Here's the commentary they had for each one: Jordan Lyles Age: 19 (DOB: Oct. 19, 1990) Bats: Right Throws: Right Position: Pitcher Organization: Houston Astros Top '09 Level: A (Lexington) 2009 ranking: UR -- sleeper Lyles was tabbed an overdraft by some clubs when Houston took him in the sandwich round in the 2008 Rule 4 draft, but he established himself as their best prospect with a very strong full-season debut in the Sally League at age 18. Lyles frequently used a cutter as an amateur, but the Astros made him shelve it and had him throw a traditional curveball as his primary breaking ball to go with the above-average changeup he already had. His fastball is average now at 89-92, but he can show a hitter 94, and the changeup has hard, late tailing action like a two-seamer. By the end of the season, Lyles had resumed throwing the cutter, but only after some tinkering by Houston's player-development people helped him convert it into more of a true slider, giving him a chance to be a four-pitch guy. Lyles' control is already above-average and his command projects as the same or better. With the potential for him to add velocity, given his 6-foot-4 frame as he approaches the legal drinking age, Lyles could become a No. 2 starter or more for a team that hasn't developed anything close to that Jason Castro Age: 22 (DOB: June 18, 1987) Bats: Left Throws: Right Position: Catcher Organization: Houston Astros Top '09 Level: AA (Corpus Christi) 2009 ranking: 96 Castro doesn't have much star potential but does project as a solid everyday catcher if he can answer some lingering questions about his defense, which has a few teams questioning whether he will be able to play the position in the big leagues. I think he can, since he has the arm strength and enough athleticism to learn the position with more instruction and reps. His swing is very simple, with a short path to the ball and some loft, and he keeps his weight back well. But because he's not a big guy and lacks great bat speed, he probably projects to have only average power. Still, he should hit for average and get on base. His defense is probably adequate now to play in the big leagues, especially with nothing blocking him in Houston, and with some improvement he could be an average regular for an organization that hasn't had that behind the plate in a decade. Jiovanni Mier Age: 19 (DOB: Aug. 26, 1990) Bats: Right Throws: Right Position: Shortstop Organization: Houston Astros Top '09 Level: Rookie (Greeneville) 2009 ranking: IE Mier was the top pure shortstop in the 2009 draft, which reflects his defensive and offensive promise as well as the lean crop of shortstops in last year's amateur crop. (The upcoming draft doesn't look any better in that department, so Mier's relative value seems to keep going up.) Mier has the potential to be a plus defender at short, with good hands, a plus arm, and easy transfers, but needs work on details like footwork, maintaining his arm slot and reading ground balls, all of which can come with instruction and reps in pro ball. As a hitter, he's got good plate coverage and showed solid pitch recognition in pro ball; his hands are quick and he doesn't project for much power, although he did hit seven home runs in short-season ball and may end up in the 15-20 home run range. He's an above-average runner. True shortstops who can hit are incredibly valuable at the big league level -- look at how all-glove-no-bat shortstops are getting paid in the majors right now -- and Mier has the ceiling of a top offensive producer for his position.
I hope this writer understands that we had Brad Ausmus at catcher for a good majority of the past decade. So I would say we have had a regular at catcher....
Key word was average. He was saying Ausmus was a below average catcher. Offensively theres no questioning that.
can someone please find out more about this kid in the Dominican Republic. Edgar Ferreira the Astros inked him for $350,000...he's 17
Hes 17 and throws in the low 90s. There really isn't much else to know about him until he gets into our minor league system.
I've never heard of the Astros signing raw young talent for that much before. I hope this kid pans out.
The astros.com article on his signing said he was one of the top Dominican prospects, and he was initially looking for over a million. Lo got 250K reportedly. Part of it is the Astros really haven't signed many international free agents in the 2000s. They signed all those Venezuelan players when they were the only team in Venezuela. I'm really happy to see them bringing in more international prospects. I'm guessing we see Lo on the big club sometime this year.
Allllrighty then. So if Ausmus is a DH, then we have a plausible statement. Very few clubs have true offensive threats at catcher. Ausmus, at the plate, was average-to-just-below-average most of his years at catcher when compared to the rest of the league. But you see, half the game is played without a bat in one's hand, and for every plate appearance Ausmus made he caught like half a dozen innings or more. And he and Matheny are the best defensive catchers of their generation. So for some journalist to say Ausmus was a below-average catcher is just stupid. A lot of guys underplay the importance of defense. That's a mistake.
Really Ausmus through a large part of the last decade where he was great at game calling, but he wasn't that good at throwing out runners. Even in his best season in Houston(2nd go around) he posted an OPS of .682, which was 9th in the NL among catchers. His big problem was a lack of power. I'm not complaining about Ausmus. I'm a Brad fan, but he was below average offensively.
really Ausmus was fine throwing out runners until his last few seasons.. which was understandable given his age
But C defense is so much more than game calling and throwing out runners. Also, if you're going to talk about throwing out runners, it's a hell of a lot more difficult when Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens let runners get halfway to 2nd before delivering the ball to you (hyperbole being employed) than with Reynolds, Hampton, and Lima, who had quick deliveries. Not knocking Pettitte and Clemens -- but those slow deliveries make it hard on a C to throw out runners. That notwithstanding, pitchers loved Brad Ausmus because:<ul><li>He had an incredibly thorough, studied knowledge of league hitters and continued to add to it;</li><li>The target he put up (yes, it matters how one holds the mitt in place and when he puts it there);</li><li>The way he receives the ball, with very little movement of the mitt (that wins you a few strike calls);</li><li>his knowledge of their own mechanics and his willingness to tell them when they're dropping the shoulder or arm slot or opening up, etc;</li><li>the way he stopped the ball with his body and rarely attempted to "backhand" a pitch--that guy until the last couple years almost *never* had passed balls, and saved the P quite a few wild pitches!</ul> I could go on. His footwork was great, too. And by footwork, I mean how quick he was on his feet to throw. Ausmus put on an absolute freaking defensive clinic every time he was behind the plate. It was a real pleasure to watch. I would agree that we needed more offense in many of those years, but still -- that defense was simply awesome.
A bit of hyperbole, don't you think? For the record, Ausmus caught 15,000+ innings and made 7,000+ plate appearances, which comes out to a little more than 2 innings for every plate appearance.
Runners are successful about 70% of the time. For his career he caught 35%. For the last 7 years in Houston it was 29%. In 2001 he threw out 48%. Your right that he was fine for most of that period, and at one time he was great at catching base runners.
I didn't think it was hyperbolic. I looked up the stats when I saw your first line, not even noticing you had already done the work. But if we *conservatively* say 3 hitters per inning, then he caught 6.4 plate appearances for every one time he came up to bat. So, a catcher's defense is simply more important (not infinitely more important, but more important nonetheless) than his offense. The catcher and pitcher, unlike the other 7 guys on the field, are involved in every opponent plate appearance.
ah nostalgia. amazing what a year gone by will do to one's memory. ausmus was worthless both offensively and defensively his past several years here. and even if that wasn't the case, you are drastically overrating whatever defensive value that you think he had. he's the exact same player today and last season as he was his final couple season's here. you think the astros just gave up on him at the perfect time and his "skills" dropped off a cliff in the offseason in between being an astro and a dodger? the way you describe him, team's are insane for not giving him a lucrative starting contract to play last year and this.
