Been busy all day but want to chime in. I agree he'll strike out a ton. But if we can help him adjust at AAA while the pressure's still off, I'm hoping he'll come down from record-breaking K's to something that makes him sustainable as a star. If it's really bad, all the HRs in the world can't save him (at least, he won't be a *star*) I think they can try to help him with that approach at AAA or in the ML. But the issue will be pressure. As a kid--and one who is purported to be a star and the current face of the franchise (if he comes up)--he'll feel an enormous weight on his shoulders. It's pretty tough to focus on improving when you're just trying to perform in a new situation. Short answer--I think he can improve anywhere, but the pressure makes it easier to improve in AAA. And something as important as his K rate should be improved sooner than later
At this point, he's gonna strike out... a lot. Younger players are striking out at a high clip across the board. But, he'll be able to do some good things when he doesn't... the same things that made him a first round pick in the first place. Even if he improves at AAA when the pressure is off, things will be completely different again at a higher level when the pressure is on... again, he's going to have to make an adjustment to MLB pitching regardless of when he starts. Lastly, there's really no pressure on this team... there's no pressure to win, there's no media demanding excellence, there's no fans that call out the players when they fail. If you ever needed the closest thing to AAA in an MLB simulation setting its going on now in Houston. Hell, they've got guys up in the big leagues now who are younger and less prolific than Springer has been who have no business being on any other major league roster... and I wouldn't be arguing as much if Springer wasn't continuing to tear the cover off the ball at AAA making the whole exercise of keeping him there seem quite stifling and almost counter-productive (if he consistently kills everything he makes contact with... its going to lead to more swings and likely more K's... but also more production).
I could see that. Dave Kingman with speed and a better batting average. I think Chris Carter just struck out trying to get on the bus.
Hmm.. Dr. Nick huh? Discussions are always fun. Not saying anyone's wrong or anything, just that all I see lately are, why the Astros are trading said established players, and one question after another. Believe me, I'd LOVE to see Springer get pushed to the ML roster and watch him play. As a fan, it's exciting for me. As someone who studied the team, I see the benefits of waiting in order to maximize his output along with several other players. I laugh about the record as much as the next person, but I completely agree with their rebuilding plan. I cringed when I watched the Astros fail to sign their top picks and depleted their farm system to upgrade a middle-of-the-pack team in hopes of miracle runs. Sometimes, I wonder if the 2005 World Series run and the playoff surges in 2004 and 2005 killed their future. I wouldn't take those years back for anything, but it felt like they don't know when to quit (which is good and bad). With regards to trades, the one peeve I've had is how everyone seems to be so opinionated (as opposed to having an opinion) about every trade that the Astros made without much standard knowledge to it. Trading Pence, Berkman, Bourn, Norris, Veras, Melancon, etc. is exactly what the Astros really needed to do. Sure, payroll was slashed, and people always want to use the "cheap" word associated with it. In my opinion, if the team won't cut it, slashing payroll to build for a better day sounded perfectly reasonable to me. If a prospect don't seem to work out, trade for the future. This is a rebuilding team. As much as I would love the excitement of Springer coming up and hopefully make a name for himself, I could also see how waiting the time period to keep him for an extra year and starting the clock as a strategic move. Does it seem wrong in some ways, certainly. You are potentially withholding paying someone that could very well have deserved it years before they finally "get paid." Signing bonus aside, you make as much as the next person until you make the majors. With that aside, the business point of view has to be respected as well. Personally, I felt that Springer would benefit from having more attention tilted towards him in terms of staff availability and mechanics coaches in the AAA level. More coaches hired in the ML is there to work on retrieving lost mechanics and strategies. I don't believe most of the ML specialized coaches are there to help develop a player. And when this new crop of Astros players are ready and thrown into the fire, it is going to be a very exciting time. It's just my opinion, but it seems to make business and strategic sense to me. Sure, he may loose speed and athleticism in a few years, but we're not talking about a few years, we are talking about a few months of trying to prepare him to be the best player he could be and increase his success rate before he steps on to the big show. Besides, if we bring him up now and he struggles with lost mechanics, it could hurt him in the long run as well, just as much as he could adjust and be great. I'm hoping for the latter.
He will probably strike out a lot, but I think if the Astros can help build his mechanics and prepare him with tools and information on how to minimize that, his psyche would not be hit as hard. Help him with the tools to succeed by not throwing him into the fire when we have other options and players in the ML who may very well deserve the chance to prove themselves too. There will always be pressure, but not like the ML level. He will have new pressures put on him as a potential star. The fans and the Astros expects him to be their guy going forward, and that's a lot of pressure. It takes time to build his momentum and confidence. He's doing great, but he could get better. The Astros has no pressure to WIN, but Springer has a great deal of pressure to perform once he makes it to the ML. I suspect that if they do things right, he is going to come in and take the ML by storm.
Sure, but if he doesn't... it does not mean he's doomed for a sub-par career. He's probably going to need at least 150AB's before he finds his comfort zone. Most young players don't come in and succeed right away... I can only think of one recent example that was a HOFer from his very first AB (Pujols).
