Over last 2 weeks, Giles has struck out 54.6% of batters in last two weeks (4 games) and not allowed a run or a walk. He's basically one double from being perfect. Granted, rest of the pen has been a pile of dog crap over that period.
Reed's problem isn't that he's blocked. It is that he hasn't shown he can hit. Beltran will likely not be kept as a player. Gattis is a RHB so Reed would make the strong side of a platoon at DH assuming he can hit. Gattis also catches a lot against LHPs. All Reed has to do is hit.
OPS of .940 in the minor leagues. How can he show he can hit MLB pitchers if he doesn't get the plate appearances? With the caliber of the lineup we have, I'm not suggesting he should get plate appearances. But I guess I disagree, he's blocked by a combination of Gurriel, Beltran and Gattis this year, and I don't see that changing much next year even though Beltran will drop off the roster.
I'm going to disagree on Giles. He's got a 1.35 era in his last 14 outings (13-1/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 h, 16k, 6 bb, 7 saves).
He got 141 PAs last year. His OPS of 0.830 in AAA this year put him behind Moran and White as the corner IF up and down guys. He did not hit well enough to force his way on roster that is getting below average hitting at DH and 1B relative to other 1B/DHs. Astros aren't going to just gift wrap a spot for a minor leaguer. If he was a SS or a 2B, he would be blocked. Reed is up now. There is still about 5-6 weeks before Correa is back. All that stands in his way is Tyler White for PAs.
I'd say this current stretch is the best Giles has been as an Astro... he just gets used so infrequently as a lot of their wins are like last night's. Devo, Harris, Giles with occasional Luke and Liriano should be more than enough for the playoffs. Most bullpens aren't 5-6 deep. If you include Peacock/Fiers/Morton it becomes even deeper. For now, It would be nice if one of Musgrove, Feliz, Martes would get their head out of their ass and pitch with a semblance of effectiveness consistently.
Based on how he looked last night, he clearly did not learn plate discipline, nor self control at the buffet, during his time back in the minors. Of course getting hits drowns out all criticism, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear Charlie Palillo continuing to make fun of his body habitus when he's back on the air this September.
Right at the end, you can see Derek Fisher pulling out a cell phone- they can have those on them during a game? I suppose so. Anyway, great game last night. I was very close to right field, so that DF home run was the closest I've ever seen a home run hit. In the bottom of the 8th inning, when the Rays put that position player in there to pitch, the outfielder Smith (replaced Souza) was more interested in talking to the fans behind him- we were laughing b/c he would talk to them and turn around just in time as the pitch was being thrown.
You are correct, I should not have added Giles to my list of crappiness exhibited by the bullpen over the past couple weeks. But that doesn't change the fact that the bullpen is a hot mess currently. We're hoping Harris comes back healthy, Devo is just in a temporary funk, and that Luke can show some consistency, perhaps even in high leverage situations. So there's a lot riding on hope. And even if that works out, the rest of the pen is still a mess.
Game 2 of 15. Section 109, Row 10. This is turning out to be a pretty good deal. 15 tickets for $99 averages out to 6.50 or so a seat, and for the last 2 games, I've gotten within 10-15 rows of the field. Will post pictures and videos later tonight.
If the Bullpen is entirely resting on hope, like the rebel alliance, the best hope films all end badly: 1. Shawkshank Redemption ( Harris ) Wanted con with a dead wife running from law who now lives in isolation on a beached boat in Mexico. 2. Star Wars ( Luke Gregerson ) : 8 movies in, and the rebellion is no further along than they were when the movie opened. And their only hope was killed and disrobed. 3. The bucket List ( Guduan and Tony Sipp ) : Live on the edge. Exciting. But they died. Literally. 4. Forest Gump ( Gustave ): Bubba dies, his mom dies, his wife dies, his friend loses his legs, and he ends up in the back end of Georgia, right back where he started. Box of chocolates. 5. Slumdog Millionaire ( Liriano ): Brother and Mother dead, and beaten for just being on a game show. God is good? 6. The Kings Speech ( Devenski ) : "You still stammered on the 'W'."I did." And that's how it ends. 7. A Beautiful Mind ( Feliz ) : Am I insane, or sane, I don't know. But I still have schizo. 8. Philadelphia ( Ken Giles ): He dies. in Philadelphia no less.
I was in the right field bleachers last night. Both fisher and souza had laminated scouting reports in their back pockets. No cell phones lol
