Houston Astros 2014 Season Thread

[Big T]

4 for 4 with a HR, 2 Doubles, a walk and 5 runs scored...that's the type of ability that gave me a man-crush on George Springer. He's starting to cut down on the Ks as well...still striking out at a high rate but not nearly the 44% he was at a couple weeks ago. Also playing a very solid RF. I think he's gonna have his name right in the ROY conversation before the season is over...long shot to win it with Abreu and Tanaka in the AL but I feel he'll get noticed

 

I agree completely although let's see if he can be consistant and not a one month wonder. Also, if Jose Altuve doesn't get back to the All Star game this year there is no God. Castro, on the other hand, isn't near what he was last season. Just think if he was. Houston would be 5-7 games better than they are. Let's hope he can turn it around.

 

Actually EE, Castro was terrible at the beginning of the year last year. It was around this time that he was able to turn it on.

[eagle eye]

4 for 4 with a HR, 2 Doubles, a walk and 5 runs scored...that's the type of ability that gave me a man-crush on George Springer. He's starting to cut down on the Ks as well...still striking out at a high rate but not nearly the 44% he was at a couple weeks ago. Also playing a very solid RF. I think he's gonna have his name right in the ROY conversation before the season is over...long shot to win it with Abreu and Tanaka in the AL but I feel he'll get noticed

 

I agree completely although let's see if he can be consistant and not a one month wonder. Also, if Jose Altuve doesn't get back to the All Star game this year there is no God. Castro, on the other hand, isn't near what he was last season. Just think if he was. Houston would be 5-7 games better than they are. Let's hope he can turn it around.

 

Actually EE, Castro was terrible at the beginning of the year last year. It was around this time that he was able to turn it on.

 

I agree to some extent but he was good enough early enough to make the All Star team. I think that's the Castro we expected going into the season. I'm sure he's not happy with the way he's begun 2014. That's all I meant.

 

Last night Houston won it's 4th game in a row. For most teams that isn't all that big of a deal but for the Astros it marked the season high in consecutive wins. On Tuesday the set a single season high of hits in a game by pounding out 16 in the win in the series opener with Kansas City. Last night they set the second highest hit total this season with 12. Collin McHugh continued the trend of Astros starting pitching with better than quality starts by tossing 7 scoreless innings scattering 5 hits with 9 Ks and zero walks. Tony Sipp continued his quality relief work since he came to Houston and Chad Qualls shut the door in the 9th. Although I think Bo Porter made a real bonehead move that screwed Qualls out of a save opportunity. Sipp pitched a perfect 8th after the Astros had added a couple of insurance runs in the top of the inning giving him a 3-0 lead to work with. Chad Qualls had been warming up in the bullpen during the top half of the 9th and was surely ready to come in but instead Sipp came out and retired the first batter on a ground out. Then Bo Porter came out and brought in Qualls. If Qualls had started the inning he would have been in line for the save but with one out in the inning and a 3 run lead the save was off the table. Qualls did his job retiring the next two batters on a comebacker and strike out and despite nailing down the win for McHugh I would think Qualls wondered WTF Porter was thinking. You know what, I sure was wondering that very thing.

[eagle eye]

One of the Astros got some really good news yesterday. LHP Dallas Kuechel won Player of the Week for the week of May 19th. Kuechel went 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA last week and was one out shy of having two complete games. He went 8-2/3 against the Angels throwing 128 pitches and he ended the week tossing a complete game against the Mariners last Sunday. Kuechel's complete game made three consecutive starts where he went at least 8-2/3 innings and it is the first time since Darryl Kile did it in 1993. Kuechel's POTW award is the first for an Astros pitcher since Roy Oswalt did it in September of 2008. Kuechel leads the Astros starters with a 6-2 record and he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the beginning of May. So good, in fact, he should be in consideration for Player of the Month. He could solidify that with another good outing this weekend against the Orioles who come to the Juice Box beginning tomorrow.

 

The Astros have a good chance for the series sweep tonight with Jared Cosart taking the hill for Houston against the Royals. Cosart hasn't been overpowering opponents but he's battled and made pitches when he needs to. The other encouraging thing is that Houston's offense has really found another gear this past week and they are on a nice roll right now.

 

Robbie Grossman who was called up and made his first start with Houston since he was demoted to AAA 14 games into the season on Monday didn't start off so well going 0-5 but he bounced back last night going 2-4 with no Ks and no walks. He and Alex Pressley, who went 3-3 with an RBI were a big part of the Astros offense last night. Top to bottom the Astros have shown no weakness during the past 4 game win streak. If Grossman continues to do well this will be another inspired move by Jeff Luhnow which includes the addition of Tony Sipp to the bullpen, the emergence of Collin McHugh in the starting rotation and the call up of George Springer. You can see these Astros growing up right in front of our eyes--or we could if Houston could get a decent TV deal. I can see a day coming soon when getting a ticket to the Juice Box won't be as easy as it is now.

[Big T]

Springer with another two run HR today in the first inning. That makes nine so far. I don't know about y'all, but I think that I could get used to this. Anyways, 2-0 Astros bottom of the first. Sweep'em Stros!

[eagle eye]

Houston is going home owning a season high 5 game winning streak, their first series sweep of 2014 and a very successful 6-4 10-game road trip. Jarred Cosart got the win evening his record to 4-4 while lowering his ERA to 4.18. George Springer got his ninth homer on a two run shot in the first inning and Chris Carter hit 2 no-brainer home runs to give Houston 4 RBIs to work with. Robbie Grossman played well at the plate and in the field and it was just a nice win for our home team. Watch out Baltimore, you may not want any of this but you're going to get it for 4 games anyway beginning tomorrow.

[eagle eye]

The Astros are giving their fans hope. You can go to a web page to check out the box score without wondering how bad Houston got their butts kicked these days. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Here's a pretty good article from Astros.com about how analytics is being used to turn the team around. The one thing I'm not sure about is whether the writer is a buyer or just accepts this is how the Astros and most of baseball operate now. In the end the author writes that the proof will be in the standings on whether or not Jeff Luhnow and his staff are succeeding using analytics. I think it's already showing with the success the whole Astros minor league system has shown and is continuing to show.

 

BTW - This article reminded me---the draft is next fricking week! I think they'll go with Rodon but the article and accompanying video say the Astros don't care if the guy they pick is a pitcher or a position player or how old he is or what level of ball he's been in they only care if he fits their criteria as the best player available. Interesting stuff.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/hou/richard-justice-with-help-from-analytics-astros-stocking-talent?ymd=20140529&content_id=77341324&vkey=news_hou

[KABrother88]

Many expects are projecting Houston to take California HS LHP Brady Aiken over Rodon...I'm completely on the fence with this one...last year I was leaning Jon Gray until it came out that he had tested positive for Adderall then I leaned Appel...Gray has pitched very well and is in AA this year while Appel is still in extended spring training...but there is a long time to decide if we made the right choice or not. I've been on the Rodon bandwagon since before last years draft...it's hard for me to say this but I may be jumping ship. Some scouts are now projecting Rodon as a #2 in the future and possibly even a closer...not what you want out of a 1.1 (personally I don't think he'd end up in the bullpen). Work load has been a big factor in my thinking...he averaged way over 100 pitches per outing and that may not average out to much more than a big leaguer pitching every 5 days vs a college player pitching every 7 days, but he's had a lot of games when he threw 110+ pitched in 7 or fewer innings. Aiken has 3 plus potential pitches (FB, CB, & CH) and alot of polish for a HS pitcher...competition level is always scary when evaluating HS players. Either way I feel like Luhnow and Co. Be happy with either one...and hey, last time we passed on a college pitcher projected 1.1 as a junior for a prep, that pitcher went back to school and went 1.1 to us lol...not that I want 4 straight 1.1 picks but I'd take Appel, Aiken & Rodon lol

[eagle eye]

Many expects are projecting Houston to take California HS LHP Brady Aiken over Rodon...I'm completely on the fence with this one...last year I was leaning Jon Gray until it came out that he had tested positive for Adderall then I leaned Appel...Gray has pitched very well and is in AA this year while Appel is still in extended spring training...but there is a long time to decide if we made the right choice or not. I've been on the Rodon bandwagon since before last years draft...it's hard for me to say this but I may be jumping ship. Some scouts are now projecting Rodon as a #2 in the future and possibly even a closer...not what you want out of a 1.1 (personally I don't think he'd end up in the bullpen). Work load has been a big factor in my thinking...he averaged way over 100 pitches per outing and that may not average out to much more than a big leaguer pitching every 5 days vs a college player pitching every 7 days, but he's had a lot of games when he threw 110+ pitched in 7 or fewer innings. Aiken has 3 plus potential pitches (FB, CB, & CH) and alot of polish for a HS pitcher...competition level is always scary when evaluating HS players. Either way I feel like Luhnow and Co. Be happy with either one...and hey, last time we passed on a college pitcher projected 1.1 as a junior for a prep, that pitcher went back to school and went 1.1 to us lol...not that I want 4 straight 1.1 picks but I'd take Appel, Aiken & Rodon lol

 

I wouldn't be so quick to judge Appel. He is where he is because of his apendectomy surgery at the end of January. The fact is he may already have joined Carlos Correa and company in Lancaster by now. I would expect a chunk of those Lancaster guys moving up to Corpus before the season is over.

[KABrother88]

Many expects are projecting Houston to take California HS LHP Brady Aiken over Rodon...I'm completely on the fence with this one...last year I was leaning Jon Gray until it came out that he had tested positive for Adderall then I leaned Appel...Gray has pitched very well and is in AA this year while Appel is still in extended spring training...but there is a long time to decide if we made the right choice or not. I've been on the Rodon bandwagon since before last years draft...it's hard for me to say this but I may be jumping ship. Some scouts are now projecting Rodon as a #2 in the future and possibly even a closer...not what you want out of a 1.1 (personally I don't think he'd end up in the bullpen). Work load has been a big factor in my thinking...he averaged way over 100 pitches per outing and that may not average out to much more than a big leaguer pitching every 5 days vs a college player pitching every 7 days, but he's had a lot of games when he threw 110+ pitched in 7 or fewer innings. Aiken has 3 plus potential pitches (FB, CB, & CH) and alot of polish for a HS pitcher...competition level is always scary when evaluating HS players. Either way I feel like Luhnow and Co. Be happy with either one...and hey, last time we passed on a college pitcher projected 1.1 as a junior for a prep, that pitcher went back to school and went 1.1 to us lol...not that I want 4 straight 1.1 picks but I'd take Appel, Aiken & Rodon lol

 

I wouldn't be so quick to judge Appel. He is where he is because of his apendectomy surgery at the end of January. The fact is he may already have joined Carlos Correa and company in Lancaster by now. I would expect a chunk of those Lancaster guys moving up to Corpus before the season is over.

 

Not judging the Appel yet...that's why I said there is a long time to decide if we made the right choice or not. Hell they could both be duds in the majors and Kris Bryant may turn out to be the jewel of the class...you never know. Was just trying to explain how I'm feeling the same as last year as far as not having a clear cut choice. He was already pitching in Lancaster before he was sent to extended spring training to get adjusted to pitching every 5th day vs 7th in college... I too expect to see many Lancaster players in CC before the end of the year...RHP Kyle Smith has already made the jump.

[KABrother88]

Another #SpringerDinger to put the Stros up 3-1 in the 7th over Baltimore...kid is unreal

[Big T]

I haven't heard noise like this in the Juice Box for about four years now. George Springer has brought new life to this team and to this fan base.

[KABrother88]

And we haven't even seen his base running on display yet...could possibly have 2 All-Stars this year with Springer and Altuve...really makes me wish he would have signed that 7 year deal over the winter

[eagle eye]

Six wins in a row. Springer has homered in 7 strait. I KABro says we could have two all stars -- what about 3? Dallas Kuechel keeps on who knows? It's not too far fetched think Chad Qualls could get in. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances and he's 4 of 5 in save attempts. It would be 5 of 6 if Bo Porter hadn't screw him over in KC. I guess I'm getting caught up in the excitement a little but so what! How long has it been since Astros fans had a reason to get excited? Brad Peacock pitched a helluva game and he Josh Fields and Chad Qualls dido not walk a batter. Not too shabby!

 

 

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[KABrother88]

Six wins in a row. Springer has homered in 7 strait. I KABro says we could have two all stars -- what about 3? Dallas Kuechel keeps on who knows? It's not too far fetched think Chad Qualls could get in. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances and he's 4 of 5 in save attempts. It would be 5 of 6 if Bo Porter hadn't screw him over in KC. I guess I'm getting caught up in the excitement a little but so what! How long has it been since Astros fans had a reason to get excited? Brad Peacock pitched a helluva game and he Josh Fields and Chad Qualls dido not walk a batter. Not too shabby!

 

 

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Hell I even forgot about Kuechel...he's #6 in the AL in ERA and is actually #1 in WAR. Pitched 6 or more innings in every start except his first (and many pitchers don't pitch deep into their first start of a season) and has only given up more than 3 runs twice in 10 starts...and of course 1 out away from what could have been 3 straight CGs...not bad for average stuff...hopefully we can get multiple guys representing Houston at the ASG

[eagle eye]

The streaks are over at 7 wins and 7 home runs for the Astros and George Springer. Okay that was bound to happen but the latest surge by Houston gives us a look at the future doesn't it? It makes you think they could actually end up with 65-70 wins. Don't think so? The Astros record is now 24-33. That's only 57 games into the season leaving 24 games to get to the half way mark. Their current winning % is .421 and if you apply this W/P to 81 games you get 34 games. Double that and you get 64 games and that allows Houston to escape their fourth straight 100 loss season. Not by much but 98 losses means they have improved by 13 games from the 111 they lost last season. Add to the fact that the starting pitching has been pretty darn good and the bullpen is improving and the offense is leaps and bounds better than it was in April. In fact everything pretty much sucked the first 5 weeks of the season. It coincided with a flu-like bug that raced through the Astros clubhouse like a plague that adversely affected the whole team. May has been another story. Oh, the first week of May wasn't anything to write home about but a reshuffle of the batting order has paid big dividends with Jose Altuve moving up the leadoff spot, George Springer falling in at the two hole and Dexter Fowler moving down to the 3 spot dramatically improved all three players production. The middle of the order needs to get more consistant and the tail end has been better this past week. I have some rather high expectations for the team going forward. Let's look at the difference between April and May.

 

April record - 9-19 May record - 15-14 (It's been a while since we had a .500+ month)

April BA - .210 (skewed by .300+ BA by Altuve and M Gonzalez 28th in MLB) May BA - .261 (8th in the MLB)

April Team ERA - 4.87 (27th in MLB) May ERA - 3.42 (Thanks in large part to Dallas Kuechel and Chad Qualls MLB rank #6)

 

These are pretty telling stats and with some other call ups like Jon Singleton the potential is there to get even better. The starting pitching has been more than solid with quality start after quality start piling up. Look at Dallas Kuechel's outing yesterday. He was thought to have had a bad day and he gave up only 3 runs! Two on bases loaded walks in the sixth inning. Part of that was Bo Porter's fault letting him stay in the game when he was obviously struggling in the inning. The addition of Tony Sipp and Kyle Farnsworth that helped and Josh Fields has gotten markedly better since his trip back to AAA. Right now the Astros front office has been pushing all the right buttons and the players are picking each other up with Springer as the catalyst. 65-70 wins in 2014? No sweat, dude.

[KABrother88]

Looks like the Houston has decided it's time...

 

@EvanDrellich: Source: The Astros have informed Jon Singleton he will be promoted from Class AAA Oklahoma City for tomorrow's game.

[KABrother88]

 

Looks like the Houston has decided it's time...

 

@EvanDrellich: Source: The Astros have informed Jon Singleton he will be promoted from Class AAA Oklahoma City for tomorrow's game.

 

And even bigger news he signed a 5 year deal with 10 million guaranteed and 3 club options after the 5 years...many agents are shocked Singleton's agent agrees to such at team friendly deal

[eagle eye]

According to Astros.com a lot of people are surprised the Astros are giving a contract like this to a player with no MLB level experience.

 

Quote from Astros.com

 

Yahoo! Sports reported that Singleton's deal will cover five guaranteed seasons and include three club options for the Astros. According to the report, Singleton is the first player without any Major League service time to sign such a deal. He gives up one year of free agency with the agreement.

 

It's a good deal for a minor league player especially one that has a history of marijuana abuse. His stat line at OKC is .267 BA with 37 runs, 10 doubles, 14 homers and 43 RBIs in 54 games this season. I'm sorry but .267 doesn't excite me too much it comes against AAA pitching. To me the Astros made a great deal. In the grand scheme of things he's getting a good deal for what he is the money isn't all that much. The option years that are built into the contract will allow Singleton to capitalize if he develops into something special. He the Astros #3 rated player in the minors so you hope that he can make the transition. I'm sure the Astros know he may be just a younger Chris Carter. As for playing tonight and the call up in general I think sends a message to Carter and Mark Krauss that their production is totally unsatisfactory and, like L J Hoes, could become expendable in hurry.

 

 

[KABrother88]

Don't be surprised to see Austin Wates in Houston before too long as well...Outfielder who has battled injuries in his career, including missing about half of this season so far, but has hit over .300 at every level of the minors and is currently at .327 in OKC...even after going 0-10 in his last 3 games...walks more than he strikes out (13:16 K:BB) and is 14-14 in steals so far

[eagle eye]

It's official. Jon Singleton signed his deal today and to make room for him on the 25 man roster Mark Krauss was optioned to OKC. I think the reason George Springer struggled the first month of the season is because the Astros, Bo Porter, alternated him between the 3rd and 4th spot in the batting order. That's a lot of pressure on a young player with no MLB experience. Once he was protected by two veterans Jose Altuve and Dexter Fowler Springer was able to begin to blossom. If they make the same mistake with Singleton he will struggle IMO. They put him in the five or six hole and that would alleviate the pressure he's naturally going to feel as he steps into the big club lineup.

 

I believe that Houston, frustrated with the lack of consistent production from the platoon of Chris Carter, Jesus Guzman and Krauss, felt like they had to make this move now rather than wait until later. The reason Singleton got the deal he got was to avoid financial issues for not waiting until later this month to call him up.

 

Check out this page of the top 20 Astros prospects. KABro's observation about Austin Wates is notes but he is not a top 20 guy. A look at his stat page and you understand where KABro is coming from. Here's the page so you can see for yourself. The stat that stands out for me is his BA against righties (.328) and lefties (.325) is self explanatory. It's rare to see such consistency between the pitchers.

 

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/index.jsp?c_id=hou#list=hou

 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=OF&sid=t238&t=p_pbp&pid=534909

[KABrother88]

@BudNorris25: Sorry but this Singleton deal is terrible. Wish the Jon listened to the union and not his agent.

 

Apparently Bud Norris still isn't a Jeff Luhnow fan...he is getting ripped apart by Joe Shmoe and friends on Twitter for this. Of course I have no internal knowledge on the negotiations but it makes me wonder if Singleton isn't playing for the money and truly wants to win. He surely knows that this team is gonna be a force to be reckoned with in a few years and maybe he just wants to be a part of it and save Houston some money to fill other holes. Of course his peers only see that this in turn hurts the market for themselves but for a guy with as many MLB at-bats as me and a past drug issue, 2 million a year for 5 years guaranteed isn't flat out terrible for both parties...then the 3 option years average out at 8 million per year...still like it from a FO perspective and really all I care about at this point

[eagle eye]

Bud Norris is a veteran who has made his money. He's a good union man but he just wants Singleton to go through arbitration where I'll be a lot of money would have meant he wouldn't be coming up now. The Astros would wait until later this summer when they avoid having to fork out the dough they just did for Springer. I think Norris feels like Singleton gave up on a year of arbitration for a small paycheck. That is until you realize Singleton is making more than a player with no MLB experience had made before. I still think Houston made a good deal IF Singleton is what he is projected to be. If not then they overpaid. The same goes from Singleton's POV. It's a good deal NOW but it may cost him some in the future. Only time will tell but to me, right now, it's win-win for both sides.

[KABrother88]

Well so far Singleton has done what he's been able to do best in the minors...1st AB he struck out, 2nd time up he draws a bases loaded wall for his first career RBI, next AB he K's again and follows that up with an 8th inning HR to give Houston a 6-2 lead over LAA

[Big T]

I think what we have seen tonight is what we are going to see a lot of in the up coming years and it is both exhilarating and frightening. A bunch of runs and a bunch of strikeouts.

[eagle eye]

I'll take 1-3 w/ 2 RBIs and home run and a walk every day. What you'd have is a .333 hitter with a slew of RBI's and home runs. I'm not saying he homers every game but 1-3 is something I'll take as long as that hit comes at a time that really matters like a close game with runner/s in scoring position. If he strikes out a lot and produces like that I won't squawk. In a perfect world he would be putting the ball in play and making the defense work but as I've come to realize, this is not a perfect world.

 

I am glad Bo Porter started Singleton out in the six hole. Good decision there but there are a few decisions that have me scatching my head over. The top of the list is the moves Porter made at the top of the lineup last night. He moved Dexter Fowler back to the leadoff spot, dropped Altuve to 2nd and put Springer back to the 3rd spot. I don't understand that move at all. With the batting order Altuve, Springer, Fowler all three benefitted greatly by the move. Springer, who had been alternating between the 3 and 4 hole when he first came up, moved to the 2 and flourished. Now, in the middle of a slump Porter shuffled the deck again. It worked out but Springer didn't do squat. Oh, he walked a couple of times and scored a run but in the last 8 games he's gone 6-27 (.222) with 10 Ks and only 5 BBs. His batting average has dropped from .268 to .255 and Porter thinks this is the right time to move Springer to the 3. A position where you're best hitting is suppose to be. I don't get that move at all. In Dallas Kuechel's last start he struggled with his control from the git-go and he battled his was through 5 innings. His sixth he struggled again and he ended up walking in two runs. Why didn't he put him when he loaded the bases? IMO he left Kuechel in too long on an off night. That was this past Saturday. On Sunday Porter stuck too long with Scott Feldman who battled all game long and he fell apart in the 6th. The flood gates opened and he gave up 6 runs in the inning. Why did Porter leave Feldman in the game so long? Last Tuesday against KC Tony Sipp pitches a perfect eighth with a 3-0 lead. Porter brought Sipp out for the ninth despite Chad Qualls being ready to go. Sipp faced and retired the first batter in the frame when Porter brought in Qualls thereby screwing Qualls out of a save opportunity. Either let Sipp finish the game or bring in Qualls to start the ninth. That was a big kick in the nether-yea-ahh to both players. I am losing faith in Porter as a manager. Am I wrong?