem with people saying, "Gee, I wonder why the Astros have not sent JD Martinez to AA. I can't say that I've seen him play, but I heard Bill James say he probably should be at the next level, and on the basis of his stats, he seems to have his current level figured out. I also heard a first hand account from another team's scout who saw him play several games and thought he should be promoted. And if you compare what he is currently doing to the career trajectory of players X, Y and Z who were in the same position, it seems like he could benefit."

I do have a problem with people saying, "Goddam stupid cheap Astros scouts don't know nothin'. I went to the Astros website and this kid I've never heard of is hitting .370 in A ball! If I was running the Astros, this JD Martinez would be in the Majors and he would win MVP this year (even thought I've never watched him play). Stupid cheap grocer, and his stupid yes men just trying to save a buck!"

In other words, informed and self-aware opinions are great. Stupid know-it-all opinions are not. If you think ill-informed rants should be cherished and nurtured as a positive contribution, I think we just have a basic difference of opinion.

 

if I could rep that last post I so would.

 

Pence was an all-star last year. He got off to a crappy start in April, but has been much better in May and June. For all we know Carlos Lee will never be good again, but he has a large contract and isn't going anywhere.

 

Your right Pence made the all-star team but he isn't going to be a perennial all-star. You could make a strong argument he didn’t have an all-star season last year. Outfielders like Andre Either, Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Braun, Jason Heyward should be all-stars in the NL for the foreseeable future.

 

i honestly don't understand how the hell any of you honestly could care that much about whether or not some bozo gets promoted from single A to double A.