Well, you need to this year. This isn't the 2019 Astros. If you don't hear the word platoon, that means a few guys who are only playable vs a percentage of pitchers play against all/most of them. It would be one thing if they addressed it 4 months ago, but now NOT platooning is almost guaranteeing failure.
Yep. And singleton and his 120 ops+ against RHP would mean they combine to be a really good player. Can you get that production against RHP out of melton or Dezenzo? If you can then and Chas bounces back to what he’s been his entire career minus 2024 that’s 8 spots average or better against LHP and 7 average or better against RHP. You made a really good point the other day about just how much has gone against us the last 2 years (some of it was self inflicted by Dusty) and we still won the division both times. People just ignore that ****. I expect a big time bounce back this year and winning near 100 and that won’t require everything breaking right- just more stuff breaking right than wrong.
Sure. Dunns part of the platoon though playing every day against LHP. 2 platoon spots fixed everything about this lineup. V LHP Diaz Walker Altuve Peña Paredes Dubon Meyers Chas Yordan I believe the worst bat in that lineup would have a 110 ops plus against LHP. Everyone for their career is like 120+ against RHP Diaz/Caratini Walker Altuve Peña Paredes Dezenzo Chas Gamel Yordan. that still leaves Singleton on the bench to plug in for Gamel or Dezenzo on days where Yordan plays LF and you want to go bat heavy (those days for me would be when Framber or Brown pitch at MMP against a RHP starter- that’s an easy defensive day for Yordan in the OF. Call that 35 or so starts out there. that lineup against RHP has 1 below average hitter against RHP (Peña) and 1 that’s average for his career in Chas. Everyone else should be a little bit better than average or awesome. Having 1 bad spot in the lineup, only against RHP, at a star level gold glove short stop is not even remotely close to a problem. Again, the astros just need to have the will to do this. The numbers and fit are absolutely there and you have a versatile enough bench to do it.
What you’re saying makes sense with this lineup. I do think this focus everyone has about platoons overlooks the lopsided nature of those time shares. LHP pitch just over 1/4 of innings, I think the number is 26-28%. It’s about 43-45 games worth of ABs. It’s the tail, not the dog. The far more important question is hitting righties. You are writing in Dezenzo, Chas, and Gamel for that OF. The first is a rookie who underperformed last year, the second is a vet who had a year to forget, and the last is journeyman who has had about 100 ABs in the past two seasons. I’m not sure any of them is a lock, although I am betting Chas returns to form.
This is fandom talking. Which is fine for being a fan, but not when you look at things from an executive perspective like I do. There were obvious shortcomings , the team didn't have hte IT factor, and only lucked into the playoffs by being with historically bad teams like the Rangers and mariners. The Mariners may have had good pitching, but the batting was historically bad. You could also argue the Astro pitching staff replacements overperformed to a degree you couldn't have expected with healthy pitchers and will regress to the mean. Tucker's trajectory last season was 9.5 WAR if playing a full season (which he had done the previous 3 seasons) and while Paredes may be a good bang for your buck guy, he was a 2.7 WAR guy. That's kind.... of a drop off. Wesneski's slider and ability to bait weak contact has potential but he could easily be a run of the mill 8th inning guy 2 years from now. Things don't stand out. Cam Smith is a nice prospect to have but far from a sure thing with all the grounders he hits. Will be nice to see him in action, but for a titan like Tucker, you DEMAND more than a 2.7 WAR infielder on a "nice contract". A GM who wasn't always on the backfoot could easily have gotten Suzuki and Paredes and they would have started negotiations earlier.
Low cost - high potential reward signing. Brown is also talking to a few starting pitchers and relievers that are veterans and have had some solid success in the past. Most of them are still hoping to squeeze out a little more money - but if they can’t they want opportunities to play. If the Astros can add one of those inning eaters - that would be a big boost for the Astros. They wouldn’t be making any post season starts - but 170 innings of competitive innings really helps save the pen and shields against injuries.
lol sure buddy, you’re next level…you know, like an executive. The rest of us are just ignorant fans. I’m sure Jim Crane and Dana Brown are focused on “it factor”. GMAFB Show me a trade for a rental bat where a team got a clearly better deal than Houston got for Tucker.
I was looking at the remaining SP. I have wanted Heaney all offseason and still think he’d be a good add for the right price, but something caught my eye: Lance Lynn has never had a losing W/L record in a big league season. 13 seasons and never a loser; I know that’s not a great stat to go by, but I do think it shows he is a gamer and a winner. I also think he could be a good RP if he shifted there later in the season. He could serve as rotation stability for the first 2 months of the season, then head into a multi inning relief role if/when Garcia, McCullers or rookies present better SP options.
Also singleton 40 games or so a year (out of the 120 or so that you are facing RHP starter). Melton is also available maybe etc. the point is- you only need 1 or 2 to work out, and singleton I’d say is basically a known commodity against RHP. It’s not dire if we play it right, is my point.
I remember not being thrilled that we took Bregman over Rodgers LOL. He's been extremely unremarkable outside of Coors but he does...stop me if you've heard this one...hit lefties well. I guess he's nice roster depth if he's able to be stashed in AAA.
