I think the Astros are more than capable of winning the division (a bad one) and trading Keppinger is just stupid. Plus 2012 I think we have an excellent chance of bringing back Roy O and being neck and neck with the Phillies with Roy, Myers, Happ, Wandy and most likely Lyles.
Brewers improved this offseason with Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum. Cardinals should be good again next year. The Reds are only going get better with all their young talent. Cubs and Astros will be fighting for 4th and 5th place all year IMO. As for Roy, he has said he will consider retiring in 2011. If he doesn't, I don't think he wants to come to the Astros unless they are World Series contenders which they likely won't be for a pretty long time.
This may be news to you, but the NL Central isn't a bad division anymore. The Reds are loaded with cheap young talent, the Cardinals still have the vicious one-two punches of Pujols & Holliday and Carpenter & Wainright, and the Brewers just coupled their second-ranked offense with what will likely be a well above average starting rotation. We have close to zero chance of winning the division. I like Keppinger, and wouldn't mind keeping him, but if we can get legitimate prospects back for him (a big "if"), I am all in favor of trading him and continuing the rebuilding process.
Here is a link to John Sickels' Minor League prospects blog. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/12/28/1900512/houston-astros-top-20-prospects-for-2011 Perhaps some of you are familiar with him and his opinions and think he's garbage. I don't really know. I just like seeing someone's opinions on prospects and their rankings of them. It's also nice to see some names that you might not have heard before and look up their stats. As you can see, after Lyles and DeShields, it's kind of downhill... probably not news to anybody.
Keppinger to undergo surgery, likely to miss start of season http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110106&content_id=16399966&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou
Seriously...how can you be in a walking boot for 6 weeks and not figure out sooner that surgery would be needed? I broke an ankle and was in a cast for less time than that. I feel a lot better about the Hall signing now though.
I just hope the kids progress this season, with the Texans and current Rockets situation there's not much to look forward to Go Astros!
These are fun articles for now... but honestly, they never ever ever (ever) end up to be projecting these guys correctly. And it goes both ways.... highly touted prospects end up being duds, and guys you never heard of are the ones who stick around the big leagues and make a name for themselves. That being said, superstar talent is evident from the start in most systems... and the Astros do not have anybody that screams "superstar" just yet. Lets see what that 16 year old does when he starts playing some short season ball.
Did you wear one of these boots, though? When I broke my ankle and wore a boot, it was the only time I didn't feel pain. As soon as I took it off and lost that stability, the pain came shooting back. I can totally see how he wore it and wasn't aware that it hadn't fully healed. I'm also guessing that the doctors told him to wear it for 6 weeks and then come back to see where he stands. Turns out it didn't heal as they liked so surgery became necessary.
The slow climb continues but looking better... @zacharylevine: Astros' top 10 prospects from @BaseballAmerica : http://bit.ly/hI6iDL Villar at #3 suprises me but everything else seems right on for me. Saying that, I've been high on Villar sense we got him in the Oswalt deal and like to see him get some time at AA this season.
Definitely back on the right track as far as rebuilding the farm system goes. Hopefully, the new owner will allow this trend to continue. As head-scratching as Wade's major league moves can be, he certainly knows how to build from the ground up. There isn't much more on the major league 25 that's going to bring in top prospects, so hopefully they will continue to scout and draft as well as they have been the last couple of years.
I'm surprised to see Jio ahead of Martinez. I guess BA looks at upside moreso than I would...based on results I'd say JD should definitely be ahead. I can't WAIT to see Ovando play state-side. Granted I've only seen the you-tube video that was posted when they signed him, but he looks like the real deal.
Our patience is finally starting to pay off. We got stopgaps on the MLB level and their replacements making their way through the system.
