Not a blind Luhnow supporter But come on man, Luhnow didn't set up our affiliates, he has no choice but to send prospects there
I messed up this post so it was not clear what I meant My bad. It appears it is open season on the Astros and Luhnow. In the instance of Appel, Luhnow is damned if he does (send Apel to Lancaster) and damned if he doesn't (make Appel earn his promotion out of Lancaster). BTW The Beard, Luhnow did renew the contract at Lancaster. It was one of the first things he did after taking over iirc.
I think most people supporting the promotion never wanted him in Lancaster to begin with. Most people against the promotion are the blind Luhnow haters who will criticize mostly any move that is made. You can certainly say that just looking at this season only, Appel didn't deserve a promotion. But the organization can't be as obtuse as to simply ignore his entire track record to this point, along with the mental aspect of pitching there that was clearly affecting him. If he goes out and dominates AA, I can't help but feel he didn't get much out of the Lancaster experience other than proving that the mental component is a huge part of the game.
Tend to agree with you. Promotions also are not entirely made on raw numbers. If Mark's "stuff" is there and the scouts think he is ready for AA, then you move him up. This wouldn't be the first time a player has been promoted with poor numbers or over guys with better numbers. Likewise I don't mind Folty or Hader being disappointed, guys are competitive and I know that Mark is not the most liked guy by his teammates. The Astros got over the Cosart comments last year and will get over these as well.
The Astros brass are not going to react to the comments of a couple of kids. They will likely talk to them about what it means to be a professional...but it's in no way going to change their path forward. I'm glad Hader is disappointed. Hope it makes him work even harder to prove he should move up immediately.
So people against the promotion are haters, his performance didn't warrant a promotion, and Lancaster exposed Appel as mentally fragile. Mkay. Way to cover all your bases.
Apparently his promotion and the bullpen session at MMP has drawn the ire of the MLB players as well. Your 2014 Houston Astros...where players get upset when a top prospect who is 23 years old and got a $6.5 million signing bonus gets promoted.
Yeah. I think that about sums it up. He probably never should have started his career down there. And I don't know about mentally "fragile"... Or at least not any more so than the countless pitchers who sucked in Colorado, but went on to have success again once they got out of there.
It seems the entitled millenials are alive and strong within the Astros organization. I can see some of his Class A teammates being upset because they feel they are more entitled (there's that word again) to a promotion but why on Earth would a big leaguer (I use that term very loosely when it comes to some of the current Astros) be upset about a top pick throwing a bullpen session at MMP? They really need to focus on themselves a little more.
what are you talking about?! his stuff has NOT been impressive AT ALL. he was not impressive last year at QC either. He has the velocity on his fastball but it lacks ANY movement except for one start. he has in no way warranted any sort of promotion and we are not "haters". his last interview has exposed him as a mentally fragile player as he whines about not having it his way. He complains he shouldnt have been at lancaster and numerous players have complained. hes just a little cry baby that wants **** given to him without it being earned. good job feeding into that mentality
Like him or not, the Astros have invested $6.5 million in him, and they're going to do everything it takes to enhance his development. I think Lancaster has the chance to ruin pitchers. Not all pitchers get ruined, but most get promotions with some bad looking numbers. If he struggles as badly at AA, he not only gets to finish the whole year there but he will repeat it next year. At that point, he will be a 24 year old former #1 pick still at AA (unheard of). Not feeding into any mentality. This has always been my mindset. It's not like they promoted him to the big leagues from A ball like Nuke Laloosh. He's going to freakin AA. U can start unwadding your panties now.
If Appel turns out to be a great pitcher are we gonna have to put you on suicide watch? It's one thing to complain a lot of us have done that and it's been warranted, but a few people here appear to have an emotional investment in Appel's failure. You do realize he is a member of the Astros and his success is our success.
people like you make me sick srsly. Where the hell did I ever say I dont want Appel to be a success? wtf?! just bcz a fkin fan questions management does not make him/her "anti" astros. Obviously i wish appel becomes the next kershaw or hernandez, but that doesnt mean I cant questions moves.
Screw the $6.5M, I'm sure this FO has to worry about investing a 1-1 pick in him. A lot of jobs are affected by Appel's development.
i don't see the big deal regarding appel getting some 'pen work in with strom. baseball is an odd game.
