Singleton to be optioned to Fresno (to make room for Gomez)

True, but this applies more with VV vs Feldman imo. I don't see how Singleton is a real downgrade to Carter. The only reason why you are playing Carter now is because you hope that he catches fire again like last August. Singleton is a little better defensively than Carter. With Lowrie back, I think you can afford having Singleton at 1st more often.

 

If they are in win-now mode, why is Carter playing at all? I think Luhnow is hoping that Carter catches lightning in a bottle like he did last year so he can flip him for some assets. This is just another form of experimenting, no different than having Singleton take those at bats.

 

it's already august. Mid summer Carter is two months late. I'm starting to think we won't see him at all this year. He still leads in walks. Bat him leadoff ask him to never swing at the pitch. hey, i'm only making realistic suggestions since he's not going anywhere.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about defense... I don't expect Carter to get much 1B time unless there is some sort of re-injury to Lowrie (which allows Marwin/Valbuena to split duties at 1B for now).

So, that being considered... there's not going to be that much benefit to keeping Singleton up here as opposed to releasing Carter. Singleton still has options, so you get to keep both with this move.

And the only time I would guarantee Carter to be in the lineup would be home games against left-handed pitching, where he will be the DH and Gattis will be in LF.

 

Anytime I see a situation like this with Singleton, it makes me think the real reason for demotion has more to do with the things we as fans CAN'T see. The way he carries himself. How he deals with management and coaches. How hard he is working on the areas of his game that are a weakness.

Because all different types of players can go through a good 7-10 game stretch where they put up numbers that seem to indicate you should play them more. The only reason we are questioning it so hard this year is because Carter has sucked so incredibly hard, but I'm pretty confident that Luhnow and Hinch have good reasons for the demotion that are not necessarily reflected by the numbers.

 

And the most logical of reasons being that he has options left.

 

What your saying here plays a part in all the moves they make. But this factor alone isnt the tipping point in most cases. For guys on the bubble, this can be a difference maker though.

 

Just give Tyler White a first baseman glove and trot him out there.

 

If the Astros would have moved on from Carter at the deadline I would have understood it, I even expected it.

But people saying how Carter in a known commodity are correct, but he's known to be good. In 1417 PA over the last 3 seasons he has a very good OPS of .799. This is the first year Carter has been this terrible for this long.

Aside from having a better track record, and being right handed, Singleton also has options. I can certainly see the Astros side of wanting to keep Carter over Singleton to see if he starts producing up to his previous seasons.

 

To me, he still looks overmatched at times... the bulk of his power production last year came in his first wave of plate appearances (and hasn't returned since), so whatever "book" is now out on him is pretty damn effective in neutralizing his ability to drive the ball and he's yet to fully adjust to that (presuming its even possible).

His K/BB ratio did improve a little... but that is basically mitigated by the decreased power from last year.

He's still a work in progress... far from being "finished"... will still benefit from more minor league tutelage.

 

While his cumulative stats won't really show this yet, due to last year's torrid July/August, I still stand by the fact that he's been progressively worse since his impressive debut with Oakland (where Billy Beane promptly and appropriately sold "high" on him).

If you take away the 2 month outlier from last year (which we've yet to figure out what "clicked" at that point... and whatever it was, its clearly come and gone)... and then look at the extended slump he's had this year... you do see a clear pattern of regression that now outweighs any "good" streak he's had.

I will say, however, that with "decreased" playing time... he's had a little more impact in his games/AB's as of late. There's clearly a conscious effort to take more pitches, his overall K/BB is the best its been since 2012, but unfortunately his power numbers are at their overall career worst.

 

Carter walks more than last year, but nearly every other stat is lower.

It would help to know what the root cause is. Physical? Mental? Mechanical?

Whatever the case, those close have to see it. And have addressed it (or attempted to).

The fact that they keep playing him should tell us they see some reason for optimism. Whether that is misplaced hope or some observed improvement I don't know. But I do know that if a better alternative was crystal clear, a more permanent resolve would have already occurred.

 

The Astros clearly think Carter still can do something for them.

They chose not to move him at the deadline, and they are still finding AB's for him, even moving guys around to get him in the lienup. I thought once Lowrie came back he would be reduced to situational starts, but so far he seems to still be playing more often than not.

He did have better AB's during the weekend, whether there's a reason for it or not, I'm not sure. With Lowrie back we certainly don't "have" to play him anymore.

 

Probably because they're in "win-now" mode... where no player besides Correa, Springer and Altuve have the pedigree to guarantee an everyday spot in this lineup.

Carter and Gattis were getting everyday time more by default... and they've since attempted to try to find potential replacement/backup options as its becoming more and more clear that they need to be "better". Castro has also yielded more AB's to Conger as the year has gone on.

The expedited winning has certainly shifted a lot of organizational thinking from previous years where guys were given a longer rope... wouldn't surprise me if Singleton isn't thought of as a for-sure fixture anymore, but since he's already signed to a fixed rate through arbitration, they can hang on to him for depth/possible trade piece/or wait-and-see if he does eventually "get it".

 

We don't really know for sure if they chose not to move him... could have simply been that nobody really wanted him.

He's still going to be an odd-on favorite to start at 1B or DH against left-handed pitching (especially at home, where his numbers are far more palatable)... but I'm thinking his inclusion in the lineup on Saturday could have been due to Marwin getting inexplicably picked off on Friday (or just him needing a breather in-general).

But I still see far more "Carter-by-default" than "we need to get him in here!".

 

I hear people say they keep Carter hoping he finds that "magic in a bottle" and gets hot again

And yet, even when he had a couple of big games he sat the next day. If they really expected him to get hot, I don't think he would get such sporadic playing time, especially after a great game.

I think they feel like he is what he is, there are no great options right now, and just like Valbuena and Marwin, they are just gonna play the best matchup they can on a night to night basis and move forward

Singleton showed flashes but like Carter, wasn't good. He had options. Pretty simple

 

Lowrie appears to be a better 3rd baseman than Valbuena. For first, most of the value is derived from the bat. Carter and Valbuena are about the same with the bat. I could see Astros going to a platoon with Carter getting the short end of the platoon.