Astros Off Season Thread

[KABrother88]

I thought I had posted somethin about Qualls but I guess I took Herm Edwards advice and didn't hit send...I think it is an excellent signing by the front office...has some closing experience and will probably be the guy unless Houston can sign Veras again. I think that Veras saying he was interested in returning is a great signal as what could be happening...if a player is interested in coming to a team that just lost 111 games, imagine what will happen in 4 or 5 years when we are in the thick or playoff races...right now the 40 man roster is at 37 with the Rule 5 draft tomorrow...I have a feeling the Astros will select 2 guys with at least one being a reliever like last year...then they would have one open spot for the names you mentioned EE...if we they can land 2 of them, then the Rule 5 pick can be put on waivers...this is kinda what happened last year but I won't be surprised if it happened again

 

I have mixed feelings on Morse...on one hand you look at 2011 and you think he'd be a great fit and wear out the Crawford Boxes...then you see he's battled injuries the last couple seasons and strikes out a good bit...and we already have a guy with really good power when he can actually make contact that is limited defensively in Chris Carter

 

And for what it's worth I hope they can land Jesse Crain if he's healthy

[KABrother88]

We'll so much for my Rule 5 prediction...Houston acquired RHP Anthony Bass from San Diego along with a PTBNL/cash considerations in exchange for a PTBNL/cash considerations. The move brings the 40 man up to 38 and it seems they are very close a deal with Veras so that would only leave 1 spot for a Rule 5 pick

 

But back to Bass...had a very good break out season in 2011 but fallen off since then a little...some reports have said he has had some shoulder problems that caused his drop in effectiveness...might be a classic buy low case. Has made 18 starts in his 75 MLB appearances and 86 starts in 113 appearances in the minors so he could also be a candidate for a spot start

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131211&content_id=64599194&notebook_id=64598444&vkey=notebook_hou&c_id=hou

 

[KABrother88]

And wrong again...with the first pick in the Rule 5 draft Houston selected LHP Patrick Schuster from the Diamondbacks organization...then named him as the player to be named later to complete yesterday's trade with San Diego...Houston ended up taking OF Ravel Santana in the minor league portion of the draft

 

By far the biggest name to go in the Rule 5 draft was Russell Wilson being selected by the Rangers...yea that Russell Wilson...I really don't know what else to say...but maybe the Rangers will start using this strategy in the First Year Player Draft...then all "their" "fans" can pull their Astros jerseys back out of the closet

[eagle eye]

I can't believe the usual suspects who keep everyone up to date on the Astros have been MIA lately. Me too I guess. But, it wasn't because of lack of news because there have been several additions to the Astros roster of late.

 

1. The Astros have brought back another player they drafted and who played the first two years of his career in Houston and that's RHP Matt Albers. The Astros signed Albers who spent 2013 in Cleveland. This from Astros.com: All three pitchers the Astros have signed this month, including starter Scott Feldman, are strike-throwers who have high ground-ball rates. Albers' ground-ball percentage of 81.3 percent was tops among all AL pitchers in 2013 (min. 50 appearances). This is awesome for a ball park like the Juice Box with short porches. Albers was signed on Tuesday and the deal is a one year deal for $2.45 mm with a $3 mm option for 2015.

 

2. On Wednesday the Astros claimed starting pitcher Collin McHugh off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. McHugh is 26 and he was drafted in 2008 by the Mets in the 18th round and he has both starting and relieving experience but GM Jeff Luhnow sees him as a starter. With his signing and his projected spot on the team there are now seven pitchers vying for 5 spots in the Astros rotation. Scott Feldman, who signed a three-year deal as a free agent, tops a list that also includes Brett Oberholtzer, Brad Peacock, Dallas Keuchel, Lucas Harrell, Paul Clemens and Jarred Cosart.

 

3. Also on Wednesday Houston traded Ryan Jackson to San Diego and they got 1st baseman/outfielder Jesus Guzman. According to the Astros front office Guzman could platoon with Brett Wallace at first since he is a right handed hitter and Wallace is a lefty. His ability to play the outfield could come in handy as well. This coming from manager Bo Porter. Guzman has a career BA of .259 with 23 homers and 127 RBIs. Against left handed pitching his BA jumps up to .289. Ryan Jackson is a shortstop from the St Louis Cardinals organization that Houston claimed off waivers on November 20.

 

Houston is also taking steps to upgrade their organization by signing Tom Koch-Weser who had been with Seattle. Koch-Weser was signed to be the Coordinator of Advance Information. It's all part of the Astros effort to be among the industry leaders in advance scouting. Here's a link to the article on Astros.com article about the signing.

 

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article/hou/tom-koch-weser-to-help-keep-houston-astros-a-step-ahead?ymd=20131218&content_id=66053234&vkey=news_hou

 

 

[KABrother88]

Unfortunately BRI has been blocked along with all other "sports and recreation" websites at work so all of my post lately I've had to make from my phone or at home...it was so much easier to do all my research on my lunch breaks but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

 

One thing this offseason I would like to mention is 1st base prospect Jonathan Singleton playing in the Puerto Rico winter league...and playing very well...yes it's inferior competition but through 34 games he leads the league with 9 HR and is 2nd in OPS at .935...he's still striking out a fair amount with 37 Ks in those 34 games but his strikeout percentage is down 5% from the 2013 season (again probably inferior competition) but he's drawing a walks a slightly better rate than the regular season...still keep in mind the guy is only 22 and and won't be 23 until September so he's still developing. With Houston not acquiring a proven guy at 1st base so far this offseason and the 40 man roster now being full I would expect Singleton to get a long look in ST and making his debut somewhere around midseason

[eagle eye]

A couple of news items relating to All Star catcher Jason Castro.

 

1. This off season Castro got his degree at Stanford. He lacked only 10 hours and as soon as the season ended he went back to northern California and nailed down his degree. Castro said in an interview recently that it wasn't a question of if he was going to finish his degree, it was just a matter of when. This season was the first opportunity since 2010 that he wasn't tied up in rehab for one injury or another. Castro said that his Stanford coaches encouraged the players to nail down as much of their class work as possible in their first three years so that if they are drafted in their senior year they will have little or no hours left to earn their degrees. Castro also said that, "A lot of guys that stay for their senior year actually don't have class spring quarter," Castro said. "They get internships or jobs and come to field for practice." It makes it nice to only have to worry about baseball in your final year. Former Astros Eric Bruntlett was a Stanford grad finishing in 3-1/2 years and he was one of those who cruised his final year of eligibility. Pro baseball player AND a Stanford grad, not bad.

 

2, During the winter meetings there is proposed rule change for eliminating collisions at home plate. In the same interview mentioned above Castro was asked about the change and he said he was really happy about it because, in his opinion, player safety is the most important thing. He also feels that it won't impact the game as much as opponents of the rule change claim. Castros feels that avoiding injuries will keep players on the field improving the overall quality of the game. Check out the link to the Astros.com article about this which also includes a link to a video of Mets GM Sandy Alderson who explains the new rule change.

 

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article/hou/astros-castro-favors-eliminating-plate-collisions?ymd=20131217&content_id=66034008&vkey=news_hou

 

 

[Big T]

Hi! lol Sorry I haven't been posting on here, but I'm back.

[eagle eye]

Hi! lol Sorry I haven't been posting on here, but I'm back.

 

Good to see you back, now get busy!!!!!

[KABrother88]

Jesse Crain signed a one year deal today...if he stays healthy this could be the best move the front office has made all off season

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/2013/12/31/66250406/astros-sign-houston-product-jesse-crain-to-bolster-bullpen

 

[Big T]

Health is the issue there. The bullpen is still looking weak, but it's also looking a bit better. Still expect many blown leads from them though.

[eagle eye]

Health is the issue there. The bullpen is still looking weak, but it's also looking a bit better. Still expect many blown leads from them though.

 

 

Health is an issue? I think the addition of Chad Qualls, Jesse Crain and Matt Albers should be a big boost to the bullpen. Qualls could even work as a closer, a role he has filled before. The Astros are putting a lot of eggs in the youth basket and the every day roster is the going to be the real unknown. The bullpen blew a lot of games for Houston last season and the additions should change that a lot. Jeff Luhnow and Bo Porter are hoping the offense can be much improved this year of the results won't be much better.

[eagle eye]

Eduardo Perez who served as the Astros bench coach in 2013 and was slated to be the third base coach this season resigned last week stating he wanted to spend more time with his family. Pat Listach who was hired last season to be the first base coach will move to third base and the Astros have hired Tarrik Brock to coach first. Dave Trembly who coached third base last season will move to the dugout to be the bench coach.

At the end of last season the Astros hired a new pitching coach Brent Strom, Craig Bjornson will be the bullpen coach and Ralph Dickenson will be the assistant hitting coach. John Mallee will remain as the head hitting coach.

 

Here's an article from Astros.com from MLBPipeline.com by Jim Callis who feels like Carlos Correa has the potential to become a superstar at shortstop. His cohort Jonathan Mayo feels the A's Addison Russell. This article looks a Correa from Callis' perspective.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/hou/pipeline-perspectives-astros-carlos-correa-has-superstar-potential?ymd=20140107&content_id=66360506&vkey=news_hou

 

 

[eagle eye]

For those of you who remember watching Astros games on Fox Sports Southwest will remember the play-by-play man on those broadcasts was Bill Brown. I just wanted to remind y'all of this since we haven't been able to watch the Astros for a while new because the broadcast rights to the Stros games were bought out by ComCastSports who pissed every local carrier off to where none of them, like Time Warner, Dish and DirecTV, will not air either the Astros or the Rockets games. But, for those who remember listening to the telecasts of the games the one guy you know is Bill Brown. Well, yesterday Brown was named Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. I always liked Brown as a broadcaster. IMO he does a really good job, he's knowledgeable and he makes his point with a minimum of words. When a game gets exciting he allows himself to get caught up in the excitement without losing his cool and he is always clear and concise with his calls. Way to go Bill!

[eagle eye]

Here's an article from Astros.com about MLBProspects.com's ranking of the top 10 shortstop prospects going into the 2014 season and Houston's own Carlos Correa is ranked #3.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/hou/xander-bogaerts-heads-list-of-mlbcoms-top-10-shortstop-prospects?ymd=20140113&content_id=66482416&vkey=news_hou

 

The Astros have agreed with veteran infielder Cesar Izturis and they have invited Izturis to attend spring training. Besides giving the Astros a much needed veteran presence in the infield the fact that he is from Venezuela as are Jose Altuve, Jonathan Villar and Marwin Gonzalez, he can help them develop their games. Here's the aritcle from Astros.com with a few more details.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/hou/astros-invite-veteran-infielder-cesar-izturis-to-spring-training?ymd=20140113&content_id=66533594&vkey=news_hou

[Big T]

Ehhhh.... I could do without inviting Izturis to camp. And Carlos Correa being ranked third at SS is a joke. The guy has the potential to be one of the best to ever play the position. Yes, he has to live up to that potential, but it is there. Great range, rocket arm, good bat, and durable all adds up to one of the best prospects in MILB.

[KABrother88]

Mark Appel come in as the number 6 RHP prospect...finished last season as the number 9 RHP

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/#list=rhp

 

I feel like Correa could and probably should be #2 right now just barely behind Bogarts...only because Bogarts has done alot of damage in the higher levels and he will soon lose his prospect status since he will be in the big leagues to start the season. Baez being #2 right now is a joke to me...yes he hit 37 HRs last year but he is awful defensively and will end up changing positions because of it, while the only present reason Correa might move from SS is cause he may out grow it. According to the grades given for each tool Correa is #1 even ahead of Bogarts.

 

On a side note I send O.J. Mayo a tweet a while back asking where he would slot Rodon in the Astros system if he was placed there now...his response was top 3...man I can't wait until 2015-2016 to see if all this patience truly turns out to be a virtue

[eagle eye]

Rankings aside, isn't it nice to have players on any top ten list of prospects? We've got thru some lean years as Astros fans and it really is nice to see help on the way!

[KABrother88]

The Astros have invited 24 non-roster players to Spring Training

 

The minor league players invited to Major League camp include IF Japhet Amador, RHP Mark Appel, RHP Jake Buchanan, IF Carlos Correa, RHP Rhiner Cruz, RHP Jorge De Leon, OF Delino DeShields, RHP Bobby Doran, RHP Mike Foltynewicz, C Rene Garcia, C Tyler Heineman, OF Leo Heras, OF J.D. Martinez, IF Jonathan Meyer, C Carlos Perez, OF George Springer, RHP Jason Stoffel, IF Ronald Torreyes, RHP Nick Tropeano and OF Preston Tucker.

 

The four minor league free agents are OF Adron Chambers, IF Cesar Izturis, RHP Peter Moylan and IF Gregorio Petit.

 

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140114&content_id=66638080&vkey=pr_hou&c_id=hou

 

 

[Big T]

No Singleton?? Hmmm....

[KABrother88]

No Singleton?? Hmmm....

 

He's on the 40 man roster so he automatically gets an invite...along with Domingo Santana, Stassi and Wojo to name a few pospects

[Big T]

Ahhh gottcha. My bad.

[eagle eye]

Speaking of spring training, pitchers and catchers report to Kissimmee on Februrary 15 and their first workout is the 16th. The rest of the team is reporting the 19th and their first workout is the next day. So, I just took the long winded way to say we are less than 30 days before pro baseball cranks up for 2014!

[KABrother88]

Ahhh gottcha. My bad.

 

When I read the names I thought the same thing at first...meant to say what prospects who were on the 40 man would be there but it slipped my mind

[Big T]

Speaking of spring training, pitchers and catchers report to Kissimmee on Februrary 15 and their first workout is the 16th. The rest of the team is reporting the 19th and their first workout is the next day. So, I just took the long winded way to say we are less than 30 days before pro baseball cranks up for 2014!

 

It can't get here quick enough!

[eagle eye]

Ehhhh.... I could do without inviting Izturis to camp. And Carlos Correa being ranked third at SS is a joke. The guy has the potential to be one of the best to ever play the position. Yes, he has to live up to that potential, but it is there. Great range, rocket arm, good bat, and durable all adds up to one of the best prospects in MILB.

 

I don't have a problem with Izturis. The guy is a solid fielder and will make a good backup. I still want to see Villar and Altuve up the middle but Izturis can play third or even first. Never underestimate the value of a good utility man! Also, as I mentioned before his presence will be of value to the other Venezuelan players. The youth of the this roster needs some vets around who can teach them how to be every day players in the bigs. You can get Izturis for cheap and if he doesn't work out cut him. No harm, no foul.