I'd rather able to cover ground than throw lasers. That being said it would be nice for us to get an outfielder that had a cannon.
Dezenzo in left Chaz in right. I see no reason to think that will change unless Dezenzo looks crazy good. The Astros fear poor range at MMP more than a poor arm in RF.
Few years too late, Jon. That said, he’s a good enough natural athlete that if he really has lost a bunch of weight, he might be a viable 3rd string LF, which could help his chances of being the 13th man.
Jon's bat will determine if he stays in the league. The performance of other fringe players in camp will determine if he is on the Astros. I honestly think his 2024 performance will get him claimed or wanted in a trade if he doesn't make the roster, but his bat needs to take a step up to remain in the league as he gets into arbitration. Taking a deep dive into his numbers I was shocked to see that his FB% was very good. I thought he hit too many GB but that's not the case at all. 2024: His GB% was only 39.7% vs MLB avg of 43.6% He hit plenty of FB- 30.8% vs MLB avg of 23.5% Plenty of his FB were HR- 9.8% vs MLB avg of 9.2% His BABIP was fine- .299 vs .MLB avg of .296 The issue, as I see it, is that he simply needs to be more aggressive swinging the bat. Especially with 2 strikes. 37.3% of his strikeouts were looking while the MLB average is 23.2%. Now, I don't have his breakdown of these between RHP and LHP. Maybe he will never be good vs LHP, but 70% of MLB pitchers are RH. But if he would just swing the bat more with 2 strikes, he would probably improve to a 110-115 OPS+/wRC+ (2024 was 103 and 105 respectively) and remain in the league long enough to secure his full pension. With his lack of speed and defensive ability/flexibility he needs to be at least 110. (and maybe bring the Astros back a prospect or two)
Agree with everything, just would note that Singleton is 33 years old and has 2 years of service time. He will maybe get arbitration salaries for a couple years if the numbers are low, but he maybe has 2-3 seasons left in his career if he’s lucky/good. If I’m Singletom, my goal is to hit hit hit (making the change you suggest) this season, whether on the Astros as a mostly-pinch hitter, on a crummy team as a platoon 1B (best case scenario for him), or on somebody’s AAA roster. Have a good enough year to get a big league deal (or arbitration contract) for 2026 and then play well enough to earn a 2 year deal (or continued arb contracts) in the $5M-6M/yr range to finish his career. That’s absolute best case scenario for him.
Love our sports teams. Tight knit clubs. Mentioned Holiday mentoring Reed a few months ago saw the same thing again vs the Wolves last night. Dubon yesterday to Matt&Ross: "You see what is going on around the league and I still can't believe 'Ho-si', a Hall of Famer is just willing to play LF for the team. a hall of famer doing what's best for the team." The enthusiasm was next level fan boy. alluding to Devers not happy with Alejandro taking over his corner. Jake on 'Ho-si': " It feels great having someone of his caliber asking me for advice on what I see out there. It's crazy. " Ho-si is not a new hitting sensation from Japan. Just what Dubon calls Altuve.
Best lineups using ZIPS projections (assuming Alvarez won’t play the field much): Vs LHP: LF Altuve very good DH Alvarez elite 1B Walker elite 3B Paredes elite C Diaz very good SS Pena good RF McCormick good 2B Rodgers ok CF Meyers ok Vs RHP: 2B Altuve good DH Alvarez elite 1B Walker very good 3B Paredes very good C Diaz good RF Gamel ok SS Pena ok LF Trammell ok CF McCormick ok Singleton and Caratini are among the Astros top 9 projected hitters vs RHP, but defensive limitations prevent them from playing regularly. It’s notable that Dubon is not one of Houston’s projected 9 best hitters against either side; he is best used as a defensive replacement. If Altuve is to be a full time OF then there’s not much drop off from Trammell to Guillorme against RHP. There’s also not much drop off from Rodgers to Dubon against LHP.
Gusto is looking really good. Started off with 7 straight strikes and k’ed the first two batters. Broadcast doesn’t have any velo readings.
In this interview with Todd and Geoff, Jim Crane looks worn down and doesn’t seem very excited about being the owner of this team.
Didn't know Luda's clean version of Area Codes went "I Got Pros in different area codes" until Sparky and crew roll up the 3rd inning with it on the broadcast.
I don't think Arenado will be bad. I just don't think he will be particularly good. But IMO this report means he will be an Astro.
