Altuve Pena Yordan Bregman Tucker Brantley Abreu Chas/Jake Maldanado unfortunately I think that is what Dusty will do
I think he will either do your lineup but flip Brantley and Abreu because he is obsessed with LRLR, or he will stubbornly stick Brantley in the 2 hole because he is an old head, Brantley is the vet, and blah blah blah,
Altuve Pena Yordan Bregman Tucker Brantley Abreu Chas/Jake Maldanado unfortunately I think that is what Dusty will do Yep he has done that in the past And the big problem with Brantley in the 2 hole is because he refuses to bat two lefties back to back, it not only pushes Yordan to 4th it pushes Tucker all the way down to 6th. You second best hitter getting the 6th most plate appearances....but you can't explain to him how that isn't good
Actually with Pena in the 2 hole, Yordan was the most common #3 hitter with Tucker 5th. It sucks for Kyle but if Pena OR Brantley is in the 2 spot, Yordan, Alex, or Tucker must be 5th. No way all 3 can be in top 4. It makes for a deep lineup though.
The best line up the Astros can field with the players available. 2nd base: Dubon then Altuve. SS: Pena LF: Alvarez RF: Tucker DH: Diaz then Brantley. 3rd base: Bregman 1st base: J Abreu then Diaz once Brantley return. Catcher: Maldy CF: Meyers then in September Gilbert Bench Catcher: Diaz IF: Hensley then Dubon after Altuve’s return. OF: Julks then McCormick Pinch Hitter: Bannon then J Abreu once Brantley returns. Give Abreu a chance to gradually put himself together at the plate and bring him back to 1st base in September if he has made significant and consistent progress.
Dusty won't do this, but: 1. L DH Brantley - career 356 OBP 2. R 2B Altuve - career 362 OBP 3. L LF Alvarez - career 162 OPS+ 4. R 3B Bregman - career 135 OPS+ 5. L RF Tucker - career 128 OPS+ 6. R SS Pena - career 100 OPS+ 7. R 1B Abreu - career 500 SLG 8. R CF McCormick - career 109 OPS+ / Meyers - career 87 OPS+ 9. R C Diaz - career 40 OPS+ / Maldonado - career 72 OPS+ / Salazar - career 88 OPS+
Dubon should not be in CF over McCormick or Meyers. Dubon can still play just about everyday by being the primary backup at 6-7 positions.
Through 5/17/23 1. L DH Brantley - career 356 OBP 2. R 2B Altuve - career 362 OBP 3. L LF Alvarez - 2023 163 OPS+ 4. R 3B Bregman - 2023 98 OPS+ 5. L RF Tucker - 2023 113 OPS+ 6. R SS Pena - 2023 101 OPS+ 7. R 1B Abreu - 2023 47 OPS+ 8. R CF McCormick - 2023 107 OPS+ / Meyers - 2023 99 OPS+ 9. R C Diaz - 2023 71 OPS+ / Maldonado - 2023 49 OPS+ / Salazar - 2023 33 OPS+ Hensley and Salazar go to AAA for PA. Bench Dubon 98 OPS+ Julks 75 OPS+ Meyers 90 OPS+ Maldonado 49 OPS+ All will rotate in frequently. Abreu has OBP of 300 by the end of the month and 350 by the end of the year.
This is what I WANT 1. Altuve 2B 2. Bregman 3B 3. Alvarez LF 4. Tucker RF 5. Pena SS 6. Abreu 1B 7. McCormick CF 8. Maldonado C 9. Dubon DH Bench: Meyers, Diaz, Kessinger, Julks Send Hensley back to AAA to figure things out again. I really liked him last year, and he had many great at bats, but this year he just looks lost. Kessinger is called up so there's an extra utility infielder. Dubon needs to keep getting consistent at bats until he starts slumping. I like him at #9 to turn the lineup over. Lacks the OBP or SLG to hit leadoff when Altuve is back.
Altuve Bregs Yordan Tuck Pena Brantley if healthy Abreau Dubon utility but plays everyday Diaz, but you know Dusty and Maldy
Vs RHP Altuve Brantley Alvarez Bregman Tucker Abreu Pena McCormick/Meyers Maldy/Diaz Vs LHP Altuve Pena Alvarez Bregman Tucker McCormick Abreu Meyers Maldy/Diaz
My preference (never going to happen) vs RHP (if everyone is healthy) Tucker Alvarez Bregman Altuve Peña Chas Brantley Abreu Diaz Vs LHP Altuve Yordan Bregman Tucker Chas Peña Abreu Diaz Meyers #2 hitter is your best hitter. #1 and #4 are your second and 3rd best hitters (either order) 3 should be a guy that gets on and 5 a guy that slugs. then, 6-9 is just descending order of quality of hitter. Maldy plays 30% of the time, Dubon plays 8-12 times a month in a backup/sub situation Meyers/Brantley alternate bench based upon handedness of pitcher, dierden would be on my bench. He would play 4 times a month maybe for me, in the Of or DH, only against a tough RHP with Chas sitting for those games so Dierden can play.
I hope they sends Julks down when Altuve gets activated. With Dubon back to getting some OF reps there's no role for him on this team. All he will do is keep taking ABs from guys who should be getting them. Salazar doesn't have much of a role either, but Dusty doesn't insist on getting him regular ABs.
I agree Julks needs to be the odd man out. With Dubon now in the OF mix there is simply no playing time especially with Chas and Jake being better defenders and playing well. Salazar only makes sense if Diaz DHs which I would like to see him do once per week. 2 games catching, 1 at first, and 1 DH each week gets Diaz more than 50% of the games remaining and Maldy and Abreu are still the majority starters so it shouldn't cause waves.
