Wednesday Morning Hot Links

*Read the Masked Marvel's recap of last night's horror show.

*I wrote yesterday about how the Astros have struggled in close games on the road. Thankfully the Astros just decided to get blown out last night so I didn't have to update any numbers.

*Jose Altuve still isn't worried:
I think every team is going to go through this, what's happening to us right now, but we're going to be good. I'm confident in the team we have. We're going to start swinging the bat and doing everything we normally do and be one of the best teams in the big leagues.

Keuchel:
Just can't do anything right. That's just the way it's going. It seems like I made a few pitches, a bloop single. When it's going right, it's not going right. 

If that isn't a recap of the first 21 games, I don't know what is.

*The Mariners had a pretty clear game plan for the formerly-5.28-ERA-saddled starting pitcher Nate Karns:
I was just tired of not doing what I was capable of doing. I wanted a good performance. Mel (Stottlemyre) did a great job with the scouting report and made it crystal clear for me. I took great notes watching Taijuan Walker doing his thing yesterday and stuck with our scouting report and tried to expose their weaknesses.

So my scouting report would look something like this:
They have trouble hitting the ball. If they get runners on, don't worry, they'll leave them there. The Astros are going to do one thing something so incredibly stupid that you would have to rupture a tendon fist-pumping in order to get pulled from this game. Just throw it somewhere near the plate, they'll swing. Or don't, they'll swing at that, too. But Colby Rasmus will destroy you. 

*Hinch, on Karns:
Well we couldn't solve Karns' breaking ball. We knew going in he was going to be predominantly breaking ball first with a high fastball and occasional change. So the game plan we thought he was going to go against us, he did. We didn't make an adjustment against his breaking ball, and he had a good one.

*Hinch says that Carlos Gomez is coming around:
He's been in the at-bats on time a little bit with more...release of the barrel. He's hitting the ball on the line quite a bit, just near misses on some home runs. It would be nice to get him heated up. 

Gomez did have two decent ABs last night - sending two early balls about 400 feet to the outfield, where they nestled calmly in the defenders' glove, like a baby owl returning home to its mama.

*Saturday's starter has shifted from Scott Feldman to Chris Devenski, in what - for now - is a one-time audition start:
(Devenski) pitches with a ton of confidence, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in a different role for the time being. It could be very temporary. As we know, in this game you never know.

That last sentence is nonsense. Devenski will start at Oakland. This may be Hinch blowing smoke up Feldman's tailpipe - remember the Gregerson/Giles Closer Anointing - to let him down easy, but Devenski should probably go ahead and just throw a no-hitter just to make sure.

*Nobody knows why Ken Giles is struggling in his young career with the Astros.
Giles: I don't have an answer as to why things aren't going my way.
Kratz: I really don't have an answer for you. He's not missing spots. He's healthy. The ball is coming out healthy.
Hinch: It's been something different every outing and there's not one theme that goes with the tough outings.

*Lance McCullers will throw in an extended spring training game today, and the Astros are hoping for three innings.

*Disregarding his last ten games, Forbes writes that Tyler White's emergence is not surprising.

*Two former Astros prospects are on this Baseball America list of players in line for quick promotions.

*Ben Badler writes about how teams can exploit (and easily corrupt) the new international bonus pool rules for July 2 signings.

*FanGraphs: What pitchers (and numbers) say about pitching in the cold.

*Parkour in Chernobyl: The Ultimate Adventure or a Journey Into Madness?

*Before You Go:

My son's pitching line for his first Little League game last night: 3IP 9K 2BB 3H #lockhimupnow #sonisbetter #good pic.twitter.com/ku6lV41M3g

— Erik Kratz (@ErikKratz31) April 27, 2016

Historical Scouting Reports - Kevin Bass

The National Baseball Hall of Fame did something really a couple years ago when they made thousands of historical scouting reports available to the public. This post is part of a series in which we'll look at the reports of players that have passed through Houston during their career. A lot of these are, understandably, difficult to read, so I'll do my best to transcribe them while including links to a few of them.

Today we'll look at right fielder Kevin Bass. Bass was drafted in the 2nd round by Milwaukee in 1977. Late in the 1982 season he was traded to Houston, along with Frank DiPino and Mike Madden, for Don Sutton. Bass would go on to spend the bulk of his career with the Astros during two stints in the 80's and 90's and was an All-Star during the team's storied 1986 season. For his career, he hit .270 with 118 HR and 151 SB, including putting together a 20/20 season in 1986. He left Houston as a free agent after the 1989 season, played a few years with the Giants and Mets, then returned to Houston as a free agent for the 1993 and 1994 seasons before spending his final year in Baltimore.

He have quite a few reports on Bass including several from 1977 and running until 1991.

Our first from 1977 is by Royals scout Tom Ferrick. At the time, Bass was a HS center fielder being scouted for the draft. Ferrick generally rated Bass as a potentially average, straight-away hitter with below average power but very good speed. In the field he was rated as above average to very good but with an average arm. Bass was also rated as potentially having above average baseball instincts and aggressiveness, as well as good habits, good agility, and good physical maturity. Ferrick noted that he talked to Bass, who was polite, well mannered, and intelligent. Bass played football but wants baseball. He notes that the switch-hitting Bass had a compact swing from the left side and was a natural right handed hitter. Ferrick summarized Bass "has potential to be lead off type ML OF. LF because of arm, but could play CF defensively. Should be base stealer, bunter and better than average defensive OF. Contact type hitter. Good baseball instincts."

Next is a player evaluation by Dennis Holmberg, Bass' manager for the short-season Brewers minor league team in Newark in 1977. Holmberg said Bass needed work hitting left handed, but that range and running speed would be above average. Bass also was a good worker and had the tools and desire to play; that he was a major league prospect who should play in A ball the next season. Bass was a line drive hitter with excellent bat speed and used his hands well, but at times didn't get his hips into the ball, which limited his power, and would also let front shoulder fly open at times when hitting left handed. He was an above average runner that needed to learn to drag bunt and get better leads and jumps off pitchers. Holmberg said Bass could reach AA the next season and that he would really come on in the Instructional League. Bass was great to work with and it was just a matter of time; he as an outstanding prospect. Holmberg wraps his report up by saying Bass "very possibly will have to be moved to right field in time."

Our next report is from Holmberg in 1977 again, this time from the Instructional League. Bass had improved in the field but still needed to improve his bunting. He was learning to steal bases and his quick bat could show some "fence power" in the future. His weakness in the field was on ground balls and throwing to the proper bases, but Holmberg felt that would improve with experience. Bass could run, throw, and hit, and was a good fielder, one of the finest young players Holmberg had seen. All he had to do is play every day to improve.

Next up is a report by Tony Siegle, then with the Brewers, from 1978 prior to the season. He said Bass was very aggressive in all respects. At Newerk, Siegle had some questions about Bass' bat but after seeing him again in the Instructionals he no longer had doubts. Bass could run and throw, but his fielding, especially with groundballs again, needed "smoothing out."

The next report we have is from 1985 by Bobby Morgan, who looks to have been a Royals scout at the time. I'm not too sure about the ratings he used, some sort of X +/- system, so you can see for yourself, but he summarized Bass as a "Good every day player - Good contact. Having a good year." On a side note, the Constable will not be happy about Morgan's last note on that report.

Now we get to the back half of Bass' career. The next report was from March 1990 by Phillies scout Eddie Bockman. Bass was with San Francisco at this point. This report is brief, but Bockman said Bass was "very good established everyday ML player. All tools above average. Solid in every area. Could help any ball club." As an interesting side, Brett Butler is also listed on this report. Bockman didn't like him, that he was "not our type of player." Butler would average about 5 WAR over the next 3 seasons.

Our final report is also by Bockman, this time from the spring of 1991. It's again very brief but he said Bass "has been used sparingly this spring. Probably due to knee surgery last year. If healthy can be good everyday player in ML. No clue if he changed his tune on Butler, though.

Historical Scouting Reports - Bobby Abreu

The National Baseball Hall of Fame did something really cool last year when they made thousands of historical scouting reports available to the public. This post is part of a series in which we'll look at the reports of players that have passed through Houston during their career. A lot of these are, understandably, difficult to read, so I'll do my best to transcribe them as-is while including pictures of a few of them.

Today we'll look at Bobby Abreu. While Abreu is best known for having a long career as a power/speed/patience guy for the Phillies, among other teams, he actually started his career with the Astros. Originally signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela, Abreu was left unprotected in the 1997 expansion draft and was taken by Tampa Bay and immediately traded to Philadelphia, where he averaged about 6 WAR over the next 7 seasons. Hard to imagine two franchises not realizing the talent he possessed. He did get to play 74 games for Houston before 1997, where he hit .248/.325/.362 with 3 HR and 7 SB. For his career, he hit .291/.395/.475 with 288 HR and 400 SB before retiring following this season.

We have three scouting reports for Abreu, two from 1995 (from his time in Tucson) and one from 1997.

The first from 1995 was from Yankees scout John Cox.

Arm 55/60 Run 55/60 Baserunning 60 Hit 50/60 Power 40/55 Field 50 Hustle 60.
Prospect type: Outstanding
Average size, strong athletic body, has body strength. Will be solid player. Fair contact. Can drive ball. Solid avg arm. Good speed when underway. Still young.
Other comments: Average size, long arms and legs, well proportioned, appears heavier than 160. Good body strength. Hustles, plays hard, aggressive. "Grows" on you! Makes fair contact. Still trying to figure out breaking ball, can drive fastball. Tries to pull too much now. Needs to use the whole field. Should have average power in future. Solid avg speed. Better when underway, fun to watch go 1st to 3rd! Good arm - inconsistent - but when everything works is impressive. Still young. Learning to play. Has tools. Needs time.

The next from 1995 is from White Sox scout John Kazanas.

Physical description: Athletic actions, frame has chance to carry more strength.
Scout Judgements: Definite ML Prospect

Strong points: Outstanding approach to hitting, sweet short compact stroke w/outstanding balance, knowledge of K-zone, good 2-strike hitter, spray ball to all fields. Gap to gap guy, run well especially 1st to 3rd, arm avg to above w/ good carry and rot (rotation?), 4.16 speed to 1B, can play LF-RF fairly well occasionally gets good jumps.

Weak points: Not strong yet, pop not there for corner guy, occasionally does not get first step quickness stealing bases, trouble occasionally vs LHP front shoulder goes. Routes in OF still can get better - needs work in CF for experience.

Summation: Young good looking hitter. Mark Grace type and when strength comes he should be able to linedrive some HRs. Defense skills are a little short and experience will help improvement. 3 tool guy now with a high ceiling.

LD hitter. Contact 50. Quality contact 50. Instincts 50. Aggressiveness 55. Arm accuracy 55 strength 50. Base running instincts 50 1st step 45.

Attitude: Competes - knows he is good
Instincts: Still learning feeling out process

The final one is a short one from Cubs scout Hugh Alexander from about a month before Abreu was lost to the expansion draft. As a bonus, it includes looks at Scott Elarton and Richard Hidalgo.

Good looking young hitter. Average power. Good speed.

Historical Scouting Reports - Billy Hatcher

The National Baseball Hall of Fame did something really cool last year when they made thousands of historical scouting reports available to the public. This post is part of a series in which we'll look at the reports of players that have passed through Houston during their career. A lot of these are, understandably, difficult to read, so I'll do my best to transcribe them as-is while including pictures of a few of them.

Today we'll look at Billy Hatcher. Hatcher was a speedy outfielder for Houston from 1986-1989, perhaps best known for his 14th inning home run in the storied Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS against the Mets. Or, if you prefer, for his 1987 suspension for using a corked bat. Either way. Hatcher came to Houston when he was traded by the Cubs for Jerry Mumphrey and patrolled left and center while racking up stolen bases by the dozen before being traded to Pittsburgh for outfielder Glenn Wilson late in the 1989 season. All told, he hit .266 for Houston with 145 steals while accumulating 5.6 WAR. Houston easily got the best seasons of his career.

We have three scouting reports on Hatcher, two from 1985 (just before joining Houston) and one from 1990 (just after leaving Houston). All three are apparently from the White Sox organization.

1985

I project as a .270 hitter with very little power. Good range in the outfield but arm is a minus. He showed good short stroke he had last year and should be average ML player and steal 25-30 bases. Not a plus bat (but?) can help.

*Note: Hatcher ended up hitting .264 for his career and averaged 29 steals per 162 games. Not a bad projection by scout Larry Monroe

Black, stocky strong body. 4.2 to 1st base: Not a good base runner at this time doesn't read pitchers well. Has some power but in these games was making contact but not showing me the power expected: Can play ML outfield.

1990

Physical Descriptions: short - stocky. Injuries: Sore RT. elbow - jammed LFT Shld (cort). White Sox acquire? Yes. 
Hit: 30. Contact: 40. Power: 40. Consistency: 45. Sac bunting: 50. Push bunting: 50. Time to 1st: 4.0. Baserunning: 60. Alert: 60. Arm strength: 40. Accuracy: 50. Release: 50. Fielding alertness: 55. Jump: 55. Range: 55. Hands: 50. Attitude: AGG.
Strong points: Fine spd - 3.96 - GD of. with AB AV range - Fair arm - GD bunter -Base stealer - Swings bat - Has XTRA base prod - Occ. HR PWR.
Weak points: Needs better disipline (sic) & selectivity at bat to ensure harder contact & more bases on balls (only ?timing?)
Summation: Adds GD dimensions to club - AV to AB AV FLD, arm OK, GD range, steals bases, swings bat with XTRA base PWR! AGG - tough - NDS to walk more ACQUIRE! (circled)
How would we pitch him? Jam - FB - SL Chases H O FB Trouble With O CFB.
How would we defense him? STR - MED to (OF) Deep. Corners up (Likes to bunt)

*The formatting and use of abbreviations made this one hard to transcribe. Apologies.

Historical Scouting Reports - Curt Schilling

The National Baseball Hall of Fame did something really cool last year when they made thousands of historical scouting reports available to the public. This post is part of a series in which we'll look at the reports of players that have passed through Houston during their career. A lot of these are, understandably, difficult to read, so I'll do my best to transcribe them as-is while including pictures of a few of them.

Today we'll look at Curt Schilling. Depending on your level of 90s Astro bitterness, it's either easy to forget or forever seared in your mind that Schilling spent the 1991 season in Houston. He was acquired by the Astros, along with Steve Finley and Pete Harnisch, from Baltimore in exchange for Astrodome legend Glenn Davis. If Houston hadn't turned around and flipped Schilling for Jason Grimsley following that season, this trade would have rivaled the Bagwell deal as the biggest trade victory in Houston history. In his single season with the Astros, Schilling was used exclusively in relief, putting up a 3.81 ERA with 8 saves in 56 games.

The HOF scouting report repository has 8 reports from Schillings 20 year career, though none of them are from his time with Houston. We have six from 1989-1990, then one each from 1993 and 1994.

1989

11/9/89. OH DEL. FB 85-88 ENTIRE GAME. FB UP HAS RISING TAILING LIFE. FB DOWN SOME TAIL. A LOT OF STR. SL HARD AND QUICK. STR CHG. BODY THAT COULD GAIN WT. ASSORTMENT OF PITCHES. GOOD ARM.

Next two by White Sox scout Alex Cosmidis. One from AAA and one from ML.

7/9/89. Physical descriptions: Tall, well-prop. frame. Strong points: Average to Ab. average velocity 85-89 w/occ rise action thru-out game. 79-83 slider. Good fielder. Good make-up. Weak points: Inconsistent slider. Very few change-ups & lacked good motion on delivery of change. Too many pitches high in hitting zone. Summation: Aggressive style. Will go inside. 2 pitch pitcher now. Needs to improve change & mix-up speeds. ML hitters will sit on his FB now. Needs more AAA seasoning. How does he pitch when behind on count: Go with FB. When ahead of count: Fast stuff: FB or hard slider. When in a jam: Will use FB.

9/26/89. Physical descriptions: Tall, well-prop. body. Strong points: Average to ab. average velocity 85-88. Weak Points: FB lacked movement. 75-76 slider wasn't sharp. Delivery rather stiff - not free & easy - w/various release pts. Summation: Showed better delivery & stuff at Rochester as starter. Don't think he's cut out to be reliever. Still like his potential as starter.

Another White Sox scout, Mark Snipp. Clearly he missed on his assessment.

10/10/89. Physical descriptions: Proportioned big. White Sox acquire: No. Attitude: Smart. Mental Toughness: Questionable. Hustle: Lacks. Reason for judgement: Inconsistent arm speeds - slows arm in effort for command & strikes. Very hittable - predictable. Must pitch on black in & out. All pitches flat in hitting zone. Slider flat does not fool. Lacks command of all pitches. Slows arm on change floats. No average pitches.

1990

Two from Cubs scout Scott Reid

10/1/90. Plus FB & SL. Young will get better. Help: Yes

12/1/90. Young with Plus FB, SL & Split; Will get better

1993

From Royals (?) scout Tom Ferrick

Starter only. Best on club for consistency. Big strong. Best when he is down in strike zone. ????? are usually high in strike zone FB straight when up. Yes KC.

1994 

Also from Tom Ferrick

??? 23 bone spur removed from right elbow. Also left knee surgery.

Historical Scouting Reports - Eric Yelding

The National Baseball Hall of Fame did something really cool last year when they made thousands of historical scouting reports available to the public. This post is part of a series in which we'll look at the reports of players that have passed through Houston during their career. A lot of these are, understandably, difficult to read, so I'll do my best to transcribe them as-is while including pictures of a few of them.

Today we'll look at Eric "Cool Breeze" Yelding, who played primarily center field and shortstop for Houston from 1989-1992. Yelding was a former first round pick by Toronto in 1984. He was picked up by the Cubs in the 1988 Rule 5 draft, then waived by Chicago and claimed by Houston following spring training. His one full season, 1990, he hit .254 with 64 steals (2nd in the NL) but had just 15 extra base hits and led the league in caught stealing with 25. Speed was essentially his only tool and he totaled just 0.1 WAR for his efforts that year. He played sporadically the next couple years for Houston before being the PTBNL in a deal with the White Sox for LHP Rich Scheid.

The one scouting report we have for Yelding is from that 1990 season and was submitted by White Sox scout Larry Monroe. This one's nice as we see a handful of ratings on the 20-80 scale

1990

Physical Descriptions: Skinny. Attitude: Hustles, cocky? Good speed & range. Line drive, ground ball hitter. Steals bases, makes things happen offensively. Can be overpowered at plate. Chases breakers. Arm barely average for SS. Hands inconsistent. Makes dumb mistakes running & throwing ball around. Will be average ML SS, should be good offensive player. Better suited for 2B. How would we pitch him? Hard stuff up. Breakers down. How would we defense him? Shallow, bunch to CF.

Historical Scouting Reports - Lee May

The National Baseball Hall of Fame did something really cool last year when they made thousands of historical scouting reports available to the public. This post is the first in a series in which we'll look at the reports of players that have passed through Houston during their career. A lot of these are, understandably, difficult to read, so I'll do my best to transcribe them as-is while including pictures of a few of them.

First up is Lee May, who played 1st base for the Astros from 1972-1974. Lee came to Houston from Cincinnati with a couple other players in the trade that sent Joe Morgan to the Reds. He was an All-Star in 1972 and hit .274/.317/.471 with 81 home runs during his three years in Houston. After the 1974 season he was traded to Baltimore in the deal that brought Enos Cabell to the Astros.

We have one report from 1968 and two from 1969 that are unattributed, and one from 1977 by Rangers scout Joe Branzell. It's too bad they don't have one from his time with Houston.

1968

1st baseman--Improved over last year. Still has some trouble adjusting to certain pitches. When he learns the pitchers in the League, he could turn out to be a pretty good hitter. Handles things around 1st base o.k. Likes to play, has a lot of bounce.

1969

1st Baseman. Well established hitter. Handles most pitches o.k. Consistent player, didn't slack off all year. Like his make up. Good attitude, and can play.

1st Baseman. Has a little trouble with breaking ball, this keeps his average down. Dont make a bad pitch, tho, he'll get with it. Has some power, and he'll reach most of the fences pretty regular. Does an adequate job around 1st base. Gives you a lot when he is on the field. Could help any club.

1977

GETTING NEAR THE END OF ROPE. STREAK HITTER AND FIRST BALL HITTER, BUT, CAN REALLY CONSECRATE WHEN HE HAS TO GET A HIT, LIKE A RUNNER ON THIRD. HE IS A DIFFERENT HITTER THEN, A MORE DISCIPLINED HITTER AT THIS TIME AND USUALLY MAKES CONTACT WHEN HE HAS TO. GOOD TEAM PLAYER. NO RANGE AT FIRST BASE OR MOBILITY. MURRAY WILL PLAY FIRST BASE HERE NEXT YEAR AND THIS GUY WILL BE THE D.H. COULD HELP A CONTENDER AS DH FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER YEAR.

Scouting reports: Josh Hader and Tony Kemp

Baseball Prospectus seems to have been spending a lot of time in Lancaster so far this year, which means we get a lot of scouting reports from Lancaster. Yay.

This morning they offer their takes on Josh Hader and Tony Kemp, along with some other, non-PreStros. These are pretty detailed reports, so I'm not going to pull much from them. They are worth going to read for yourself.

Josh Hader:

I believe there is enough going on here to warrant a no. 4 starter ceiling for the recently turned 20-year-old. Hader is undoubtedly a long-term project, as noted by the 2017 ETA, but the wait could be worth it once he is a complete product. In the meantime, I would like to see him work on adding a slider to his repertoire as a fourth pitch. Perhaps more importantly, he will need to continue to build arm strength while improving his strength and conditioning.

Tony Kemp:

Kemp has been the most consistent hitter on the loaded Lancaster roster, spraying line drives all around the diamond. The approach is the best part of his game for me, as he consistently gets himself into hitter's counts and doesn't mind a walk. Pair this with a good defensive profile at second base and the ability to play other positions (left and center), a utility profile is the most realistic role for me. Player comparison: Skip Schumaker.

*edit. In reading through the rest of the BP posts this morning, it appears that these reports, along with many more to come, will be free to read. No subscription needed. Now you have no excuse to be uninformed.