So is this our best lineup? 2B Altuve SS Pena LF Alvarez 1B Christian C Diaz 3B Paredes DH Caratini CF Meyers RF Dubon I really want to see us Pena in the 2 hole. Hopefully Espada can do the right thing.
Right. Looked fine to me. He just has to get used to starting it a little more to the left side since it will tail back some when he throws that hard.
My guess for opening day, assuming a RHP is on the mound: LF Altuve 3B Paredes DH Alvarez 1B Walker C Diaz RF McCormick 2B Rodgers SS Pena CF Meyers If I were GM/Manager and had to win one game against a RHP tomorrow, my lineup would be: LF Altuve DH Alvarez 3B Paredes 1B Walker C Diaz RF Gamel SS Pena 2B Guillorme CF Meyers What I hope the lineup looks like at the end of the season: 2B Matthews DH Alvarez 3B Paredes LF Altuve RF Smith 1B Walker C Diaz CF Melton SS Pena
At his best, Peña has been a .320 obp/.715 ops guy. Paredes, at his best, is a .355/.840 hitter. That's a big difference. You want guys on base for Yordan if you are not batting him in the 2 hole. A part of me would be tempted to put Yainer in the 2 hole with Yordan protecting him and making pitchers try to attack him in the zone. He was a .325 obp guy last season, but with Yordan behind him, I could see a huge improvement and a monster season. Paredes is going to get walks on his own and I don't think it would benefit him as much hitting in front of Alvarez. He has a much lower avg. than Yainer on pitches in the zone.
Can someone give me some 411 on Fleury. I see his name from time to time. Did well today. Is he someone I should be watching?
He’s the classic Astros $10k international signee who comes out of nowhere to be a good MLB SP. That said he’s not like Framber or Garcia or Javier, as he doesn’t have the kind of stuff they have; his FB sits low 90s and his other pitches don’t appear to be super great, although his change up is probably above average now. Based on stuff and physical projection he’s likely no more than a #4 starter but we hopefully have all learned our lesson that when a young Dominican or Venezuelan pitcher starts getting hype and having success in the upper levels of Houston’s farm, there’s a chance he will be a playoff caliber SP even if he doesn’t throw high 90s heat or seem to have plus secondary pitches in the minors. He is probably one of Houston’s 5-6 best pitching prospects but in terms of ceiling and overall prospect value he’s well below guys like Blubaugh, Ullola, Ethan Pecko, and Anderson Brito. He looks likely to start the season in AAA which makes it very likely he reaches the majors this season in some capacity. If I were betting on his future I would label him as an Urquidy type of pitcher in terms of overall value.
Paredes is a WAY better option for the #2 spot. You can't put a guy who is terrible vs RHP and an average MLB hitter overall in your #2 spot. He needs to hit 9th. Meyers needs to hit 9th Gamel or McCormick needs to hit 9th. The problem is 1/3 of the starters need to hit 9th. But the worst thing you can do is build your entire lineup around an average player and move actual good players down taking PAs away from them. How stupid is that?
I think there are several people on here that are holding onto the idea that the key to unlocking Pena is him hitting in the 2 hole in front of Yordan. They need to let it go though…he’s never going to be the 2022 playoff Pena. It’s clear what he is at this point.
If Cam Smith is hitting in front of Diaz and Walker by the end of the season, I don’t even care what else happens. That would likely extend this run in itself.
Walker and Diaz are good hitters, but they are not great. Both guys are in the 50-100 range of best hitters in the league. If Cam Smith is going to be the star hitter we all hope he is, he will likely produce more than Walker and Diaz.
@Nook @Snake Diggit I see Gomez is 2-4 with a couple of SBs. I know it’s only 4 ABs, but that’s certainly encouraging, on paper at least. He doesn’t get mentioned much as an exciting prospect any more, but he’s only 19, and pretty athletic with a sweet swing. It’d be nice if he got some shine back this year. I haven’t seen any of his ABs, any idea how he has looked?
I know he let him go, but what’s Urquidy’s deal? Surely someone will sign him when his rehab is complete — what’s the timetable there? I would love to bring him back even though that ship has likely sailed.
He posted a video of himself in early January throwing long toss. He said he was feeling good and trying to get ready as soon as possible to sign with a team, but there has been nothing since then.
Man, Altuve in LF just is odd, we just extended the best Astro (IMO) in history and now he can't even field the bag at second...........I get it but dam, that's a ton of $$ to try and find a spot for him. I hope it works out, but I guess we have to do this for the entirety of the contract. This is the price you pay when you sign an aging legend
