Former number 3 overall pick(2015 draft- 1 pick after Bregman, 2 picks before Tucker). Had a 4+ WAR season not too long ago. Former Gold Glover. Has kinda been derailed by injuries at various points. Never realized his full potential. Only 28 years old
Brendan rogers home road splits last year were horrific. I’m not optimistic, but it can’t hurt to take a look
The more I see Brendan Rogers career home road splits, the less I like this. I would rather give 190lbs Dubon a chance to break out at 2B, and give some of the kids in OF a chance to break out. I don’t want to give Rogers ABs at the expense of player development. Also, it seems he doesn’t hit RH pitching, so he isn’t even a platoon option. No thanks.
This was a back up plan that Brown had discussed with his agent. He wanted to come to Houston and with Altuve likely seeing time in the outfield - there is a possible opening. Former top prospect and has a lot of talent. Really didn’t like playing in Colorado, feels it has hurt his career a lot. Astros are going to work on his swing to try to get him to lift the ball - he does that and he will be a very good player. His other concern is health, he has a history of getting banged up and some concerns about long term health. Excellent signing for Brown and perfect fit for the player as well. Far from a guarantee but has a better chance of making a big difference than anyone out there. Defensively he is an upgrade at second over Altuve and with Walker over Abreu- the Astros have gone from the right side of the infield being defensively weak, to one of the best in the league. Fans complain about players always taking the most money - this guy took less to join the Astros.
His situation isn’t typical. He has long complained about playing in Colorado because the conditions are so different than on the road. He has claimed it impacts his swing. Some of the advanced numbers align with him having swing and launch angle issues. If those are moderated even somewhat by being in a more neutral hitting environment, he will be really good. The bat speed is good, power is better than good - but he has been hitting a ton of ground balls. He was very good only a few years ago, he is a pretty good fielder as well. I am not excited about the signing. There is a decent chance that he is a real positive for the Astros. At worst he is a league average bat and solid glove off then bench and he isn’t an old player either. Also - there is a better chance of Rogers breaking out than Dubon if given 500 at bats. There is just more talent there.
Rockies players home/road splits are meaningless and have zero predictive value. Rockies hitters perform worse on the road than any other team since the quality of pitching they face changes due to the high altitude at home. Any hitter that leaves Coors sees their away numbers go up and home numbers go down.
The splits are very bad - but less concerned about it when it is a talented player, someone that has good physical measurables (bat speed) and someone with a defect (launch angle/ground ball rate) that can be related to the extremes of Coors Field- especially when the player complained about it while in the environment. We will have to wait and see - most projects don’t work out but I am optimistic that it at least has a chance to work.
I think this is a solid signing, even if it doesn’t work out. Brown is betting on upside and their hitting approach helping Rodgers. Looks like Altuve in left is going to become a reality.
Excellent minor league signing, but I actually think Guillorme is a better fit for the roster than Rodgers. Both are very good defensively but Guillorme has a better track record against RHP and rarely strikes out, which are the 2 things the Astros need.
