*Gonna go out on a limb and say there will be no Hot Links tomorrow or Friday. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a restful few days. If this is not an easy time for you, I'm sorry. Love, me, Mrs AC, the heiress, Turkey Mike, Turkeyfoot, Turkey Gross, Turkey Tyson, Harry "Beans" Keener, Mitchell Dressing, Frank "Taters" Lary, Manuel "Potato" Cueto, and Pie Traynor.
*The Astros made their first free-agent signing of the season, 32-year old catcher Dustin Garneau to a 1yr/$650K deal with an opportunity for $75K in incentives. He and Garrett Stubbs are the only catchers on the Astros' 40-Man Roster. You can bet the Astros will try to get a more top-line name behind the plate to catch Verlander, Greinke, & Co.
The Astros will be Garneau's fifth team and 2020 will be his 6th year in the Majors. He's a career .207/.290/.343 hitter in 123 MLB games (381 PAs). If Dustin Garneau is the Astros' Opening Day catcher, then something gone awry.
McTaggart runs down the available options at catcher for Houston.
*MLB.com runs down the most attractive trade chip for each AL West team. The Astros? Not exactly looking to deal anyone...
*Aaron Sanchez is the Astros' most-obvious non-tender candidate.
*Lance McCullers stays a good dude.
*Houston Press: If this investigation goes sideways, will the World Series feel tainted?
*The five most thrilling Astros wins of 2019. I am not ready to read this yet.
*The Athletic: Ranking the best and worst high-profile Astros trades of the 2010s.
*Jayson Stark's Best of the Decade column.
*For the time being, Leeds United are top of the table.
*A Musical Selection, since it's gray and chilly where I currently sit:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Catcher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catcher. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Saturday Morning Hot Links
Do you have Sign-Stealing Tired Head? TOO BAD. It's going to dominate the early part of the offseason. We got a brief respite when the A&M guy tried to kill the Okie State guy but baseball has nothing on which to focus other than a rotating set of headlines like "Should The Astros Get It," "How Are The Astros Going To Get It," "Why The Astros Should Get It," "Why The Astros Didn't Get It Enough," and "Let's Make The Astros Get It More."
*Baseball Prospectus' Rob Arthur checked the audio data for trash can banging. MLB is moving quickly in its investigation into the Astros "culture," and they are now interviewing players.
You have to understand that the Astros are now an opportunity for MLB. Are the Astros guilty of stealing signs? I believe so. Are they the only ones doing it? I don't think so.
But, thanks to "tanking," thanks to Brady Aiken/Jacob Nix, thanks to defensive shifting, thanks to firing scouts, thanks to Astroball, thanks to Yuli's gesture at Yu Darvish, thanks to trading for Osuna, thanks to Verlander being an ass to the Detroit Writer Guy (with the Astros' media relations staff's blessing), thanks to Taubman, thanks to whatever injustice every other team feels when it comes to Jeff Luhnow and the Astros, it is a subtle opportunity for MLB to provide an outlet for all of the Baseball Community's frustration and Make An Example. Even if you don't think any of the above is worthy of getting all riled up about, other fan bases do and that's what's driving this whole thing. For an organization that tries as hard as possible to control their narrative (there are three points of contact with the media: Hinch, Luhnow, and Crane. Have you noticed that almost nobody else says anything?), this narrative is now outside of their control.
Never mind that Josh Hader (racist tweets as a young fella) and Aroldis Chapman (suspended for domestic violence) were honored as the relievers of the year in the Year of Our Lord 2019. Never mind that MLB has no idea what the actual physical baseball will do what at any given point. Never mind that the umpiring in the World Series was a disaster (I will go to my grave believing that Juan Soto should have struck out and Greinke would have kept pitching in Game 7). Before the 2019 postseason even started Bleacher Report's Scott Miller singled out Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Arizona as being "especially adept" at stealing signs. Despite me literally just now doing what I'm about to tell you not to do, yelling "other teams did it too!" isn't going to move the needle.
This is where we are. Every time the Cardinals did basically anything and we all laughed about changing our passwords? That's about to get returned ten-fold. Forever. The day where Yankees fans sit back and have a reflective moment and think, "You know, we did this, too..." is not coming. It's how it is now. The narrative was already that the Astros spit in the face of baseball and all of her hallowed tradition. It's set now.
The Astros are going to get popped here. Probably loss of draft picks and a fine that won't do much in the way of denting Jim Crane's bottom line. Maybe international spending money, as well. But MLB has an opportunity to flex its muscle, punish the Astros for the "culture" that created Taubman, and also to let the Astros serve as a warning to the rest of the league.
Beyond the Box Score: Legally, why the sign-stealing matters. Click the link for what the Astros and Martha Stewart just might have in common.
*Jake Kaplan takes a look at the state of Astros catchers in 2020.
Team leader in Games Caught, Astros:
2019: Robinson Chirinos (112)
2018: Max Stassi (83)
2017: Brian McCann (95)
2016: Jason Castro (111)
*The Athletic's Chad Jennings worked through his thought process in how he ended up with Trout as MVP, and Bregman as runner-up.
*Thoughts & prayers to Alex Bregman, who has lost two grandparents in the last month.
*There's a new proposed rule that would eliminate the 10-Day IL for pitchers, returning it to 15 days (again, just for pitchers). And let's recap the new rules that will go into effect in 2020:
-Active roster of 26, not 25.
-September roster expansion to 28, not 40.
-Barring injury or the end of an inning, pitchers are required to throw to three batters. Yahoo's Tim Brown: This rule is stupid. I agree.
-Position players can only pitch in extra innings or when a team leads/trails by at least seven runs.
*Growing Up in Levittown: How a quintessential Long Island suburb was built on rules that still shape it today.
*Three Indiana judges were suspended after drinking, trying to go to a strip club at 3am, and ended up in a shooting in a White Castle parking lot. White Castle sounds pretty good right now, not gonna lie.
*The crazy story of how Mary Steenburgen woke up after minor arm surgery and wrote one of the best original songs for a movie.
*The secret life of the audiobook star.
*A Musical Selection:
*Baseball Prospectus' Rob Arthur checked the audio data for trash can banging. MLB is moving quickly in its investigation into the Astros "culture," and they are now interviewing players.
You have to understand that the Astros are now an opportunity for MLB. Are the Astros guilty of stealing signs? I believe so. Are they the only ones doing it? I don't think so.
But, thanks to "tanking," thanks to Brady Aiken/Jacob Nix, thanks to defensive shifting, thanks to firing scouts, thanks to Astroball, thanks to Yuli's gesture at Yu Darvish, thanks to trading for Osuna, thanks to Verlander being an ass to the Detroit Writer Guy (with the Astros' media relations staff's blessing), thanks to Taubman, thanks to whatever injustice every other team feels when it comes to Jeff Luhnow and the Astros, it is a subtle opportunity for MLB to provide an outlet for all of the Baseball Community's frustration and Make An Example. Even if you don't think any of the above is worthy of getting all riled up about, other fan bases do and that's what's driving this whole thing. For an organization that tries as hard as possible to control their narrative (there are three points of contact with the media: Hinch, Luhnow, and Crane. Have you noticed that almost nobody else says anything?), this narrative is now outside of their control.
Never mind that Josh Hader (racist tweets as a young fella) and Aroldis Chapman (suspended for domestic violence) were honored as the relievers of the year in the Year of Our Lord 2019. Never mind that MLB has no idea what the actual physical baseball will do what at any given point. Never mind that the umpiring in the World Series was a disaster (I will go to my grave believing that Juan Soto should have struck out and Greinke would have kept pitching in Game 7). Before the 2019 postseason even started Bleacher Report's Scott Miller singled out Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Arizona as being "especially adept" at stealing signs. Despite me literally just now doing what I'm about to tell you not to do, yelling "other teams did it too!" isn't going to move the needle.
This is where we are. Every time the Cardinals did basically anything and we all laughed about changing our passwords? That's about to get returned ten-fold. Forever. The day where Yankees fans sit back and have a reflective moment and think, "You know, we did this, too..." is not coming. It's how it is now. The narrative was already that the Astros spit in the face of baseball and all of her hallowed tradition. It's set now.
The Astros are going to get popped here. Probably loss of draft picks and a fine that won't do much in the way of denting Jim Crane's bottom line. Maybe international spending money, as well. But MLB has an opportunity to flex its muscle, punish the Astros for the "culture" that created Taubman, and also to let the Astros serve as a warning to the rest of the league.
Beyond the Box Score: Legally, why the sign-stealing matters. Click the link for what the Astros and Martha Stewart just might have in common.
*Jake Kaplan takes a look at the state of Astros catchers in 2020.
Team leader in Games Caught, Astros:
2019: Robinson Chirinos (112)
2018: Max Stassi (83)
2017: Brian McCann (95)
2016: Jason Castro (111)
*The Athletic's Chad Jennings worked through his thought process in how he ended up with Trout as MVP, and Bregman as runner-up.
*Thoughts & prayers to Alex Bregman, who has lost two grandparents in the last month.
*There's a new proposed rule that would eliminate the 10-Day IL for pitchers, returning it to 15 days (again, just for pitchers). And let's recap the new rules that will go into effect in 2020:
-Active roster of 26, not 25.
-September roster expansion to 28, not 40.
-Barring injury or the end of an inning, pitchers are required to throw to three batters. Yahoo's Tim Brown: This rule is stupid. I agree.
-Position players can only pitch in extra innings or when a team leads/trails by at least seven runs.
*Growing Up in Levittown: How a quintessential Long Island suburb was built on rules that still shape it today.
*Three Indiana judges were suspended after drinking, trying to go to a strip club at 3am, and ended up in a shooting in a White Castle parking lot. White Castle sounds pretty good right now, not gonna lie.
*The crazy story of how Mary Steenburgen woke up after minor arm surgery and wrote one of the best original songs for a movie.
*The secret life of the audiobook star.
*A Musical Selection:
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
The Astros put it on Oaklandt, 11-1. This is way more fun, now. Houston is 65-37 with a 7.5-game lead on the A's. They're 37-14 at Minute Maid Park. The Astros are 6-0 since Marisnick got beaned.
*The Astros are 8-1 against Oakland in 2019, 32-15 since the beginning of the 2017 season.
*It's the 5th time in 2019 that the Astros have won by a double-digit margin, the first time since a 15-2 win over the Blue Jays on June 14. Hinch, on dominating the appropriately-named Homer Bailey:
We never really let him breathe. We have a really long lineup...and when we put that kind of lineup together and that kind of approach we can really, really make it difficult on the pitcher. He had really nowhere to go when we were putting up quality at-bat after quality at-bat. And it was a good sight to see.
*Let's start with Gerrit Cole. Cole threw 7IP, 2H/1ER, 11K:1BB. He got 41 non-contact strikes. It's the 12th time this season that Gerrit Cole has gotten double-digit strikeouts. I feel like we do this all the time, but it's worth doing again. Gerrit Cole, 10+ K games, by season:
2013: 1
2014: 2
2015: 1
2016: 0
2017: 2
2018: 8
2019: 12
In other words, Cole with Pittsburgh: Six double-digit strikeout games in 127 starts.
Cole with Houston: 20 double-digit strikeout games in 54 starts.
Cole got his 200th strikeout of the season in 133.1IP. He now has a League-leading 205 strikeouts in 136.2IP. Randy Johnson (2001) is the only pitcher to record 200 strikeouts faster than Cole, when he did it in 130.2IP. Ron Kulpa probably cost Cole the record. I don't know how, but I'm going to just roll with it. Cole:
It's a nice accomplishment. Any time you're mentioned with the 'Unit,' that's pretty special. He kind of goes down in folklore as one of the best pitchers of all time. Really cool statistic. Might have a glass of wine about it tonight. Outside of that, we got at least 13 more starts to go, so just keep the head down and keep going.
"Might have a glass of wine about it" is the 2019 Astros slogan now.
Tags notes in that link that Cole edges Johnson in K/9 (13.5 to 13.41 - the MLB record) and needs three more 10+ K games to break J.R. Richard's single-season franchise record.
Cole has already posted the 21st-best strikeout total by an Astros pitcher for a season. Today is July 23. 27 more strikeouts would put him in the top ten in franchise history. Give him however much money he wants.
*Gerrit Cole's last L came on May 22.
*As a team the Astros are hitting .272 (1st) / .348 (1st) / .478 (2nd) for an .825 OPS (2nd). Their 121 wRC+ is the best in the Majors.
*Yordan Alvarez hit his 11th home run of the season in the 2nd Inning. He now has 35 RBIs in his first 30 games, breaking Albert Pujols' record. Alvarez:
I'm very happy and very grateful. It's something I just found out when I got here to the clubhouse, and just hearing that news is something that's really great for the start of my career.
Cole, on Alvarez:
Just (a) really special approach. I haven't really seen anything like it. The discipline, the advancement of his pitch selection, just never seems to get too big. He got tested a little bit with some breaking balls the last few days and seems to have responded well to that.
*The Cuban Contingent, Yordan, Yuli, and Aledmys, all hit home runs - Diaz's came in his first AB back from the IL. Diaz:
It's great. To contribute to the team is amazing. I had the chance to have three RBIs today, which is great. Just win the game is the most important thing.
*5-9 in the lineup (Yordan, Yuli, Reddick, Chirinos, Diaz) went a combined 10x18 with 1K:2BB, 3HR/8RBI. Gurriel's home run - his 19th - is a new career-high.
*Robinson Chirinos went 3x4 with a walk. It's his first three-hit game since September 12, 2018. He's 7x20 in his last six games. Chirinos had seven hits in his previous 63 PAs dating back to June 17.
*Rogelio Armenteros was optioned to Round Rock in order to make room for Aledmys Diaz, who batted 9th last night. Diaz:
It's great to be back with the boys. It's been almost two months since the last time I played, so I'm really excited.
*Josh James won't pitch for a day or two, but downplayed his velocity dip as "general arm soreness."
*Luhnow:
We can win a seven-game series against any playoff team right now. That doesn't mean there's not going to be an opportunity that presents itself to bring in another starter who could be a playoff rotation starter. We're looking at them.
*The Trade Deadline is just over a week away, and Luhnow says the Astros could target catching:
We are also looking at the market and seeing if there's an upgrade available. It would mean one of the two guys we have now would not be on this team. We obviously have to consider that very carefully.
Max Stassi might be a great story teller or he might lose just enough at poker to stay on everyone's good side. He could be good at roasting dudes. He might be a fine calligrapher. But if the Astros can get a catcher who is at least league-average and not Historically Bad, I'd be okay with that.
*What the Astros do with the rotation at the deadline and/or how Jose Urquidy handles his next couple of starts will determine what the Astros do with Brad Peacock: rotation or bullpen.
*Tags has your pre-game roundup. Luhnow:
It's good (Urquidy and Armenteros) are showing they can contribute. We're going to continue to look at opportunities to improve the club like we do every year, and there is a long way to go. It feels like not much has happened yet, but I have a feeling things will pick up here as we get close to the Deadline.
*Carlos Correa will play today and tomorrow for Round Rock before traveling to St. Louis with the team. He can be activated prior to Friday's game.
*Fayetteville's Jeremy Pena (2018 - 3rd Round) hit a home run in Potomac that broke their scoreboard.
*Forrest Whitley's next start will come in the next nine days and will be in Fayetteville. Luhnow, on Whitley:
All these guys when they're struggling, it's a combination of mental and physical. It's a tough game and we've seen it before, (being) a top prospect is tough physically and mentally. It's a combination, but he's got a good mindset and a good attitude. He certainly has the talent.
*This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but here are some Minor League standouts of which teams are undoubtedly aware as we get closer to July 31. Minor League Names On Which To Keep An Eye (organized alphabetically. Stats valid prior to the games of July 22):
RHP Bryan Abreu. 2019: 65.1IP, 49H/36ER, 86K:37BB, 4.96 ERA / 1.32 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
Seth Beer (2018 - 1st Round). 2019: .314/.410/.562, 22HR, 84K:35BB between Fayetteville and Corpus.
RHP Brett Conine (2018 - 11th Round). 2019: 84.1IP, 60H/21ER, 107K:18BB. 2.24 ERA / 0.92 WHIP between Quad Cities and Fayetteville.
RHP Austin Hansen (2018 - 8th Round). 2019: 72IP, 41H/18ER, 92K:35BB. 2.25 ERA / 1.06 WHIP between Quad Cities and Fayetteville.
RHP Tyler Ivey (2017 - 3rd Round). 2019: 31IP, 12H/2ER, 44K:13BB. 0.58 ERA / 0.81 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
RHP Cristian Javier. 2019: 82.2IP, 40H/18ER, 114K:44BB. 1.96 ERA / 1.02 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
Taylor Jones (2016 - 19th Round). 2019: .284/.384/.509,17HR, 88K:51BB in Round Rock.
RHP Collin McKee. (2016 - 18th Round). 2019: 48.2IP, 25H/13ER, 63K:29BB. 2.40 ERA / 1.11 WHIP between Corpus and Round Rock.
RHP Enoli Paredes. 2019: 78.2IP, 42H/23ER, 107K:35BB, 2.63 ERA / 0.98 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
Jeremy Pena (2018 - 3rd Round). 2019: .298/.383/.435, 5HR, 73K:38BB between Quad Cities and Fayetteville.
RHP Yohan Ramirez. 2019: 73.1IP, 45H/31ER, 111K:49BB, 3.80 ERA / 1.28 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez. 2019: 86IP, 57H/21ER, 86K:29BB, 2.20 ERA / 1.00 WHIP between Quad Cities and Fayetteville
Josh Rojas (2017 - 26th Round). 2019: .319/.407/.590, 19HR, 58K:48BB between Corpus and Round Rock.
Abraham Toro (2016 - 5th Round). 2019: .289/.379/.483, 14HR, 77K:44BB in Corpus.
Kyle Tucker (2015 - 1st Round). 2019: .271/.355/.574, 25HR, 93K:41BB in Round Rock.
Forrest Whitley (2016 - 1st Round). RIP.
*Think you can swing a Big Time Trade? Use this Trade Simulator to land the pitcher you want.
*The Phillies are in on all the Tigers pitchers.
*The Yankees are in on Mike Minor
*NY Mag's Intelligencer: Even locals who believe climate change is real have a hard time grasping that their city will almost certainly be flooded beyond recognition.
*NY Times: Why so many of us don't lose weight when we exercise.
*A while ago there was a poll in which 12% of men said they could win a point against Serena Williams. Those men are narcissists and chauvinists and This is for them.
*A Musical Selection:
The Hot Links Playlist on Spotify is now over 150 songs and almost 10 hours long, if you're into that kind of thing.
*The Astros are 8-1 against Oakland in 2019, 32-15 since the beginning of the 2017 season.
*It's the 5th time in 2019 that the Astros have won by a double-digit margin, the first time since a 15-2 win over the Blue Jays on June 14. Hinch, on dominating the appropriately-named Homer Bailey:
We never really let him breathe. We have a really long lineup...and when we put that kind of lineup together and that kind of approach we can really, really make it difficult on the pitcher. He had really nowhere to go when we were putting up quality at-bat after quality at-bat. And it was a good sight to see.
*Let's start with Gerrit Cole. Cole threw 7IP, 2H/1ER, 11K:1BB. He got 41 non-contact strikes. It's the 12th time this season that Gerrit Cole has gotten double-digit strikeouts. I feel like we do this all the time, but it's worth doing again. Gerrit Cole, 10+ K games, by season:
2013: 1
2014: 2
2015: 1
2016: 0
2017: 2
2018: 8
2019: 12
In other words, Cole with Pittsburgh: Six double-digit strikeout games in 127 starts.
Cole with Houston: 20 double-digit strikeout games in 54 starts.
Cole got his 200th strikeout of the season in 133.1IP. He now has a League-leading 205 strikeouts in 136.2IP. Randy Johnson (2001) is the only pitcher to record 200 strikeouts faster than Cole, when he did it in 130.2IP. Ron Kulpa probably cost Cole the record. I don't know how, but I'm going to just roll with it. Cole:
It's a nice accomplishment. Any time you're mentioned with the 'Unit,' that's pretty special. He kind of goes down in folklore as one of the best pitchers of all time. Really cool statistic. Might have a glass of wine about it tonight. Outside of that, we got at least 13 more starts to go, so just keep the head down and keep going.
"Might have a glass of wine about it" is the 2019 Astros slogan now.
Tags notes in that link that Cole edges Johnson in K/9 (13.5 to 13.41 - the MLB record) and needs three more 10+ K games to break J.R. Richard's single-season franchise record.
Cole has already posted the 21st-best strikeout total by an Astros pitcher for a season. Today is July 23. 27 more strikeouts would put him in the top ten in franchise history. Give him however much money he wants.
*Gerrit Cole's last L came on May 22.
*As a team the Astros are hitting .272 (1st) / .348 (1st) / .478 (2nd) for an .825 OPS (2nd). Their 121 wRC+ is the best in the Majors.
*Yordan Alvarez hit his 11th home run of the season in the 2nd Inning. He now has 35 RBIs in his first 30 games, breaking Albert Pujols' record. Alvarez:
I'm very happy and very grateful. It's something I just found out when I got here to the clubhouse, and just hearing that news is something that's really great for the start of my career.
Cole, on Alvarez:
Just (a) really special approach. I haven't really seen anything like it. The discipline, the advancement of his pitch selection, just never seems to get too big. He got tested a little bit with some breaking balls the last few days and seems to have responded well to that.
*The Cuban Contingent, Yordan, Yuli, and Aledmys, all hit home runs - Diaz's came in his first AB back from the IL. Diaz:
It's great. To contribute to the team is amazing. I had the chance to have three RBIs today, which is great. Just win the game is the most important thing.
*5-9 in the lineup (Yordan, Yuli, Reddick, Chirinos, Diaz) went a combined 10x18 with 1K:2BB, 3HR/8RBI. Gurriel's home run - his 19th - is a new career-high.
*Robinson Chirinos went 3x4 with a walk. It's his first three-hit game since September 12, 2018. He's 7x20 in his last six games. Chirinos had seven hits in his previous 63 PAs dating back to June 17.
*Rogelio Armenteros was optioned to Round Rock in order to make room for Aledmys Diaz, who batted 9th last night. Diaz:
It's great to be back with the boys. It's been almost two months since the last time I played, so I'm really excited.
*Josh James won't pitch for a day or two, but downplayed his velocity dip as "general arm soreness."
*Luhnow:
We can win a seven-game series against any playoff team right now. That doesn't mean there's not going to be an opportunity that presents itself to bring in another starter who could be a playoff rotation starter. We're looking at them.
*The Trade Deadline is just over a week away, and Luhnow says the Astros could target catching:
We are also looking at the market and seeing if there's an upgrade available. It would mean one of the two guys we have now would not be on this team. We obviously have to consider that very carefully.
Max Stassi might be a great story teller or he might lose just enough at poker to stay on everyone's good side. He could be good at roasting dudes. He might be a fine calligrapher. But if the Astros can get a catcher who is at least league-average and not Historically Bad, I'd be okay with that.
*What the Astros do with the rotation at the deadline and/or how Jose Urquidy handles his next couple of starts will determine what the Astros do with Brad Peacock: rotation or bullpen.
*Tags has your pre-game roundup. Luhnow:
It's good (Urquidy and Armenteros) are showing they can contribute. We're going to continue to look at opportunities to improve the club like we do every year, and there is a long way to go. It feels like not much has happened yet, but I have a feeling things will pick up here as we get close to the Deadline.
*Carlos Correa will play today and tomorrow for Round Rock before traveling to St. Louis with the team. He can be activated prior to Friday's game.
*Fayetteville's Jeremy Pena (2018 - 3rd Round) hit a home run in Potomac that broke their scoreboard.
*Forrest Whitley's next start will come in the next nine days and will be in Fayetteville. Luhnow, on Whitley:
All these guys when they're struggling, it's a combination of mental and physical. It's a tough game and we've seen it before, (being) a top prospect is tough physically and mentally. It's a combination, but he's got a good mindset and a good attitude. He certainly has the talent.
*This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but here are some Minor League standouts of which teams are undoubtedly aware as we get closer to July 31. Minor League Names On Which To Keep An Eye (organized alphabetically. Stats valid prior to the games of July 22):
RHP Bryan Abreu. 2019: 65.1IP, 49H/36ER, 86K:37BB, 4.96 ERA / 1.32 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
Seth Beer (2018 - 1st Round). 2019: .314/.410/.562, 22HR, 84K:35BB between Fayetteville and Corpus.
RHP Brett Conine (2018 - 11th Round). 2019: 84.1IP, 60H/21ER, 107K:18BB. 2.24 ERA / 0.92 WHIP between Quad Cities and Fayetteville.
RHP Austin Hansen (2018 - 8th Round). 2019: 72IP, 41H/18ER, 92K:35BB. 2.25 ERA / 1.06 WHIP between Quad Cities and Fayetteville.
RHP Tyler Ivey (2017 - 3rd Round). 2019: 31IP, 12H/2ER, 44K:13BB. 0.58 ERA / 0.81 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
RHP Cristian Javier. 2019: 82.2IP, 40H/18ER, 114K:44BB. 1.96 ERA / 1.02 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
Taylor Jones (2016 - 19th Round). 2019: .284/.384/.509,17HR, 88K:51BB in Round Rock.
RHP Collin McKee. (2016 - 18th Round). 2019: 48.2IP, 25H/13ER, 63K:29BB. 2.40 ERA / 1.11 WHIP between Corpus and Round Rock.
RHP Enoli Paredes. 2019: 78.2IP, 42H/23ER, 107K:35BB, 2.63 ERA / 0.98 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
Jeremy Pena (2018 - 3rd Round). 2019: .298/.383/.435, 5HR, 73K:38BB between Quad Cities and Fayetteville.
RHP Yohan Ramirez. 2019: 73.1IP, 45H/31ER, 111K:49BB, 3.80 ERA / 1.28 WHIP between Fayetteville and Corpus.
RHP Nivaldo Rodriguez. 2019: 86IP, 57H/21ER, 86K:29BB, 2.20 ERA / 1.00 WHIP between Quad Cities and Fayetteville
Josh Rojas (2017 - 26th Round). 2019: .319/.407/.590, 19HR, 58K:48BB between Corpus and Round Rock.
Abraham Toro (2016 - 5th Round). 2019: .289/.379/.483, 14HR, 77K:44BB in Corpus.
Kyle Tucker (2015 - 1st Round). 2019: .271/.355/.574, 25HR, 93K:41BB in Round Rock.
Forrest Whitley (2016 - 1st Round). RIP.
*Think you can swing a Big Time Trade? Use this Trade Simulator to land the pitcher you want.
*The Phillies are in on all the Tigers pitchers.
*The Yankees are in on Mike Minor
*NY Mag's Intelligencer: Even locals who believe climate change is real have a hard time grasping that their city will almost certainly be flooded beyond recognition.
*NY Times: Why so many of us don't lose weight when we exercise.
*A while ago there was a poll in which 12% of men said they could win a point against Serena Williams. Those men are narcissists and chauvinists and This is for them.
*A Musical Selection:
The Hot Links Playlist on Spotify is now over 150 songs and almost 10 hours long, if you're into that kind of thing.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Astros select with the 32nd pick in the draft Korey Lee
On Monday night the Houston Astros made their first selection in the 2019 MLB Draft. With that selection they took Korey Lee a Catcher from the University of California. He was ranked 119th by MLB.com and 173 by Baseball America.
To Twitter for their reaction!
To Twitter for their reaction!
Yes, we ranked Korey Lee 173....we did hear some late helium....we may have underranked him. We talked about pushing him up in the rankings and decided to stick with the rankings....blame me on that one.— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) June 4, 2019
The Astros did a weird pick.— Spencer Morris (@spencer_711) June 4, 2019
Welcome to the Astros @koreyleeeeee !!!— Jayne Hansen (@JayneWTHB) June 4, 2019
First time the Astros have taken a catcher in the first round since Jason Castro in 2008. https://t.co/rsWeNORD1c— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 4, 2019
Low rankings being quoted for Lee on broadcast, but he came in at 45th overall on @fangraphs THE BOARD. After two nondescript offensive seasons at Cal, he blew up for a .339/.415/.613 line, and he's on the younger side for a junior. Seen as a C stick with some offensive upside.— Spencer Morris (@spencer_711) June 4, 2019
Round 1, Pick 32: Houston selects Korey Lee, C, California— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) June 4, 2019
Plus raw power with natural loft to swing. Hit tool has some questions and swing can get a bit long. Improving defensive skills with a strong arm.#MLBDraft #TakeItBack
Korey Lee is not the top "Lee" on my board. Excellent arm behind the plate, real power in the bat. The footwork behind the dish needs work but not terrible. If the contact is here to stay it is a fine pick for the @astros #MLBDraft— Shaun Kernahan (@ShaunKernahan) June 4, 2019
This is the second biggest off-the-board pick obviously as we had Korey Lee ranked deep into the hundreds. We know catchers get pushed up. He's a good receiver behind the plate with above-average power and arm strength.— Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) June 4, 2019
A surprise first-rounder, but Korey Lee is definitely interesting. He’s a big, strong man with a bazooka arm behind the plate and obvious raw power. Needs some refinement, but #Astros got a guy with undeniable upside. https://t.co/QCCea8rdRS— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) June 4, 2019
Had heard some serious buzz about Korey Lee the past few days. I had a coach who faced him recently tell me everyone was way too low on him. Loved him. https://t.co/Ho5BFFa7Lw— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 4, 2019
Korey Lee was the pop in Cal's lineup when team's avoided Vaughn and a stud behind the plate.— Guy Haberman (@GuyHaberman) June 4, 2019
After one trip through the batting order Cal let Lee call all the pitches trusting his ability to adjust to the hitters. #astros #calbaseball https://t.co/Q8ISkHLdL6
#Astros Expected return Comp Selection 33-35 for Dallas Keuchel. When that didn't materialize went WAY below slot for Cal Catcher Korey Lee. Will allow Astros to go way above slot Rd2 or Rd3 (maybe both) on high upside talent.— MLB_Insiders_View (@ViewMlb) June 4, 2019
KOREY LEE?! My god this is the craziest back end of the first round I've ever seen.— Stephen RadJokesiah (@StephenJosiah13) June 4, 2019
Stay tuned for more on the newest Astros player we'll all look to trade in a few years.I dont know anything about Korey Lee, but Buddy Lee was a hell of a jeans salesman. Probably no relation though.— Hønkbål Time in Höuston (@DieselDugong) June 4, 2019
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*The Astros enjoyed the first of two off-days this week an off-day yesterday (I don't know why I thought the Astros had Thursday off, as well.) And still, here are the number of games played by AL Teams:
49: Arlington
48: Houston
47: Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, Anaheim, Oakland
46: Seattle
45: Tampa, Cleveland,
44: New York, Chicago
43: Minnesota
Did you check the Cleveland series recap from Jexas?
*So the big news that I missed because I overslept yesterday is Derek Fisher's transition to the DL with "GI discomfort." GI stands for "Gastrointestinal." It may be the first time the Astros put a player on the DL for crapping the bed. J.D. Davis was brought up from Fresno.
*Mike Petriello spends a decent amount of time making a case for the Astros' rotation being in the conversation as one of the best ever. Through 48 starts, the rotation has allowed just 83 runs. Note that the rotation's ERA of 2.25 is almost a quarter of a run lower than the 1968 Cardinals' modern-day best of 2.49. Also note that it is May 22. That said, no team this century has a lower ERA through 48 games than the Astros' rotation.
Dayn Perry at CBS Sports has a similar piece.
Here's Jake Kaplan with a deep dive into the numbers of the Astros' rotation. And here's another one wondering where J.D. Davis will actually play.
*Ken Giles is 8x8 in save situations in 2018, allowing a .167/.167/.167 line through 7IP with 4H/0ER, 8K:0BB. Also, Ken Giles: 36 batters faced, zero walks.
*Tonight Gerrit Cole will pitch to his wife's brother, Brandon Crawford. Crawford:
It's more fun for family, I think, than it is for us. It doesn't help that he's a really good pitcher - probably one of the best in baseball this year. That doesn't add to the fun of it for me.
*And so the Jon Singleton Era in Houston ends not with a bang, but with a whimper. Singleton - who had been outrighted off the 40-Man roster earlier this year, was summarily released by Houston today. The press release, in full:
The Astros have released minor league first baseman Jon Singleton, effective today. The club has no further comment on this.
Singleton, of course, is serving a 100-game suspension for a third positive test for a drug of abuse (tweeds), of which there are still 54-ish games remaining. And it's the last year of his 5yr/$10m deal he signed back in 2014. (Side note: it does not feel like it's been five years since that deal).
Speaking of suspensions, Forrest Whitley's 50-game suspension ends at the beginning of next week.
*In McTaggart's Notebook, he actually dignified the "Shood We traid Kykull" question with a response. There is an interesting note about the Astros' future at catcher, and whether that involves Stassi in a full-time role. If you want to look to free agency to sign a catcher (because McCann likely isn't coming back for $15m), here's who is scheduled to be a free agent after this season:
Drew Butera, Robinson Chirinos, A.J. Ellis, Tyler Flowers, Yasmani Grandal, Nick Hundley, Jonathan Lucroy, Martin Maldonado, Jeff Mathis, Devin Mesoraco, Miguel Montero, Wilson Ramos, Rene Rivera, Kurt Suzuki, Matt Wieters.
At 30, Yasmani Grandal is the youngest player on this list. So this list gets a big ol' Ew.
*San Francisco hitting coach Alonzo Powell will get his World Series ring tonight.
*Fresno's Trent Thornton, who was hit on the elbow by a line drive, was moved to the 7-Day DL.
*Corpus' Randy Cesar and Cionel Perez were both named Texas League Players of the Week.
*There was a plane crash in Cuba over the weekend that has now killed 111. One family was from Houston. Yuli Gurriel is paying for the travel for their relatives.
*An Astros-oriented fundraiser at Tootsies raised over $360,000 for the Sunshine Kids and the LMJ Foundation.
*The Rangers are officially open for business. Come and get their finest old players for prospects. It's rebuilding, not tanking, right?
*Meet Cy-Creek's Jordan Hicks, baseball's most confounding pitcher.
*PFT Commenter has managed to skyrocket to fame while somehow maintaining his anonymity.
*I'm on a big JFK kick, so I recommend reading this July 2014 piece in The Baffler: Dallas Killers Club.
49: Arlington
48: Houston
47: Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, Anaheim, Oakland
46: Seattle
45: Tampa, Cleveland,
44: New York, Chicago
43: Minnesota
Did you check the Cleveland series recap from Jexas?
*So the big news that I missed because I overslept yesterday is Derek Fisher's transition to the DL with "GI discomfort." GI stands for "Gastrointestinal." It may be the first time the Astros put a player on the DL for crapping the bed. J.D. Davis was brought up from Fresno.
*Mike Petriello spends a decent amount of time making a case for the Astros' rotation being in the conversation as one of the best ever. Through 48 starts, the rotation has allowed just 83 runs. Note that the rotation's ERA of 2.25 is almost a quarter of a run lower than the 1968 Cardinals' modern-day best of 2.49. Also note that it is May 22. That said, no team this century has a lower ERA through 48 games than the Astros' rotation.
Dayn Perry at CBS Sports has a similar piece.
Here's Jake Kaplan with a deep dive into the numbers of the Astros' rotation. And here's another one wondering where J.D. Davis will actually play.
*Ken Giles is 8x8 in save situations in 2018, allowing a .167/.167/.167 line through 7IP with 4H/0ER, 8K:0BB. Also, Ken Giles: 36 batters faced, zero walks.
*Tonight Gerrit Cole will pitch to his wife's brother, Brandon Crawford. Crawford:
It's more fun for family, I think, than it is for us. It doesn't help that he's a really good pitcher - probably one of the best in baseball this year. That doesn't add to the fun of it for me.
*And so the Jon Singleton Era in Houston ends not with a bang, but with a whimper. Singleton - who had been outrighted off the 40-Man roster earlier this year, was summarily released by Houston today. The press release, in full:
The Astros have released minor league first baseman Jon Singleton, effective today. The club has no further comment on this.
Singleton, of course, is serving a 100-game suspension for a third positive test for a drug of abuse (tweeds), of which there are still 54-ish games remaining. And it's the last year of his 5yr/$10m deal he signed back in 2014. (Side note: it does not feel like it's been five years since that deal).
Speaking of suspensions, Forrest Whitley's 50-game suspension ends at the beginning of next week.
*In McTaggart's Notebook, he actually dignified the "Shood We traid Kykull" question with a response. There is an interesting note about the Astros' future at catcher, and whether that involves Stassi in a full-time role. If you want to look to free agency to sign a catcher (because McCann likely isn't coming back for $15m), here's who is scheduled to be a free agent after this season:
Drew Butera, Robinson Chirinos, A.J. Ellis, Tyler Flowers, Yasmani Grandal, Nick Hundley, Jonathan Lucroy, Martin Maldonado, Jeff Mathis, Devin Mesoraco, Miguel Montero, Wilson Ramos, Rene Rivera, Kurt Suzuki, Matt Wieters.
At 30, Yasmani Grandal is the youngest player on this list. So this list gets a big ol' Ew.
*San Francisco hitting coach Alonzo Powell will get his World Series ring tonight.
*Fresno's Trent Thornton, who was hit on the elbow by a line drive, was moved to the 7-Day DL.
Here's something you don't see everyday. In the bottom of the third inning tonight between the Fresno Grizzlies and Reno Aces, pitcher Jake Buchanan had to wait while Tyler White put in eye drops! (White would later fly out to LF.) pic.twitter.com/eIeMbvWkGh— Andrew Marden (@andrewmarden) May 22, 2018
*Corpus' Randy Cesar and Cionel Perez were both named Texas League Players of the Week.
*There was a plane crash in Cuba over the weekend that has now killed 111. One family was from Houston. Yuli Gurriel is paying for the travel for their relatives.
*An Astros-oriented fundraiser at Tootsies raised over $360,000 for the Sunshine Kids and the LMJ Foundation.
*The Rangers are officially open for business. Come and get their finest old players for prospects. It's rebuilding, not tanking, right?
*Meet Cy-Creek's Jordan Hicks, baseball's most confounding pitcher.
*PFT Commenter has managed to skyrocket to fame while somehow maintaining his anonymity.
*I'm on a big JFK kick, so I recommend reading this July 2014 piece in The Baffler: Dallas Killers Club.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Friday Morning Hot Links
Danny Worth hit a 2-run homer and A.J. Reed hit a 3-run homer in a 5-3 win over the Braves. Carlos Correa and Preston Tucker each hit a two-run shot and Michael Feliz threw three scoreless innings in a 7-5 win over the Blue Jays. Feliz has allowed one earned run in 10 Spring innings.
*JJO writes that Tyler White's spring numbers are hard to ignore. He achieved cult status playing in the Dominican Winter League. Corpus manager Rodney Linares: "He's like a legend in the Dominican. They love him in San Pedro. He doesn't say much, but they love him down there."
It's worth pointing out - with just over two weeks before Opening Day - the race for 1B:
Jon Singleton (34 PAs): .152/.176/.394, 12K:1BB
Tyler White (31 PAs): .345/.387/.517, 6K:2BB
A.J. Reed (25 PAs): .292/.320/.695, 10K:1BB
*The Astros optioned the other catcher on the 40-man roster, Alfredo Gonzalez, to minor league camp yesterday. So here are your catcher possibilities:
1. Jason Castro
2. A.J. Hinch
3. Tyler Heineman
4. Roberto Pena
5. Jeff Luhnow
*Brian Smith takes on the ol' "not good enough to play for the Astros" joke
*Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have different views about baseball.
*JJO writes that Tyler White's spring numbers are hard to ignore. He achieved cult status playing in the Dominican Winter League. Corpus manager Rodney Linares: "He's like a legend in the Dominican. They love him in San Pedro. He doesn't say much, but they love him down there."
It's worth pointing out - with just over two weeks before Opening Day - the race for 1B:
Jon Singleton (34 PAs): .152/.176/.394, 12K:1BB
Tyler White (31 PAs): .345/.387/.517, 6K:2BB
A.J. Reed (25 PAs): .292/.320/.695, 10K:1BB
*The Astros optioned the other catcher on the 40-man roster, Alfredo Gonzalez, to minor league camp yesterday. So here are your catcher possibilities:
1. Jason Castro
2. A.J. Hinch
3. Tyler Heineman
4. Roberto Pena
5. Jeff Luhnow
*Brian Smith takes on the ol' "not good enough to play for the Astros" joke
*Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have different views about baseball.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Thursday Morning Hot Links
Dallas Keuchel made his first start of the Spring and the Astros beat the Barves 9-5. Collin McHugh gets the start at 4:05pm Central against the Nationals on MLB Network.
*Dallas Keuchel: "I'm nobody right now. It's 2016. I'm just an Astros pitcher."
Also in that link: Gregerson feels good, Giles worked on his mechanics with a towel, and Lance McCullers will likely make his Spring debut on Sunday or Monday. (Chron)
*"We have a decision to make whether he's ready to be a full-time back-up or not, and we've got all spring to decide." - Jeff Luhnow, on Max Stassi and whether he's ready to catch 60-ish games this season in Houston. (Chron)
And what of Gattis? The possibility of Gattis heading back to the plate forces a tradeoff between Gattis' defensive flexibility and the likelihood of his old knee injuries flaring back up...
*Jason Castro's swing tinkering resulted in a homer yesterday against the Braves. (Astros.com)
*The only other Age-21 full-time #3 hitter (other than Carlos Correa)? Joe DiMaggio. Jayson Stark rains down chocolate sprinkles and unicorn mane on Correa. (ESPN)
*Carlos Correa's confidence comes in his preparation (video link). (ESPN)
*George Springer is ready for a breakout season. (New Haven Register)
*This guest columnist from Josh Fields' hometown, an avid supporter of the college in which Fields attended, manages to compare Josh Fields to Hall of Famer Bob Feller. (Newnan Times Herald)
*Tony Sipp is the odd lefty reliever who is also good at getting out righties, but Neal Cotts is there to help get lefties out as well. (Astros.com)
*Can you name the 32 Astros with at least ten appearances in 2005? (Sporcle)
*Former Astro and last year's assistant hitting coach and now Padres' hitting coach Alan Zinter's road to the Majors was a long one. (Padres.com)
*The Astros are 4th on a ranking of teams who could topple the Royals. (Fox Sports)
*Prince Fielder has left Rangers Spring Training to figure out why he can't sleep. (Hint: it's because of the Astros). (St Louis Post-Dispatch)
*Phillies great Mark Appel was sent to minor-league camp this morning. (Todd Zolecki)
*The battle to bring back Olympic baseball matters more than you think. (Vice Sports)
*Adrian Beltre wants a three-year extension from the Rangers, through his Age-40 season. (MLBTR)
*Jered Weaver's fastball is sad and this story is sad. (LA Times)
*Before you go...
*Dallas Keuchel: "I'm nobody right now. It's 2016. I'm just an Astros pitcher."
Also in that link: Gregerson feels good, Giles worked on his mechanics with a towel, and Lance McCullers will likely make his Spring debut on Sunday or Monday. (Chron)
*"We have a decision to make whether he's ready to be a full-time back-up or not, and we've got all spring to decide." - Jeff Luhnow, on Max Stassi and whether he's ready to catch 60-ish games this season in Houston. (Chron)
And what of Gattis? The possibility of Gattis heading back to the plate forces a tradeoff between Gattis' defensive flexibility and the likelihood of his old knee injuries flaring back up...
*Jason Castro's swing tinkering resulted in a homer yesterday against the Braves. (Astros.com)
*The only other Age-21 full-time #3 hitter (other than Carlos Correa)? Joe DiMaggio. Jayson Stark rains down chocolate sprinkles and unicorn mane on Correa. (ESPN)
*Carlos Correa's confidence comes in his preparation (video link). (ESPN)
*George Springer is ready for a breakout season. (New Haven Register)
*This guest columnist from Josh Fields' hometown, an avid supporter of the college in which Fields attended, manages to compare Josh Fields to Hall of Famer Bob Feller. (Newnan Times Herald)
*Tony Sipp is the odd lefty reliever who is also good at getting out righties, but Neal Cotts is there to help get lefties out as well. (Astros.com)
*Can you name the 32 Astros with at least ten appearances in 2005? (Sporcle)
*Former Astro and last year's assistant hitting coach and now Padres' hitting coach Alan Zinter's road to the Majors was a long one. (Padres.com)
*The Astros are 4th on a ranking of teams who could topple the Royals. (Fox Sports)
*Prince Fielder has left Rangers Spring Training to figure out why he can't sleep. (Hint: it's because of the Astros). (St Louis Post-Dispatch)
*Phillies great Mark Appel was sent to minor-league camp this morning. (Todd Zolecki)
*The battle to bring back Olympic baseball matters more than you think. (Vice Sports)
*Adrian Beltre wants a three-year extension from the Rangers, through his Age-40 season. (MLBTR)
*Jered Weaver's fastball is sad and this story is sad. (LA Times)
*Before you go...
For four years, Astros owner Jim Crane's business was on file with the government as TEXAS RANGWERS. pic.twitter.com/BiszYiIvmk— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) March 10, 2016
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*Reading other people write about ALDS Game 4 is almost too painful.
*The Nationals/Astros shared Spring Training site will take a couple of months to clear the land...because the area was used for a landfill for hurricane debris. There's a metaphor in there, somewhere, if you're willing to dig deep enough to fin- nope, I got it.
*Longtime Astros front office man Paul Ricciarini is taking a job with the Marlins, and lost two other scouts.
*J.D. Davis, A.J. Reed, and Derek Fisher made the Arizona Fall League All-Star team.
*A.J. Hinch is visiting the AFL.
*Reminder, as Scott Kazmir became a free agent yesterday, the Astros cannot offer him a Qualifying Offer (since he was traded mid-season), and thus cannot get a compensation pick if he signs somewhere else. Colby Rasmus, however, could be given that Qualifying Offer.
*Here's a good TCB article on the Astros and developing a catcher.
*Dave Cameron: The Lessons the Royals Should and Shouldn't Teach Us
*The Giants' front office ordered pizza for the Royals' front office.
*Alllllllll the way at the bottom of this Heyman piece is a note that the Astros sure could use the Nationals' Drew Storen.
*The Astros (and Ramgers) open the off-season at 14/1 to win the 2016 World Series:
*The Nationals/Astros shared Spring Training site will take a couple of months to clear the land...because the area was used for a landfill for hurricane debris. There's a metaphor in there, somewhere, if you're willing to dig deep enough to fin- nope, I got it.
*Longtime Astros front office man Paul Ricciarini is taking a job with the Marlins, and lost two other scouts.
*J.D. Davis, A.J. Reed, and Derek Fisher made the Arizona Fall League All-Star team.
*A.J. Hinch is visiting the AFL.
*Reminder, as Scott Kazmir became a free agent yesterday, the Astros cannot offer him a Qualifying Offer (since he was traded mid-season), and thus cannot get a compensation pick if he signs somewhere else. Colby Rasmus, however, could be given that Qualifying Offer.
*Here's a good TCB article on the Astros and developing a catcher.
*Dave Cameron: The Lessons the Royals Should and Shouldn't Teach Us
*The Giants' front office ordered pizza for the Royals' front office.
*Alllllllll the way at the bottom of this Heyman piece is a note that the Astros sure could use the Nationals' Drew Storen.
*The Astros (and Ramgers) open the off-season at 14/1 to win the 2016 World Series:
The annual day-after-the-World Series odds from @BovadaLV favor the Cubs in 2016: pic.twitter.com/YZbhbBSWy7
— Big League Stew (@bigleaguestew) November 2, 2015
Friday, November 28, 2014
So Exactly How Different Are Jason Castro and Hank Conger??
When I first heard about the trade for Hank Conger, my first reaction was a definite WTF?!? My second reaction was a bit of sadness that Nick Tropeano was on his way out: he was a favourite of mine, and I was always interested in how his career would progress. But is is not exactly like he is changing leagues - let alone divisions - so I guess we will get plenty of chance to see how it all pans out for him.
Anyhow, I still sometimes find the trade a little puzzling. At the time, I wrote:
The whole thing may also become a little clearer come December 2, which is the deadline for when contracts need to be tendered. Carlos Corporan may be a little worried, but I imagine that he will be at least offered a contract. Then after that, more may be more whispered / known about during the Winter Meetings - which are being held in the entirely un-winter-like San Diego between Dec 8 and Dec 11.
But back to Castro and Conger...
Hyun Choi Conger will play most of 2015 as a 26-year-old. Jason Castro will play most of 2015 as a 27 year old. Conger is approximately 10 months younger than Castro. Conger was picked in the first round of the 2006 draft out of Huntington Beach High School. Castro was picked in the first round of the 2008 draft out of Stanford University, after originally being drafted in the 43rd round of the 2005 draft by the BoSawx. He returned to school late last year to finish his degree.
There is considerable value in Jason Castro: a lefty-catcher with good framing skills who had a 130 OPS+ season a year ago and who is still under team control for two more years. Hank Conger also hits well from the left side (great for a catcher), is rated as one of the best framers, and is under team control for three more years. Conger is described as a switch-hitter, but one amusing AC reader described him instead as a "switch batter". So there are parallels between Castro and Conger from the perspective of age, where they come from, handedness, framing-ness, and service times to this point.
So they seem kind of similar, which is why a number of pundits are predicting a trade. The main point of difference seems to be that Castro has a reputation as being a stronger hitter, but Conger has the rep for being the better defender. This may have something to do with the narratives surrounding each player: Castro has been a mainstay of a relatively weak Astros middle-order for the best part of two years, whereas Conger is normally stashed away in the 8 or 9 hole on a strong hitting Angels team. But as a very handsome and observant reader, Terence, pointed out in the comments section of the article linked earlier:
So lets look at exactly how different Castro and Conger are - mostly from the perspective of hitting (but I will draw upon some primitive defensive stuff at the end). The offensive comparisons are made easier because both players logged a significant number of plate appearances in the California League, Texas League and Pacific Coast League at around the same time. At worst, they were a year apart at each level, as the interested reader will discover below.
Because Conger turned pro out of High School, he started in Rookie Ball, aged 18 (2006). He signed right after the draft, and managed 19 games before the end of the 2006 season. At age 19 (2007) - his first full year as a pro - he split time between the Rookie League and Lo-A. At age 20 (2008), he spent the whole season in Hi-A with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League. And this is where we can pick up the comparisons, because Jason Castro played his first full pro-season in 2009, starting at Hi-A as a 22 year old. (Castro also signed in his draft year, and played in 39 games at Lo-A in the New York Penn League in 2008)
Conger, as a 20 year old in the California League in 2008, slashed .303/.333/.517 in 73 games - which constituted the whole season for him. He hit 13 home runs, and walked 14 times versus 55 strikeouts. As a 22 year old in the California League (Lancaster, 2009), Castro hit .309/.399/.517 in 56 games. Castro hit 7 home runs, walked 32 times, and struck out 41 times.
There are two big differences here: the relative ages for the league (favouring Conger), and the walks (favouring Castro). I note that Castro also had surprisingly little home-run power for the California League. Castro was promoted to Corpus Christi in time to play 63 AA games in 2009.
Conger played as a 21 year old in the Texas League, spending the whole season (2009) at Arkansas. In 123 games, his triple slash was .294/.368/.423, and he managed 11 home runs, with 55 walks versus 68 strikeouts. Castro, as mentioned above, caught up with Conger in AA, as he spent the second half of his 22 year old season (again, 2009) in the Texas League, slashing .293/.362/.385, and hitting 3 home runs, managing 25 walks against 35 strikeouts.
Conger's walk rate jumped in AA (10.5% versus 4.4% in Hi-A), and he showed a little more power than Castro, which is an impressive feat after a challenging jump between levels. However, 2009 was also Castro's first full pro season, and he was only sharing catching duties at Stanford, so it is very possible that wore down for the second half of the season, having played more baseball in a shorter time frame than he was previously used to.
Conger spent his age 22 season (2010) mostly at Salt Lake, in the Pacific Coast League. He also got a cup of coffee (13 games) in the Majors that year. In 108 AAA games, he slashed .300/.385/.463, with 11 home runs, and 55 walks versus 58 strikeouts. Castro got a little more than a cup of coffee in 2010 - kind of the whole pot, really - as a 23 year old. He played 67 games in the majors after 57 games at AAA Oklahoma. His AAA-line was .265/.365/.355, with 4 home runs and 32 walks against 34 strikeouts.
Advantage: Conger. He had a superior OBP, hit for more power and was the younger prospect. Castro's line was in a smaller sample, because his time in AAA was cut short by virtue of his midseason promotion.
2011 saw Conger return to Salt Lake for 27 games, before being promoted for 59 games in the Bigs. He continued to mash at AAA: .300/.375/.490, with 5 home runs and 12 walks versus 18 strikeouts. Conger also hit .209/.282/.356 with 6HR in 197 plate appearances in the Majors. Castro sat 2011 out because of an ACL injury that required a knee reconstruction, sustained while running to first base during spring training.
2012 saw Conger log 67 games in AAA Salt Lake, where he hit .295/.347/.473. Castro was back in the Bigs in 2012 for 87 games (after a total of 7 games in the minors on rehab assignments, where he absolutely raked) where he managed a pretty decent line: .257/.334/.401 (OPS+ of 99).
In 2013, both players were at the same level again: the major leagues. Conger played in 92 games, with a .249/.310/.403 line, hitting 7 bombs, and walking 17 times versus 61 strikeouts. His OPS+ was 101. Castro had a breakout 2013, propping up a bad Houston offence while slashing .276/.350/.485 in 102 games, hitting 18 home runs, walking 50 times, and striking out 130. His OPS+ was a very robust 130. Astros fans will remember Castro's monster 2013 quite well - or at least they should - as it was one of the very best offensive years in Astros' catching history.
In 2014, both players were again in the Majors. Conger played in 80 games, with a .221/.293/.325 line, hitting 4 home runs, and walking 22 times versus 57 strikeouts, resulting in an OPS+ of 79. Castro was similarly bad: .222/.286/.366, 14 home runs, 34 walks, and a hefty 151 strikeouts. His OPS+ was 83.
So that brings us to where we are now. What is surprising to me is how similarly their offence has been tracking, aside from Castro's outstanding All Star performance in 2013. Conger appeared to be a slightly superior prospect in A+, AA and AAA, mostly as the younger player. Castro seems to have handled the transition to the Major Leagues better, but much of his offence was in a fabulous 2013. And as reader Terence pointed out, they were pretty damn similar in terms of offence in 2014.
We can't ignore defence. Conger seems like the better defender. In the Major Leagues, appearing in 223 games wearing the Tools of Ignorance, Conger has allowed 3 passed balls, been involved in 84 wild pitches, and has caught 22% of baserunners stealing. Castro, in 358 games where he has appeared at catcher, has been responsible for 36 passed balls, been associated with 138 wild pitches, and has gunned down 24% of baserunners. Castro's 11 passed balls led the league in 2014, and he has never ranked better than 4th in the league in passed balls. It seems passed balls are a problem.
Caveat: the defensive statistics are clearly deficient, and are affected by the quality of the pitchers and the different philosophies of the pitching staffs. But there is still some use in the raw numbers, just avoid reading too much into them.
So now it is time for some conclusions. And here is what I see. Conger has been the better prospect (statistically speaking), playing at most levels at a younger age, hitting for more power, and, in some seasons, getting on base slightly better. Castro may have adjusted to Major League pitching better, and has one great year under his belt, which can't be discounted, because it may mean that he will do it again. Conger will be cheaper - projected to make 1.1 million on MLBTR in his first round through arbitration, whereas Castro is projected to make 3.9 million. Conger has breakout potential, Castro has broken out already, which makes predicting a strong offensive year in 2015 not entirely stupid.
So as Terence said, it is very possible that Conger is the better offensive player, and he certainly seems to be the better defensive catcher. He is younger, has another year of control, and is likely to be cheaper in 2015. The resolution of this situation - if there is one - will be fascinating, and may not be resolved until the 2015 trade deadline. We will see what the Front Office have planned in the coming months.
PS: Happy Thanksgiving!!
Anyhow, I still sometimes find the trade a little puzzling. At the time, I wrote:
"This will make more sense when the next move happens, but I am picking that Castro and Corporan will be traded this offseason. This may, in turn, free up uniform-number-15 for Will Harris. Stay tuned."Still waiting for that "next move", but I am also picking that the FA market will gather steam now that Panda and Han-Ram are both winging their way to Boston, and Russell Martin has returned to Canadia. Once the first of the FA pitchers comes off the market, it could all speed up as a number of teams will spring into action with their "Plan B's". The price for Castro has been described as ... um... high, and so this one may drag on toward Spring Training before it is - if it ever is - resolved. And if the worst thing is a job-share between Castro and Conger, that would not be the end of the world either.
The whole thing may also become a little clearer come December 2, which is the deadline for when contracts need to be tendered. Carlos Corporan may be a little worried, but I imagine that he will be at least offered a contract. Then after that, more may be more whispered / known about during the Winter Meetings - which are being held in the entirely un-winter-like San Diego between Dec 8 and Dec 11.
But back to Castro and Conger...
Hyun Choi Conger will play most of 2015 as a 26-year-old. Jason Castro will play most of 2015 as a 27 year old. Conger is approximately 10 months younger than Castro. Conger was picked in the first round of the 2006 draft out of Huntington Beach High School. Castro was picked in the first round of the 2008 draft out of Stanford University, after originally being drafted in the 43rd round of the 2005 draft by the BoSawx. He returned to school late last year to finish his degree.
There is considerable value in Jason Castro: a lefty-catcher with good framing skills who had a 130 OPS+ season a year ago and who is still under team control for two more years. Hank Conger also hits well from the left side (great for a catcher), is rated as one of the best framers, and is under team control for three more years. Conger is described as a switch-hitter, but one amusing AC reader described him instead as a "switch batter". So there are parallels between Castro and Conger from the perspective of age, where they come from, handedness, framing-ness, and service times to this point.
So they seem kind of similar, which is why a number of pundits are predicting a trade. The main point of difference seems to be that Castro has a reputation as being a stronger hitter, but Conger has the rep for being the better defender. This may have something to do with the narratives surrounding each player: Castro has been a mainstay of a relatively weak Astros middle-order for the best part of two years, whereas Conger is normally stashed away in the 8 or 9 hole on a strong hitting Angels team. But as a very handsome and observant reader, Terence, pointed out in the comments section of the article linked earlier:
"It might seem like Castro hit much better than Conger but that's because they played their home games in two very different parks. After park adjustment, Conger had a wRC+ of 82 last year, Castro was at 84. There's no discernible difference in the offensive skills displayed by these two players last year. Conger is younger, healthier, and produced better offensive numbers in the minors coming up. It is possible that the front office sees Conger as the better offensive player and that 2013 Jason Castro is never coming back."Astro County readers are awesome!!
So lets look at exactly how different Castro and Conger are - mostly from the perspective of hitting (but I will draw upon some primitive defensive stuff at the end). The offensive comparisons are made easier because both players logged a significant number of plate appearances in the California League, Texas League and Pacific Coast League at around the same time. At worst, they were a year apart at each level, as the interested reader will discover below.
Because Conger turned pro out of High School, he started in Rookie Ball, aged 18 (2006). He signed right after the draft, and managed 19 games before the end of the 2006 season. At age 19 (2007) - his first full year as a pro - he split time between the Rookie League and Lo-A. At age 20 (2008), he spent the whole season in Hi-A with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League. And this is where we can pick up the comparisons, because Jason Castro played his first full pro-season in 2009, starting at Hi-A as a 22 year old. (Castro also signed in his draft year, and played in 39 games at Lo-A in the New York Penn League in 2008)
Conger, as a 20 year old in the California League in 2008, slashed .303/.333/.517 in 73 games - which constituted the whole season for him. He hit 13 home runs, and walked 14 times versus 55 strikeouts. As a 22 year old in the California League (Lancaster, 2009), Castro hit .309/.399/.517 in 56 games. Castro hit 7 home runs, walked 32 times, and struck out 41 times.
There are two big differences here: the relative ages for the league (favouring Conger), and the walks (favouring Castro). I note that Castro also had surprisingly little home-run power for the California League. Castro was promoted to Corpus Christi in time to play 63 AA games in 2009.
Conger played as a 21 year old in the Texas League, spending the whole season (2009) at Arkansas. In 123 games, his triple slash was .294/.368/.423, and he managed 11 home runs, with 55 walks versus 68 strikeouts. Castro, as mentioned above, caught up with Conger in AA, as he spent the second half of his 22 year old season (again, 2009) in the Texas League, slashing .293/.362/.385, and hitting 3 home runs, managing 25 walks against 35 strikeouts.
Conger's walk rate jumped in AA (10.5% versus 4.4% in Hi-A), and he showed a little more power than Castro, which is an impressive feat after a challenging jump between levels. However, 2009 was also Castro's first full pro season, and he was only sharing catching duties at Stanford, so it is very possible that wore down for the second half of the season, having played more baseball in a shorter time frame than he was previously used to.
Conger spent his age 22 season (2010) mostly at Salt Lake, in the Pacific Coast League. He also got a cup of coffee (13 games) in the Majors that year. In 108 AAA games, he slashed .300/.385/.463, with 11 home runs, and 55 walks versus 58 strikeouts. Castro got a little more than a cup of coffee in 2010 - kind of the whole pot, really - as a 23 year old. He played 67 games in the majors after 57 games at AAA Oklahoma. His AAA-line was .265/.365/.355, with 4 home runs and 32 walks against 34 strikeouts.
Advantage: Conger. He had a superior OBP, hit for more power and was the younger prospect. Castro's line was in a smaller sample, because his time in AAA was cut short by virtue of his midseason promotion.
2011 saw Conger return to Salt Lake for 27 games, before being promoted for 59 games in the Bigs. He continued to mash at AAA: .300/.375/.490, with 5 home runs and 12 walks versus 18 strikeouts. Conger also hit .209/.282/.356 with 6HR in 197 plate appearances in the Majors. Castro sat 2011 out because of an ACL injury that required a knee reconstruction, sustained while running to first base during spring training.
2012 saw Conger log 67 games in AAA Salt Lake, where he hit .295/.347/.473. Castro was back in the Bigs in 2012 for 87 games (after a total of 7 games in the minors on rehab assignments, where he absolutely raked) where he managed a pretty decent line: .257/.334/.401 (OPS+ of 99).
In 2013, both players were at the same level again: the major leagues. Conger played in 92 games, with a .249/.310/.403 line, hitting 7 bombs, and walking 17 times versus 61 strikeouts. His OPS+ was 101. Castro had a breakout 2013, propping up a bad Houston offence while slashing .276/.350/.485 in 102 games, hitting 18 home runs, walking 50 times, and striking out 130. His OPS+ was a very robust 130. Astros fans will remember Castro's monster 2013 quite well - or at least they should - as it was one of the very best offensive years in Astros' catching history.
In 2014, both players were again in the Majors. Conger played in 80 games, with a .221/.293/.325 line, hitting 4 home runs, and walking 22 times versus 57 strikeouts, resulting in an OPS+ of 79. Castro was similarly bad: .222/.286/.366, 14 home runs, 34 walks, and a hefty 151 strikeouts. His OPS+ was 83.
So that brings us to where we are now. What is surprising to me is how similarly their offence has been tracking, aside from Castro's outstanding All Star performance in 2013. Conger appeared to be a slightly superior prospect in A+, AA and AAA, mostly as the younger player. Castro seems to have handled the transition to the Major Leagues better, but much of his offence was in a fabulous 2013. And as reader Terence pointed out, they were pretty damn similar in terms of offence in 2014.
We can't ignore defence. Conger seems like the better defender. In the Major Leagues, appearing in 223 games wearing the Tools of Ignorance, Conger has allowed 3 passed balls, been involved in 84 wild pitches, and has caught 22% of baserunners stealing. Castro, in 358 games where he has appeared at catcher, has been responsible for 36 passed balls, been associated with 138 wild pitches, and has gunned down 24% of baserunners. Castro's 11 passed balls led the league in 2014, and he has never ranked better than 4th in the league in passed balls. It seems passed balls are a problem.
Caveat: the defensive statistics are clearly deficient, and are affected by the quality of the pitchers and the different philosophies of the pitching staffs. But there is still some use in the raw numbers, just avoid reading too much into them.
So now it is time for some conclusions. And here is what I see. Conger has been the better prospect (statistically speaking), playing at most levels at a younger age, hitting for more power, and, in some seasons, getting on base slightly better. Castro may have adjusted to Major League pitching better, and has one great year under his belt, which can't be discounted, because it may mean that he will do it again. Conger will be cheaper - projected to make 1.1 million on MLBTR in his first round through arbitration, whereas Castro is projected to make 3.9 million. Conger has breakout potential, Castro has broken out already, which makes predicting a strong offensive year in 2015 not entirely stupid.
So as Terence said, it is very possible that Conger is the better offensive player, and he certainly seems to be the better defensive catcher. He is younger, has another year of control, and is likely to be cheaper in 2015. The resolution of this situation - if there is one - will be fascinating, and may not be resolved until the 2015 trade deadline. We will see what the Front Office have planned in the coming months.
PS: Happy Thanksgiving!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Jason Castro: An Option at 1B?
Note: Our buddy and occasional contributor Kevin Bass Stache forwarded this on for our consideration. And now it's yours.
---
---
It’s no surprise that the Astros were a horrible offensive
team last year with first base being one of the biggest voids on the team. Let’s be honest: It was a rotating door, with Brett Wallace
and Chris Carter getting the majority of at-bats. Both players did provide some amount of
offense, but neither were solid defenders, meaning they negated some (or all)
of the positive offensive value they created.
The Astros front office recognized the issue, and targeted multiple free
agent first basemen during the offseason, but due to bad luck—or just a lack of
desire to play for the worst team in baseball—they missed out on every player
targeted.
Throw spaghetti at the wall and hope some of it sticks. Houston
traded for Jesus Guzman and invited a host of other players to spring camp
(including Japhet Amador, Jon Singleton, Marc Krauss, and Brett Wallace) with
the hopes that one of them would grab at the opportunity. But nobody has really emerged as a clear
front runner and, just this week, ESPN columnist Jayson Stark announced that Houston was looking
outside the organization to potentially fill the position.
There have been a number of names floated as potential trade
candidates—Ike Davis, John Mayberry, Tyler Moore, and even Mike Carp (who I
made a pitch for back in December). But none of these are great options, just
warm bodies until Jon Singleton is ready at some point this year. So why even bother? Instead, what if we take a different approach
and not acquire anyone at all? Houston is in an
interesting position in that they’ve got two big league catchers already in
Jason Castro and Carlos Corporan, plus an intriguing prospect who’s near MLB
ready in Max Stassi.
Could the Astros move their best offensive player last year,
Jason Castro, to first base for some—or part—of the 2014 season? In 2013, with a slash line of .276/.350/.485
and 18 home runs, Castro proved that he could be a supreme offensive
catcher. How would he do if moved to
first? Surprisingly, Castro’s wRC+ of
130, and total fWAR of 4.3 in 2013, would’ve put placed him 7th best
(between Brandon Belt and Mike Napoli) among all MLB first basemen in
2013. (We don’t know how Castro would be
defensively at first, since the data doesn’t exist, so I’m assuming he would be
an average defender.)
Of course, this creates some new issues. The biggest:
Who takes over as the new starting catcher?
Carlos Corporan, who hit a career best in home runs with
seven, seems no more than back-up at this point. Oliver
projections, which tend to be optimistic, think Corporan would be no better
than a .4 fWAR player (essentially, around the replacement level mark) over 600
at-bats in 2014.
Max Stassi, on the other hand, appears to have much more
potential. Both ZiPS and Oliver think
that Stassi could be a decent offensive player in 2014, somewhat in the mold of
John Buck, with 11-23 home runs, a 280-ish OBP, and an fWAR of 1.8-2.1. Solid production, yes, but questions also
emerge.
Namely, can Stassi, who had his 2013 season ended by a
concussion and has been bitten by injuries over his young career, be healthy
enough to be an everyday player? Also,
what’s the adjustment period going to be like for him to be a successful Major
Leaguer? We’d like to imagine he’d be
able to shoot out of a cannon and start being productive, but he has a grand
total of three MLB games under his belt (plus 76 games at Double-A). He has zero experience at the Triple-A level.
Another issue: Can
Corporan or Stassi be good enough, defensively and with the pitching staff, to
be a decent replacement option for Castro?
This is a bit harder to determine, since the things like
game calling are a bit harder to quantify.
We do know that Castro is a slightly above-average defensive catcher and
Corporan is about average. Stassi,
though, is an unknown. We think, based
on some of the projection data, that he’ll be as good defensively as Castro but
we simply don’t have enough hard data to really know one way or the other.
If you’re saying this is a bit risky, you’re right. But if there’s any perfect time for the
Astros to find out what they have in Stassi, this might be it. Houston’s
2014 squad is projected to be an improvement over the 2013 version, but this is
still a potential 100 loss team. With
such low expectations, now is the time to take that chance and see what the
options are. (One side benefit is that
it might help the organization determine whether Castro should be a long-term
investment or someone worth trading before he gets too expensive.) Even 300 at-bats at the Major League level could
be quite valuable. And who knows? Maybe Singleton is ready by then and Castro
goes back to his natural position. There
are other first base options available (both internally and externally), but
this could prove to be a worthwhile experiment in another year where experience
and growth trumps the win-loss column.
Why not give it a try?
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Astros trade for Matt Pagnozzi
The Astros have sent cash to the Braves to acquire catcher Matt Pagnozzi.
Pagnozzi, who will be 31 in November, was the Cardinals' 8th Round pick in 2003. He hasn't played in the Majors since 2011 (.310/.364/.380 in 83 PAs from 2009-11), and was hitting .210/.274/.314 in 90 games (321 PAs) for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2013.
You can chalk this up to the snake-bitten Astros losing Corporan, Stassi, and now Castro in the last two weeks. Edgar Gonzalez has been transferred to the 60-Day DL to make room for him on the 40-man roster.
Pagnozzi, who will be 31 in November, was the Cardinals' 8th Round pick in 2003. He hasn't played in the Majors since 2011 (.310/.364/.380 in 83 PAs from 2009-11), and was hitting .210/.274/.314 in 90 games (321 PAs) for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2013.
You can chalk this up to the snake-bitten Astros losing Corporan, Stassi, and now Castro in the last two weeks. Edgar Gonzalez has been transferred to the 60-Day DL to make room for him on the 40-man roster.
Monday, February 20, 2012
A Rundown of the Catchers
With Mike Kvasnicka moving back behind the plate, let's take a look at who's in the pipeline behind the plate in the organization, shall we?
Jason Castro (24 years old) - 2011: N/A, Injuries
Chris Snyder (31) - .271/.376/.396 in 119 PAs for Pittsburgh
Humberto Quintero (32) - .240/.258/.317 in 272 PAs for Houston
-
Carlos Corporan (28) - .188/.253/.253 in 173 PAs for Houston
Chris Wallace (23) - .271/.343/.507 in 411 PAs for Lexington/Corpus
Mike Kvasnicka (23) - .260/.328/.368 in 536 PAs for Lexington
Rene Garcia (21) - .242/.288/.303 in 326 PAs for Lancaster
Ben Heath (23) - .252/.310/.408 in 365 PAs for Lexington/Lancaster
Jordan Comadena (26) - .295/.389/.432 in 115 PAs for Lancaster
Roberto Pena (19) - .217/.266/.310 in 308 PAs for Lexington
-
Miles Hamblin (23) - .264/.346/.398 in 229 PAs for Tri-City
Ryan McCurdy (24) - .320/.385/.379 in 119 PAs for Tri-City (and 1PA in Lexington)
Bubby Williams (22) - .206/.223/.397 in 139 PAs for Tri-City
Luis Alvarez (21) - .271/.353/.376 in 151 PAs for Greeneville
Ernesto Genoves (20) - .280/.375/.464 in 144 PAs for Greeneville
Cristian Moronta (22) - .242/.242/.303 in 33 PAs for Greeneville
That's about as far as we need to go right now. If I were to eyeball the rankings of the Top 5 catchers (after we get through Castro, Snyder, and Quintero), it would probably be as follows:
1. Chris Wallace
2. Ben Heath
3. Mike Kvasnicka
4. Mikes Hamblin
5. Ryan McCurdy
What say you?
Jason Castro (24 years old) - 2011: N/A, Injuries
Chris Snyder (31) - .271/.376/.396 in 119 PAs for Pittsburgh
Humberto Quintero (32) - .240/.258/.317 in 272 PAs for Houston
-
Carlos Corporan (28) - .188/.253/.253 in 173 PAs for Houston
Chris Wallace (23) - .271/.343/.507 in 411 PAs for Lexington/Corpus
Mike Kvasnicka (23) - .260/.328/.368 in 536 PAs for Lexington
Rene Garcia (21) - .242/.288/.303 in 326 PAs for Lancaster
Ben Heath (23) - .252/.310/.408 in 365 PAs for Lexington/Lancaster
Jordan Comadena (26) - .295/.389/.432 in 115 PAs for Lancaster
Roberto Pena (19) - .217/.266/.310 in 308 PAs for Lexington
-
Miles Hamblin (23) - .264/.346/.398 in 229 PAs for Tri-City
Ryan McCurdy (24) - .320/.385/.379 in 119 PAs for Tri-City (and 1PA in Lexington)
Bubby Williams (22) - .206/.223/.397 in 139 PAs for Tri-City
Luis Alvarez (21) - .271/.353/.376 in 151 PAs for Greeneville
Ernesto Genoves (20) - .280/.375/.464 in 144 PAs for Greeneville
Cristian Moronta (22) - .242/.242/.303 in 33 PAs for Greeneville
That's about as far as we need to go right now. If I were to eyeball the rankings of the Top 5 catchers (after we get through Castro, Snyder, and Quintero), it would probably be as follows:
1. Chris Wallace
2. Ben Heath
3. Mike Kvasnicka
4. Mikes Hamblin
5. Ryan McCurdy
What say you?
Kvasnicka back to catcher
We're going to save you all the minutiae of the Astros' opening of Spring Training ("Everyone looks good." "Here's someone walking around." "Look at this f-ing hipster center fielder." Et cetera.) but we do already have an important note on the minor-league side:
Mike Kvasnicka has been moved back to catcher.
Kvasnicka was a catcher at the University of Minnesota, but the Astros drafted him as a 3B, and in 141 games at 3B between Tri-City and Lexington, Kvasnicka had an .895 Fld% while hitting .251/.320/.357. Obviously this slash line is more suited for catching things the pitcher throws, rather than what gets smashed down the left field line.
So the Astros have moved him back behind the plate.
Mike Kvasnicka has been moved back to catcher.
Kvasnicka was a catcher at the University of Minnesota, but the Astros drafted him as a 3B, and in 141 games at 3B between Tri-City and Lexington, Kvasnicka had an .895 Fld% while hitting .251/.320/.357. Obviously this slash line is more suited for catching things the pitcher throws, rather than what gets smashed down the left field line.
So the Astros have moved him back behind the plate.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Astros still want a catcher, yet are tapped out
According to Jayson Stark, the Astros still want a catche, but simply don't haw re jack.
• Teams that have spoken with the Astros report they'd like to add a veteran catcher, but have just about zero money to spend. And an official of one club reports they have "nothing going" on that front.
• Teams that have spoken with the Astros report they'd like to add a veteran catcher, but have just about zero money to spend. And an official of one club reports they have "nothing going" on that front.
Friday, March 11, 2011
While we don't necessarily care for his tone, the Common Man is right
Over on the ESPN's Sweet Spot Network, The Common Man takes a gander at the Astros' pursuit of another catcher.
The Astros are terrible. According to Dan Szymborski’s projections, they have just two hitters and two pitchers capable of being above average. Baseball Prospectus thinks they’ll be worse than the Pirates. This is a team with absolutely no chance of going anywhere in 2011. Ninety-plus losses is a virtual certainty. That’s going to happen whether Houston picks up Jesus Flores, or Ryan Doumit, or even if they manage to kidnap Joe Mauer. They can’t actually think they’re going anywhere, can they? If they do, well, they could be poised to make themselves even worse in the long run...
...Really, the only smart play for the Astros is to sit on their hands. If they get worse, they improve their draft spot, which would allow them to take some truly talented players in 2012. If Towles finds the talent that once made him a prospect, he can be dealt to a team desperate for catching help and bring in talent that way. There is simply no upside to expending resources to win a game or two more this year.
Like we said, we don't appreciate the insolence, but we agree.
The Astros are terrible. According to Dan Szymborski’s projections, they have just two hitters and two pitchers capable of being above average. Baseball Prospectus thinks they’ll be worse than the Pirates. This is a team with absolutely no chance of going anywhere in 2011. Ninety-plus losses is a virtual certainty. That’s going to happen whether Houston picks up Jesus Flores, or Ryan Doumit, or even if they manage to kidnap Joe Mauer. They can’t actually think they’re going anywhere, can they? If they do, well, they could be poised to make themselves even worse in the long run...
...Really, the only smart play for the Astros is to sit on their hands. If they get worse, they improve their draft spot, which would allow them to take some truly talented players in 2012. If Towles finds the talent that once made him a prospect, he can be dealt to a team desperate for catching help and bring in talent that way. There is simply no upside to expending resources to win a game or two more this year.
Like we said, we don't appreciate the insolence, but we agree.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Astros still not sure what to do about the catcher situation
Steve Campbell's post on C1 has some interesting nuggets, as Drayton and Easy Eddie met to re-evaluate payroll.
Run-DMc:
“It’s hard to make a trade now. Most teams are assessing where they are. But at the end of spring training, we’re certainly going to look at what we do at the start of the season. That’s what I’ve done for 18 previous years: We adjust as we go.”
Wade:
“We’re not going to go overboard to chase somebody. But at least it gives me a sense of feel for some of the parameters we’re operating on. Even if there was a guy out there making substantial dollars available, I’m not sure we would be in the mix to be able to go do something like that.”
More Wade, on what Towles/Corporan should do:
“Every opportunity they get to go out there and put their best foot forward, they should take advantage of it. We’re not saying we’re (definitely) going outside to do something.”
So how are they doing? In four Spring Training games, Carlos Corporan is 3x5 with three singles, and J.R. Towles is 2x8 with a double and an RBI. Quintero is 3x7 with two doubles, 3RBI, and a 1.214 OPS (limited sample size implied).
Run-DMc:
“It’s hard to make a trade now. Most teams are assessing where they are. But at the end of spring training, we’re certainly going to look at what we do at the start of the season. That’s what I’ve done for 18 previous years: We adjust as we go.”
Wade:
“We’re not going to go overboard to chase somebody. But at least it gives me a sense of feel for some of the parameters we’re operating on. Even if there was a guy out there making substantial dollars available, I’m not sure we would be in the mix to be able to go do something like that.”
More Wade, on what Towles/Corporan should do:
“Every opportunity they get to go out there and put their best foot forward, they should take advantage of it. We’re not saying we’re (definitely) going outside to do something.”
So how are they doing? In four Spring Training games, Carlos Corporan is 3x5 with three singles, and J.R. Towles is 2x8 with a double and an RBI. Quintero is 3x7 with two doubles, 3RBI, and a 1.214 OPS (limited sample size implied).
Monday, October 18, 2010
Damn you, Brian McTaggart
Brian McTaggart totally swooped in and posted the first of a series we were hoping to post - a position-by-position look at the organization. Today's it's the Catcher.
What's Next:
The Astros are still committed to Castro. He's only 23 years old and there's no reason to believe he won't get better with age. But don't be surprised to the see the club perhaps bring in a low-cost veteran to take over behind the plate if Castro just isn't ready on Opening Day. Among the free agents who could fit that bill are Gregg Zaun, Matt Treanor and Josh Bard or similiar-type players in age, ability and salary. Unless the Astros don't tender him a contract, Quintero appears poised to return as the back up yet again.
It's just a snippet, and you should really click the link and read it for yourself. Basically, one of these days the Astros will have a catcher who can hit.
What's Next:
The Astros are still committed to Castro. He's only 23 years old and there's no reason to believe he won't get better with age. But don't be surprised to the see the club perhaps bring in a low-cost veteran to take over behind the plate if Castro just isn't ready on Opening Day. Among the free agents who could fit that bill are Gregg Zaun, Matt Treanor and Josh Bard or similiar-type players in age, ability and salary. Unless the Astros don't tender him a contract, Quintero appears poised to return as the back up yet again.
It's just a snippet, and you should really click the link and read it for yourself. Basically, one of these days the Astros will have a catcher who can hit.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Esposito promoted
In the wake of Towles' severe demotion, the Express are saying that Brian Esposito has been promoted from Corpus to Round Rock, presumably to backup Jason Castro.
So let's recap. 24 hours ago we had:
C1: J.R. Towles
C2: Humberto Quintero
C3: Jason Castro
C4: Kevin Cash
C5: Brian Esposito
C6: Lou Santangelo
Today it's...
C1: Humberto Quintero
C2: Kevin Cash
C3: Jason Castro
C4: Brian Esposito
C5: J.R. Towles
C6: Lou Santangelo
So let's recap. 24 hours ago we had:
C1: J.R. Towles
C2: Humberto Quintero
C3: Jason Castro
C4: Kevin Cash
C5: Brian Esposito
C6: Lou Santangelo
Today it's...
C1: Humberto Quintero
C2: Kevin Cash
C3: Jason Castro
C4: Brian Esposito
C5: J.R. Towles
C6: Lou Santangelo
Greg Lucas brings the noise about Towles
Greg Lucas knows why Towles was sent down:
Towles has not shown to be a solid backstop. His throwing is erratic. But like his hitting or lack of it that is not really why he is headed to Corpus Christi.
J.R. Towles is no longer an Astro because pitchers don’t like working with him. It has not been a secret within the Astro clubhouse that at least two starters—one with significant prominence—have had problems communicating with J.R. Everything from pace of the game, to targets offered, to being on the same page contributed to the split.
Despite manager Brad Mills saying there was no reason why Humberto Quintero caught Roy Oswalt on Tuesday instead of Towles except to try a new look, there was.
...Had J.R. Towles proven to be a good hitter he would still be here despite his lack of skills working with pitchers. Hitting—like scoring in basketball—overcomes all other ills. But he didn’t hit and didn’t work well behind the plate either. So J.R. Towles is a Corpus Christi Hook. He will probably hit there as he did at Round Rock last season. He may hang around professional baseball for several more seasons. Whether he ever gets another shot at being a major league starting catcher? That is a real question.
Day-um!
Towles has not shown to be a solid backstop. His throwing is erratic. But like his hitting or lack of it that is not really why he is headed to Corpus Christi.
J.R. Towles is no longer an Astro because pitchers don’t like working with him. It has not been a secret within the Astro clubhouse that at least two starters—one with significant prominence—have had problems communicating with J.R. Everything from pace of the game, to targets offered, to being on the same page contributed to the split.
Despite manager Brad Mills saying there was no reason why Humberto Quintero caught Roy Oswalt on Tuesday instead of Towles except to try a new look, there was.
...Had J.R. Towles proven to be a good hitter he would still be here despite his lack of skills working with pitchers. Hitting—like scoring in basketball—overcomes all other ills. But he didn’t hit and didn’t work well behind the plate either. So J.R. Towles is a Corpus Christi Hook. He will probably hit there as he did at Round Rock last season. He may hang around professional baseball for several more seasons. Whether he ever gets another shot at being a major league starting catcher? That is a real question.
Day-um!
Would Towles ask for a trade?
Buried within McTaggart's piece on Towles getting sent down is this nugget from Towles:
"I have to talk to my agent and see the options I have and go from there."
Will he ask for a trade? It makes sense. I can't remember an instance in which a player was sent down two levels. It's clear that Towles had one more chance, and it looked like he earned that chance coming out of Spring Training, but has now lost that chance. He didn't get a ton of ABs, and he - like everybody but Bourn and (sometimes) Keppinger - didn't do much offensively.
The long-term priority for the Astros at catcher is clearly Jason Castro, given that Cash was called up, and Quintero will suffice in the meantime. Towles had 47ABs this season, and hit .191/.235/.319. In 2009, Towles got 48ABs, and hit .188/.250/.354. My guess is that Mills and Wade had seen what they needed to see, didn't see any improvement, and made a move.
I can't imagine Towles coming back to the Astros. But I do hope he gets traded to a good situation, where the Astros are able to recoup something for him.
"I have to talk to my agent and see the options I have and go from there."
Will he ask for a trade? It makes sense. I can't remember an instance in which a player was sent down two levels. It's clear that Towles had one more chance, and it looked like he earned that chance coming out of Spring Training, but has now lost that chance. He didn't get a ton of ABs, and he - like everybody but Bourn and (sometimes) Keppinger - didn't do much offensively.
The long-term priority for the Astros at catcher is clearly Jason Castro, given that Cash was called up, and Quintero will suffice in the meantime. Towles had 47ABs this season, and hit .191/.235/.319. In 2009, Towles got 48ABs, and hit .188/.250/.354. My guess is that Mills and Wade had seen what they needed to see, didn't see any improvement, and made a move.
I can't imagine Towles coming back to the Astros. But I do hope he gets traded to a good situation, where the Astros are able to recoup something for him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)