Houston Astros Off Season News

[eagle eye]

Baseball Hall of Fame voting begins soon and the case for Jeff Bagwell needs to be trumpeted to the BBWAA to bring these snobs to their senses. Jeff Bagwell deserves to be in the HoF. I've said this before and I'm saying it again, the numbers show he deserves to be in the Hall. This article from Astros.com backs up my, and a lot of people's petitions for Bagwell. Let's hope that now that Biggio has opened the door it was enough to get his buddy in too.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/160484806/hall-of-fame-case-for-jeff-bagwell

 

Another guy who made his bones in the Astros organization will be looking at his first shot at HoF consideration. That guy is closer Billy Wagner and this article from Astros.com makes a pretty good case for the man.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/160589854/billy-wagner-has-case-for-hall-of-fame

 

In case you were hoping that Houston could get Aroldis Chapman on the cheap can forget it. The Yankees got him despite all the baggage he carries with him for domestic violence.

 

The Astros have signed a pitching prospect from Cuba. They did it on Christmas Eve and if Carlos Sierra turns out to be as good as the recent signees from Cuba the Astros may have something. Here's the news blurb from Astros.com.

 

[h=1]Source: Astros, Cuba's Sierra agree to deal[/h][h=2]21-year-old righty subject to international signing rules[/h]December 24th, 2015

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By Cash Kruth / MLB.com | December 24th, 2015 +

18 COMMENTS

 

The Astros have agreed to a deal with Cuban right-hander Carlos Sierra, a source told MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez on Thursday.

Sierra, 21, is subject to international signing rules.

 

 

The righty features a fastball thrown at three different angles, as well as a slider, curve and circle-change. He played three seasons for Sancti Spíritus in Cuba's Serie Nacional and for the island's 16-and-under and 18-and-under national teams.

• Hot Stove Tracker

Unlike many Cuban players who must defect the island in order to establish residency outside of Cuba and the United States, the first step in becoming eligible to sign with a Major League team, Sierra was granted Spanish citizenship due to his grandfather's roots. He left Cuba legally, flying from Havana to Madrid in February.

 

 

Cash Kruth is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cashkruth.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[eagle eye]

It's a different world out there. You know, you've seen it all around. Baseball is no different. Changes abound. The only part of baseball has been the slow acceptance that we now live in the 21st century. I'm not talking about the teams or the players the youth of the game is always driving it forward and advancement in social media and teams embracing the "Money Ball" notion of analytics is morphing the game in positive directions. It's the commissioner's office and the powers that be that won't grow. It took way too long for baseball to embrace replay as a tool to help the game move along and rectifying bad calls with a challenge. Replay hasn't made games appreciably longer and it has helped the umps on the field get calls right. The good thing is it has reversed the missed calls but it has also shown that the umps are pretty good at their jobs. Under former commissioner Bug Selig the use of modern technology was looked at like the Salem elders used to look at witches. They were something to be feared and shunned and ultimately burned at the stake. It's a wonder Selig finally relented and allowed limited use of replay saying he was more inclined to embrace the "human element" of baseball. Yep, ol' Bud would have fit right in at Salem. I really wish that baseball would embrace the notion of calling balls and strike electronically. I get so sick of umps who squeeze pitchers who piss them off and at the opposite end of the spectrum giving other pitchers 3" off the black. Want to enforce the strike zone? Take the "human element" out of the equation. The home plate ump will continue to manage the game and make calls at the plate but you take his ass out of the balls and strikes business. My original point was the evolution of baseball and the latest example of that is a brand new position created by Houston called Minor League Mindset Coach. It's a player support job that will be filled by former Astros MVP third baseman Morgan Ensberg. Here's an article from Astros.com sort of explaining what Ensberg will be doing for the organization.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/161014220/morgan-ensberg-now-astros-minors-mindset-coach

 

The return to his home town of Houston was a short lived homecoming only lasted about two months and it's over. Scott Kazmir signed a deal with the Dodgers last week. For the Dodgers it's a poor trade off as they lost a dominant starter, Zack Grienke in free agency to the Arizona Diamondbacks and replaced him with Kazmir. I shouldn't poo-poo Kaz because he had a nice year this year up until he came to Houston. Kazmir never really paid dividends to Houston the way you would hope a guy acquired at the August trading deadline would. The September swoon that cost the Astros winning the AL West division title and ultimately cost AJ Hinch AL Manager of the Year honors was not all on Kaz but he was certainly part of the problem. In fact the 3 predominant players Houston got for the stretch run under performed and did not deliver the boost expected of them. The other two players were CF Carlos Gomez and P Mike Fiers. Now, Fiers did throw the no-hitter, the first at Minute Maid Park history, but over all in his 10 starts he went 2-1 which isn't what you would hope he would do. The other part of the deal for Fiers was Carlos Gomez and he is just a joke. Some say he is a fiery sort of player but from what I saw he was just a tool bag. To me, Jake Marisnick provided just as much spark as Gomez did. He appears to be an ego driven player and he seems to be, according to his demeanor on the field, a guy who is a bigger pain in the ass than a help especially in the locker room. I've seen guys like him at my job and it's not good. He creates tension and rubs people who aren't in his circle of friends the wrong way. I could see Gomez' influence on the young guys in the Astros locker room as mostly negative. I could be wrong because I'm not there but a guy like Gomez can influence the attitude of the young guys in a negative way without them even realizing it. Personally, I wouldn't mind one bit if Houston dealt Gomez for draft picks or a prospect. In the long haul I think it would be a good move for everyone concerned.

[eagle eye]

Jeff Bagwell and others are being voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. We will know Bagwell's fate sometime between 2 and 6 PM CT today. If you have time the whole thing will be live on the MLB Network and MLB.com. This is Bagwell's sixth time to go through this and the most votes by percent he's gotten so far is 59%. To be inducted a player needs 75%. Will the voters lighten up and push Bagwell through? Will the induction of his buddy Craig Biggio last year grease the wheels for him? Check it out, the numbers say he deserves to get in and keep in mind that his numbers were stifled by quite a lot because he played half of his games through the 1999 season at the cavernous Astrodome that was definitely a pitcher's ball park. Let's hope this gets done for a great player, a great Astro. We'll all find out this afternoon.

[eagle eye]

Man, it was so close. Not as close as the near miss by Craig Biggio in 2014 when he missed the HOF by 2 lousy votes but it is still just as frustrating. Bagwell missed the HOF by just 15 votes. On the glass-half-full side the jump from the 59% of the vote to enter the hall to this year's 71.6% bodes well for his induction next January. The fact is only two of the ten potential inductees made the HOF this year. Ken Griffey Jr was a pure lock to make it in his first year of eligibility and Mike Piazza also got in in his third try. Such luminary players like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Tim Raines, Trevor Hoffman, Curt Schilling, Mike Mussina and Alan Trammel. An interesting fact that gives hope to Bagwell's induction next year is the stat there have been 17 players who got over 70% of the HOF vote and 16 made the hall the very next year. The only guy who didn't get in was Jim Bunning who played between 1955 and 1971. He got 74.2% in 1988 didn't get in the hall the next year. Bunning did eventually got in when he was elected by the Veterans Committee in 1996, Tough luck Jeff. Lord knows you deserve HOF honors. My sights are set on 2017 when I just know it's going to get done.

[eagle eye]

There is still stuff going on in Astro-land. There are a number of players who are eligible for salary arbitration with Dallas Keuchel at the top of the list. If anyone deserved a pay raise it's Keuchel after leading the Astros, and the American League, with 20 wins, 5th in all of baseball in ERA and 2nd in MLB in innings pitched. Keuchel pitched 232.0 innings coming in second to Zack Greinke of the Dodgers who had 232.2 IP. Oh BTW, he won the AL Cy Young Award too. This could be Houston's best opportunity to sign Keuchel long term at a reasonable number. Reasonable is a relative term but Keuchel is no fool and neither is his agent and this could cost Houston a pretty penny to keep him. Now, Houston could go through the arbitration process and sign him to a one year deal wanting to see if he can do it again. Consistency counts but it also costs. 2015 wasn't Keuchel's first good season. He was good in 2014 and was victimized by poor offense and an even poorer bullpen. The fact is Keuchel has shown steady improvement since Houston drafted him in the 2009 MLB draft (thank you Ed Wade!). Besides the above items in Keuchel's resume he won AL Pitcher of the Month 3 times (April, May, August) in 2015, he was named the starting pitcher in the 2015 All Star game, he won the Gold Glove Award for the second time in 2 years and he set a record for going undefeated at his home stadium for the season. No pitcher in MLB history had accomplished this feat. C'mon, Jeff Luhnow, pay the man. He deserves it.

 

The other players eligible for arbitration are Jason Castro, Luis Valbuena, Marwin Gonzalez, Evan Gattis and Josh Fields. I don't care if Houston pays Jason Castro or Marwin Gonzalez. Castro displays his value as a defensive catcher but he needs to improve his numbers at the plate. Castro makes a guy like Brad Ausmus look like Babe-freaking-Ruth. Gonazlez is a really good utility man who ended up hitting .270+ last season. To be honest, I'd rather pay Marwin and let Valbuena go because Valbuena epitomizes the Astros all or nothing offense. Valbuena strikes out was too much and he's not one who seems to be good at situational hitting. I would probably stick with Gattis but he strikes out way too much as well. I think at time this whole roster got home run fever and it became an ego thing. I honestly wish Houston would get a new hitting coach and I honestly wish manager AJ Hinch would stress contact hitting and situational hitting a whole lot more. I would get film of how the Royal stayed alive, not only against Houston in the divisional round of the playoffs, but all season. The Astros really need to cut down on K's and put the ball in play more often. Josh Fields won't get much money in arbitration because, while he can throw hard, his consistency isn't a strong point of his game. Houston has already signed OF Colby Rasmus to a deal and I like Rasmus but he's another guy who struck out way too much. He's a good outfielder and has some power but he needs to join his teammates learning to make more consistent contact.

 

Do you realize that pitchers and catchers report to spring training in 34 days? Yep, on February 18 is the reporting day and the 19th is the first scheduled workout.

 

This week MLB announced that Houston and San Diego will play two spring training games in Mexico City. On March 26 and 27 the Astros and Padres will face each other in the Fray Nano Stadium home of the Diablos Rojos de Mexico (Red Devils of Mexico) which is a 4,500 seat stadium in Mexico City. The stadium will be expanded to 8,000 seats for this even. This is especially meaningful to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow who was born and raised in Mexico City. Luhnow has said it is his hope to play a regular season game in Mexico City at some point in time.

 

I'm really late with this news and I know you fans out there already know this but I'll mention it anyway. Remember the hacking story about the St Louis Cardinals hacking into the Astros computer data base? I know many thought that this story just went away but it didn't. Cards former scouting director Chris Correa admitted in his arraignment last Friday in a Houston district court that he was guilty of 5 counts of hacking the Astros computers. Correa will be facing up to 5 years in prison, up to $250K in fines and provide restitution (whatever than could mean). Correa waived his right of appeal and chose not to have his case go to the grand jury. This is a big ole plea bargain deal to minimize the penalties for his actions. His sentencing hearing will be on April 11th.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/161363154/chris-correa-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-astros

 

BREAKING NEWS THAT JUST CAME OUT THIS SECOND, LUIS VALBUENA AND THE ASTROS AGREED TO A ONE YEAR, $6.125MM CONTRACT TO AVOID ARBITRATION. I woke up from a nap for this? Not excited about this at all. The only good thing is it is only a one year deal.

[Big T]

I have not been happy with this off season. The Astros still have a huge gap in their line up and are relying on Carlos Correa to be their be-all-end-all player and quite frankly I don't feel he is ready for that. I compare his mental game to that of Harper. It took Harper four years before he was ready. There needs to be another top of the line-up bat and a fifth hitter added to the roster. The Astros relied upon the long ball for their run support last season yet they lost power this off season and did nothing to add any. They did nothing to add Average or OBP either. Have to admit that I am very worried about next season.

[eagle eye]

Big T, I totally agree.

 

Houston avoided arbitration with Dallas Keuchel when the two parties agreed on a 1 year $7.25 MM deal which shatters the previous record for 1st year arbitration eligible starting pitchers. The old record was $4.35 MM set by David Price and Dontrelle Willis.

There was also a couple of more deals for arbitration eligible players on the rosters. As posted before, Luis Valbuena got a deal earlier this week. Yesterday, when Keuchel's deal was announced the Houston Chronicle also reported that IF Marwin Gonzalez agreed to a $2 MM deal and P Josh Fields agreed to a $900K deal. That leaves only Jason Castro and Evan Gattis left to deal with or have them go through arbitration.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/162021304/astros-dallas-keuchel-avoid-arbitration

[eagle eye]

Yesterday the Astros unveiled a new jersey that, for now, will be the team's Sunday jersey. It is similar to the batting practice jersey worn in 2014 but had to be discontinued. The jersey is navy with rainbow strips down the sides of the jersey. Rather than waste your time describing it to you check out this video and article about the new jersey from Astros.com.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/162670436/astros-unveil-new-alternate-jerseys

 

Check out this article and accompanying videos and pics about Carlos Correa and Dallas Keuchel accepting their Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards at a ceremony in New York at the Baseball Writers Association of America banquet last night (Saturday). The event will be televised on the MLB Network this coming Friday night if you are interested.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/162697238/astros-correa-keuchel-accept-bbwaa-awards

 

The Astros 1B prospect AJ Reed is the top prospect at his position in baseball according to MLBPipeline.com. MLBPipeline.com has been unveiling its top 10 prospects for a while and in the article linked below there are links to the top 10 RHP's, LHP's and catchers. Tomorrow they will be releasing their top ten 2B prospects.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/162516062/prospect-watch-top-10-1b-for-2016

 

Countdown to spring training--25 days until pitchers and catchers report to the Kissimmee spring training site. I know it's too cold right now but, if you close your eyes, you can almost catch a whiff of freshly cut grass.

[eagle eye]

choBoy, a lot of news for cold January day.

First, Houston has signed a new starting pitcher. The Astros have inked RHP Doug Fister to a one year $7MM deal with incentives that could make it $12MM. The Astros have added depth to their starting rotation which wasc already pretty good with Dallas Keuchel, Colin McHugh and Lance McCullers at the top of the rotation and Mike Fiers a good bottom half rotation guy. Now, Houston won't have to rely on a Brad Peacock or a Asher Wojciechowski to step up. Here's an article from MLB.com talking about the potential for Fister to be one of the best bargains of the hot stove season.

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/163065830/doug-fister-is-a-free-agent-fit-for-the-astros

 

As I was taking a look at Houston's 40-man roster I had to do a double take as I went down the list of pitchers. I don't know how I missed it but there he was former and present Astro Wandy Rodriguez. One January 21st the Astros announced the signing of Wandy to a minor league contract with an invitation to go to spring training with the Astros. Here's an article from crawfishboxes.com via the Bleacher Report about the signing.

 

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2016/1/21/10808820/astros-sign-wandy-rodriguez-to-minor-league-contract

 

The Astros have been busy this off season stacking their roster with young and veteran pitchers as they prepare to head to spring training. Among the starting pitching prospects discussed about don't forget about Scott Feldman. Feldman is coming off some injury issues that plagued him the second half of 2015 but he wasn't bad in the first half. Just looking at the roster I think this is the best group of pitchers Houston has seen on its roster in a long, long time. That's what good teams do, create competition between talented players, and Houston looks like the pitchers will have plenty of quality competition this spring. As excited as I am I still feel the hit of the loss of Mark Appel. I can't see the need to give up on the #1 pick in the 2013 draft to get a guy who was a closer for just half a season in Philly. You can bet I'll be watching the progress of Appel going forward and I will also see if Ken Giles is going to be the real deal.

I

Houston could be feeling the loss of Hank Conger more that we realize as Houston will be putting all their eggs in the young guys on the roster to back up Jason Castro. You hope that Max Stassi or a Roberto Pena can step up.

 

The battle this spring to fill the 1B and 3B positions will be hot and heavy. Alex Bregman is on the 40 man but I doubt he is ready for the bigs yet so 3B is wide open. 1B looks like it could Luis Valbuena's to lose but I hope somebody beats him out. Valbuena strikes out way too often and I would hope that Jeff Luhnow is in the process of weeding out guys like him. I don't care that he hit 20-something homers because he struck out 5 million times last season. We still have Jason Castro to do that. I think the hitting instructors need to hammer home the idea that you NEED to make contact with guys like Castro, Valbuena and Colby Rasmus.

 

I sure would like to see an outfield with George Springer, Jake Marisnick and Preston Tucker. Marisnick needs to get with the learn-to-make-contact guys mentioned above but I love his defense and he's got a great arm to go with his D. I'm sorry but, I'm not in at all on Carlos Gomez. If Houston could trade Gomez for a catcher or a third baseman I would be happy as hell. I just don't think Gomez was worth what we gave up for him. To me, Mike Fiers was the best part of the deal that brought Gomez to Houston.

 

One thing I have been forgetting and that is Evan Gattis came to Houston as a catcher. I don't know if Gattis is worth a darn as a catcher but he certainly could be in the mix for backing up Castro. Personally, I'd take Gattis' bat over Castro if he is worth a darn as a catcher and Gattis could still DH quite a bit because he's only catch one or two days a week. Where's Johnny Bench when you need him.

 

Some Houston additions to MLB's top 10 prospects by position 2B Tony Kemp who came in at #8, SS Alex Bregman came in at #8 as well. It was disheartening not have any more top 10's at any other position although Bregman will likely be a third baseman when it is all said and done. I'll say it just one last time. With Houston giving up Mark Appel and Vincent Velasquez in the Ken Giles deal the Astros gave up two guys who didn't make the top 10 anyway but probably should have.

 

Excuse me while go pout for a while.

[eagle eye]

Just a reminder, spring training first practice is just 20 days away.

[eagle eye]

MLB has released it's top 100 prospects for 2016 and Houston has 5 players on the list.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/163129948/astros-have-5-in-2016-top-100-prospects-list

[eagle eye]

It's exactly two weeks until spring training! Yep, 14 days and the pitchers and catchers get started in the marathon that is called the MLB regular season. It's a long season and it's got to be a grind. You play at least 5 games a week, more often than not it's six and there are stretches when you don't get a day off for two weeks. The only real break is the 3 days of the All Star break and it's not even that if you are chosen to go to the ASG. With all that said, I am not sure if there is a time in any sport so full of hope and excitement than when MLB and college and high school, shoot, even little league baseball begins. Two weeks until MLB's version of the prep for the regular season begins.

 

Here's an article from Astros.com about Colin McHugh as he is looking forward to backing up the 19-8 season he posted last year. As the article points out, when the Astros claimed him off waivers two years ago he hadn't even won a game as a big leaguer and in the last two seasons he's 30-16 with a 3.39 ERA. Hopefully, there won't be any drop off by him or Dallas Keuchel as they lead the starting pitching staff into this coming season. Both guys have been really consistent in their steady improvement and you would hope that they are both hungry enough to not rest on their laurels.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/163523612/astros-collin-mchugh-preparing-for-2016

 

I think I've mentioned it before but it you look at the Astros depth at starting pitcher you have to be rather impressed with what Jeff Luhnow has done. Not even counting the prospects in the minors who are working their way up the ladder Houston has got no less than seven viable pitchers to compete for a starting job. Keuchel, McHugh, Lance McCullers, Mike Fiers, the recently acquired Doug Fister, Brad Peacock, Kevin Chapman and let's not forget Scott Feldman. That makes 8 guys not even counting minor leaguers like Michael Feliz and Dan Straily. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it is so huge that Houston doesn't have grasp at straws if somebody gets hurt. Houston could actually start the season with a six man rotation if they wanted to. Now, the question begs, how will that affect a pitcher's effectiveness with the extra day off? But, there I go counting chickens before their hatched. Two weeks. Yep, I am definitely getting excited.

Edited February 4, 2016 by eagle eye

[Big T]

I will say this, as much as I don't like some of the moves made this off season, Luhnow has managed to add two quality players without losing a first round draft pick. So, the Astros won't be effected in the upcoming draft this year. That will help fill the holes that were opened in our farm system with the Giles and Gomez trades. That is something at least. I am staying optimistic this year, but they either need Gomez to step up big time, or they are going to have to go get another bat at the All-Star break as this line up looks pretty anemic in spots. Here is to hoping that Gomez steps it up and Singleton or Reed are able to step up to the plate and become the players they are supposed to be.

[eagle eye]

Astros.com began a series recently called "Around the Horn" breaking down the team by position group. Today I will share the link to the first installment of that series. We get a glimpse of how things are shaking out at catcher.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/161406764/jason-castro-max-stassi-to-catch-for-astros

 

First spring training practice for the Astros is exactly two week away! Pitchers and catchers report to Kissimmee on the 18th and their first workout will be the next day.

 

Big T, you said that Luhnow and company didn't give away any first round picks but what would you call Mark Appel? He was the #1 pick in the draft just 3 years ago. What about Vincent Velasquez? He wasn't a first rounder but he was a second rounder and right now, if they were still on the team, they would be the top pitching prospects in the Astros system and Velasquez has had some big league game experience and done pretty well, especially for a guy who probably wasn't totally ready to pitch in the bigs. I'm sorry but I'm still pissed off about that deal. The only thing different about the original deal was that an outfield prospect failed his physical and for some reason Appel was the next choice. The thing that is most galling is Giles isn't really a PROVEN closer. He did it for two months after the Phillies dealt Jonathan Pappelbon to Washington. I believe Luhnow saw what the fire ballers for Kansas City have done the past couple of years and fell in love with Giles as a result. What will be will be but, as I've said before, I'm going to be comparing Giles to Appel, and Velasquez too, for a while.

[Big T]

Astros.com began a series recently called "Around the Horn" breaking down the team by position group. Today I will share the link to the first installment of that series. We get a glimpse of how things are shaking out at catcher.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/161406764/jason-castro-max-stassi-to-catch-for-astros

 

First spring training practice for the Astros is exactly two week away! Pitchers and catchers report to Kissimmee on the 18th and their first workout will be the next day.

 

Big T, you said that Luhnow and company didn't give away any first round picks but what would you call Mark Appel? He was the #1 pick in the draft just 3 years ago. What about Vincent Velasquez? He wasn't a first rounder but he was a second rounder and right now, if they were still on the team, they would be the top pitching prospects in the Astros system and Velasquez has had some big league game experience and done pretty well, especially for a guy who probably wasn't totally ready to pitch in the bigs. I'm sorry but I'm still pissed off about that deal. The only thing different about the original deal was that an outfield prospect failed his physical and for some reason Appel was the next choice. The thing that is most galling is Giles isn't really a PROVEN closer. He did it for two months after the Phillies dealt Jonathan Pappelbon to Washington. I believe Luhnow saw what the fire ballers for Kansas City have done the past couple of years and fell in love with Giles as a result. What will be will be but, as I've said before, I'm going to be comparing Giles to Appel, and Velasquez too, for a while.

 

I am talking about signing a Class-A free agent which would mean the Astros would lose their first round pick of the 2016 draft. I am not talking about the players that the Astros gave up. They traded for Giles and Fister was not a Class-A free agent. Which means that the Astros can use the draft to plug the holes made by the Giles trade. That is all I was saying.

[eagle eye]

I am talking about signing a Class-A free agent which would mean the Astros would lose their first round pick of the 2016 draft. I am not talking about the players that the Astros gave up. They traded for Giles and Fister was not a Class-A free agent. Which means that the Astros can use the draft to plug the holes made by the Giles trade. That is all I was saying.

 

If I seemed harsh I'm sorry. I'm not sure what Class A free agent means but Fister wasn't acquired by trade, he was just signed. Giles is the point of contention for me. I know we didn't give up any future draft picks for Giles but the loss of Appel just bothers me. We had a string of 4 straight years of having the #1 pick in the draft. We lost one when Brady Aiken refused to sign his deal and now we've just given away another. The circumstances of how Appel was included in the deal for Giles is unforgivable IMO. If things go as they seem to being going it will be a long, long time before we get a high first round draft pick and I really hope we never do because that means we have gotten to the place we wanted to get to when those 100+ loss seasons gave us the ability to kick start the franchise. How the deal escalated from a minor league outfielder to the #1 pick in the draft in 2013 I cannot imagine. If I ever get to talk to Jeff Luhnow it will one of the first questions I ask him. All that said I sincerely hope Giles is worth what we gave up for him. If he's the final piece of the puzzle to get us to the World Series then I'll have to admit it was a good deal. Right now, the best I can do is admit the jury is still out on judgement of the Giles trade. BTW, the 2014 draft when we lost Aiken we had the opportunity to draft Carlos Rodon. Wow, what a whiff that was! The White Sox are happy I guess.

[eagle eye]

In a continuation of the Around the Horn series Astros.com takes a look at Houston's starting pitching.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/163745236/keuchel-fister-lead-proven-astros-starters

[eagle eye]

Another installment of the "Around the Horn" series analyzing the Astros roster as they head into spring training. Today is Astros.com's look at the bullpen.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/164025274/astros-bullpen-revolves-around-ken-giles

 

The Astros got some crappy news yesterday as Evan Gattis will miss 4-6 weeks following surgery he had yesterday for a hernia. It's bad news for Gattis for two reasons. One, in terms of his salary, he is about to go through salary arbitration. The Astros are offering $3MM for a one year deal and he is asking for $3.8MM. That's actually not a big gap and that should be resolved pretty easily although it would seem the Astros have a leg up in things going their way due to Gattis' surgery and the resulting missed time in spring training. The position players don't begin practice until February 23rd. The second reason this is bad news is in the off season Gattis lost 20 pounds so he could compete for a position at 1B or catcher this spring. This is a very disappointing setback for him. Last season Gattis ended up hitting .246 with 11 triples, 27 home runs and 88 RBI's in his first year on the team. If you throw out the first month of the season when Gattis was horrible at the plate he hit a respectable .267 from May through September. His 11 triples was a real surprise because Gattis had only one major league triple in his career until last season.

 

Jason Castro lost his salary arbitration hearing this week but it's not as bad as you might think. He was asking for $5.25MM this year and the Astros had been offering $5MM. For whatever reason Castro was not awarded his asking price as the arbiter ruled in favor of the Astros. Castro is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball but last year his offensive numbers were pretty terrible. He hit a meager .211 with 11 HR's and just 31 RBI's.

[eagle eye]

The 'Around the Horn' series continues today with Astros.com looking at the infield. IMO the infield is as solid as it gets up the middle. Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve are about as good as it gets coupled with the fact that Carlos Correa has nowhere to go but up as he learns how to be a big leaguer. I have to say that I don't share the Astros.com writer's optimism for the corner infield spots. Either Houston will go with what they have, or they go younger as they integrate players from the minor leagues. I have zero faith in Jon Singleton. The guy strikes out a lot and despite being pretty good in AAA he has sucked the big one in the majors. Evan Gattis lost 20 pounds so he could actually compete for a position, either first base of catcher, but his hernia surgery this week puts any plans he had on hold for a month or more. Maybe one of the outfielders. Houston has a plethora of outfielders you would like to get on the field. Houston, right now, is weak at 1st and 3rd. Let's see what Brian McTaggert of MLB.com thinks.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/162966460/jose-altuve-carlos-correa-headline-infield

 

Did I happen to mention that the first workout in spring training is only 8 days away?

Edited February 11, 2016 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

Astros.com's 'Around the Horn' series moves into the outfield today. The unquestioned star of the outfield is George Springer. He's got it all, he can run, he can throw, he has a good glove and he can hit. You would like to see him progress at the plate in terms of cutting down on strike outs and adjusting his 2-strike approach that allows him to make contact and put the ball in play. He struck out 109 times in 388 ABs which translates to 28% of his ABs resulted in a K. Way too high for a guy like Springer. Another thing that is troubling is the fact that he missed 38% of the season mainly due to injury. This is not a one year deal either. So far he's missed big chunks of every season he's been in the majors. A lot of that has to do with his balls-out style of play. You kind of feel like his injuries have been bad luck because there are a lot of guys who play hard every day and don't break their thumb sliding into a base or pulling his hamstring or as was the case last season when he was hit by a pitch in Kansas City breaking his wrist. You hope that he's gotten that bad karma out of his system and can enjoy a full season of play for around 15 years. His .276 BA isn't bad but it would be seriously be awesome if he could replace about 25 of the K's he had last year with 25 hits. That would mean the 96 hits he got last season would have been 121 hit and it would have lowered his K total from 109 to 84 making his K/Hit ratio very acceptable and bump his BA up to .312. I would take that all day, every day. Project that to a full season of 152 games, allowing him a day off once in a while, and you get that .312 BA, 180 hits, 125 K's and his stolen base count would go up from last year's 16 would go up to 24 SB's. Probably more with a higher OBP and fewer K's. Springer could be a legit 30-30 guy. Look at Jose Altuve by comparison. He played in 154 games and he hit an AL best .313 in 638 AB's. With that he had an MLB best 200 hits, 15 HR's, 38 SB's and 33 BB's and just 67 K's. If Altuve walked more his OBP would skyrocket from a very healthy .353 to near .400 or better and his stolen base count could be in the 50 range. That's a place Springer is capable of being at if he could just cut down on K's. I would love to see Jake Marisnick do the same. Cut down on K's and take a 2-strike approach to just put the ball in play. With Marisnick's speed he could leg out an infield hit or two. The only thing you can do after a K is leg your way back to the dugout. My worry about this whole roster is they become too infatuated with the HR to the extent that it hurts them overall.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/163679300/gomez-rasmus-springer-form-solid-astros-of

[eagle eye]

The Astros wrap up their "Around the Horn" series with a look at the players they will have coming in off the bench. Guys like Robbie Grossman, Chris Carter and the other familiar faces will give way to brand new role players. One those guys isn't new at all. Marwin Gonzalez, who had a really good year last season playing both infield and outfield positions, will be the mainstay off the bench for Houston. Personally, I wouldn't mind if Gonzalez was given a shot at starting at either 1st or 3rd base. I believe he earned at least a look.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/164264176/gonzalez-marisnick-tucker-lead-astros-bench

 

The next article from Astros.com concerns minor league prospects coming to spring training. It is not inconceivable that one or more of these guys gets a serious shot at making the big club. Last season Houston featured the MLB debut of Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers. Both players made a positive impact on the Astros roster and look to be a big part of the nucleus of the club this season and beyond. Houston also used Vincent Velasquez a lot which upped his trade stock in the process. Velasquez was part of the deal that brought Ken Giles to the Astros this offseason. In the article pay attention to the part featuring 1st base prospect Tyler White and notice he is just the ticket for a team plagued with too many strikeouts.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/164372566/astros-minor-league-system-remains-strong

 

We are now down to referring to the start of spring training in terms of days rather than weeks. The Astros report to their spring training home in Kissimmee Florida this Thursday. Or should I say pitchers and catcher report Thursday and their first practice will be Friday. The rest of the team begins on the following Tuesday, February 23rd. Linked is an article about the Astros loading up their big trucks with uniforms and equipment they will need in Florida. Six days and the 2016 MLB baseball season begins. Thank heaven! With football done all we have is a bunch of basketball talk. Now, I have had my interest in the NBA rekindled over the last few years but the people who cover the NBA have nothing fresh to say. The media jumps on a subject and rides that horse to death and after the poor beast is dead they tie a rope around it's neck and drag it along for a while longer. I'm sick of hearing about Kobe's farewell tour of the NBA. I'm sick of hearing about Steph Curry and his Golden State Warriors. There is some talk about the ever powerful San Antonio Spurs and a smidgen of info on OKC but mostly it's Kobe and Steph....blah, blah, blah. The Rockets suck more often than they are good and it seems last year's run was just smoke or maybe Kevin McHale isn't the slug of a coach everyone painted him as. Basketball won't get interesting until the playoffs anyway. This weekend's NBA All Star Game and surrounding festivities are not anything to get excited about either. So, the impending start of baseball is an awesome break from all that.

Pretty soon we will have baseball to think about. In truth we already have baseball to talk about with the Lamar Cards beginning practice. Is it unreasonable to be a little excited about what 2016 will be like in Jim Gilligan's last season at the helm? Hell no! In the mean time here is real evidence that the Astros will be getting started in their 2016 quest to win a World Series. (Has a nice "ring" to it, doesn't it?)

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/164379258/astros-truck-begins-journey-to-spring-home

[eagle eye]

Check out Lance McCullers' customized PS4 controller.

 

http://img.bleacherreport.net/cms/media/image/34/47/f2/01/0efa/4bd0/a1f8/989a8d20d5e9/crop_exact_Screen_Shot_2016-02-10_at_5.21.26_PM.jpg?h=310&w=527&q=70&crop_x=center&crop_y=top

 

Check out the article from Bleacher Report that talks about a protective head gear for pitchers that will be tried out this spring.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2616178-mlb-mlbpa-to-debut-new-protective-headgear-for-pitchers-at-spring-training

 

http://img.bleacherreport.net/cms/media/image/dc/c6/8f/f9/98cc/4aae/81c8/66d91c977368/crop_exact_Screen_Shot_2016-02-12_at_10.04.31_AM.jpg?h=310&w=527&q=70&crop_x=center&crop_y=top

 

This article from Bleacher Report talks about free agents still available going into spring training.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2615699-scott-millers-starting-9-last-minute-bargains-as-spring-training-beckons

[eagle eye]

The Astros and Evan Gattis avoided arbitration when they agreed to a one year deal for $3.4MM. It is smack in the middle of the asking price by Gattis of $3.8MM and the $3MM the Astros were offering. I knew this wouldn't be a big deal and would get done. At first glance you could say a guy with a .246 BA for 2015 wasn't worth 3+MM dollars but, as I mentioned in a previous post, if you throw out the horrendous start to the season last year Gattis hit .267 with good power numbers. As a DH Gattis did well when those power numbers showed up with men on base. The Astros also get an option for 2017 for $5.2MM or, if they pass on him, the buyout is just $100K.

 

There are 3 guys who the Astros will be leaning on a lot in 2016. Jason Castro, Doug Fister and Scott Feldman are all coming off seasons they would probably like to forget. Castro probably just wants to forget the year he had at the plate where it had you dreaming of another great defensive catcher who hit 40 points higher in his BA than Castro had last year. The guy I'm talking about is Brad Ausmus who was a career .251 hitter vs Castro who hit an anemic .211 on the season. Crap Batting Average, crap power numbers, crap number of RBI's (31). On the flip side Castro reaffirmed his status an elite, or close to elite, defensive catcher. You could rightly argue his defense, especially his ability to throw out base runners helped to make up for his poor batting performance and you'd be right---to a point. Castro's best season as pro was in 2013 when he hit .276 and made the All Star team, his only season to do so. Castro missed the last part of September in 2013 to have a cyst removed from behind his knee, and I'm sure it's not the reason why, but he hasn't been worth a darn at the plate since. In 2014 he hit .222 and last year he fell to that .211. In fact, it took about 3 months for him get above the Mendoza Line where he floundered for a long time. You would love to see him get back to 2013 form. Even if he never makes it back to that level but hits between .250 and .260 it would be a huge improvement. If he can do that then he will be a lot more expensive this time next year.

Scott Feldman was an Astros last season but he didn't get to pitch much. He did have 18 starts and ended up with a 5-5 record. He should have had another win or two but the bullpen let him down or the offense failed to give him any run support. He had a couple of games before he went on the DL because of a shoulder issue that contributed to his being ineffective. He missed two months during the summer following knee surgery. All in all it was a season I'm sure Feldman would like to forget other than to use it as motivation for 2015. Feldman turned 33 on Feb 7.

The other guy is pitcher Doug Fister who the Astros got when he was allowed to test free agency by the Washington Nationals. Fister had some nagging health issues in 2015 that caused him to struggle most of the year. In 2014 Fister was 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA but in 2015 he struggled to 5-7 record with a 4.19 ERA. He did make the same amount of appearances, 25, as in 2014 but only 15 were starts and the results weren't nearly as good. Fister is a year younger than Feldman and his birthday was on Feb 4. So, both players will not be getting any old age-wise this season.

All three guys will be looking to bounce back to previous form and if that happens Houston will really be a hard team to beat all season.

[eagle eye]

The Astros pitchers and catchers are in Kissimmee at the training camp facility and the 2016 process begins tomorrow. It's not months, weeks or even days. No, we're down to hours and we will have real news about the team as they begin preparing for the upcoming season. The rest of the team will report on Monday with the first full team workout taking place on Tuesday. Yep, I'm excited because we actually have something to be excited about. After all, we are coming off our first playoff appearance in a decade. We have 2 All Stars which should balloon up to 3 or 4 this season as long as the players stay healthy. (I am beating like Lars Ulrich on every piece of wood in my office!) Cy Young winner, AL Rookie of the Year and players who are on their way up in through the minor league system gives fans the more than just hollow hope as we head back into the spring.

 

When questioned Luke Gregerson said he still wants to be the Astros closer despite the fact that Houston signed Ken Giles in the off season. You gotta love that competitive spirit.

 

Astros.com tries to answer what they believe are 3 pressing questions needing an answer in spring training.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/164834064/biggest-questions-for-astros-entering-spring

 

The coaches and executives are meeting to discuss their big league roster. Not just the big league coaches and execs but everyone from the minor leagues are on hand to discuss the 61 players Houston will have in training camp.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/164793642/astros-coaches-meet-for-spring-training-camp

 

There is a link inside this link to the article about surgery on Pat Neshak's foot in the offseason. The link is to a picture of the bone that came out of his foot. Kind of gross.

 

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2016/02/18/164837550/photo-pat-neshek-had-a-bone-removed-from-his-foot

[eagle eye]

The Astros have completely begun. For the first 4 days of spring training it was just pitchers and catchers but, yesterday, the rest of the team had their first workout of the spring. Hopes are high in Kissimmee as the Astros set their sights on going to the next level. Last season they reached the playoffs for the first time in a decade and only a disturbing September swoon cost the team a division title. They did make the playoffs as a wildcard team and they actually beat the New York Yankees to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs. It's difficult to grasp, even now 5 months later, but Houston had the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals 6 outs away from defeat when a stunning comeback from a 4 run 6-2 lead for Houston eventually became a 9-6 loss in Game 4 of the ALDS. The Royals Game 5 win to take the series, and the bitterness of that pill, should be a motivating factor for the Astros 2016 season.

 

I think it's safe to say Jon Singleton has been a big disappointment to the Astros organization so far as he big league resume is concerned. He has torn up the minor leagues despite a strike out rate that is kind of disturbing. During his stints in the bigs over the last year and a half he has failed to get over the Mendoza Line with his batting average and he has been a virtual strike out machine in the process. This spring there is a hole at 1B that Singleton is looking to fill but it won't be given to him. There are three other guys who are just as hungry as he is. Fellow minor leaguers AJ Reed, Tyler White and Matt Duffy along with veteran Evan Gattis who is looking to become more than just the Astros DH, are all vying for the opening at first. Singleton has been working hard and has actually put on about 20 pounds or so of muscle showing a new found dedication to baseball in the offseason.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/165130880/astros-jon-singleton-shows-off-new-physique

 

AJ Reed, the 4th ranked player in the Astros system is not going to be easy for Singleton to overcome. Despite going into minor league camp last season he put up some impressive numbers in both AA and AAA last season.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/165144940/prospect-aj-reed-arrives-at-astros-camp

 

Then there is Tyler White. He's a third baseman who could play 1st if Houston is determined to use Luis Valbuena at 3rd. White had 403 AB's combined in AA and AAA with only 73 K's. That means White only struck out in 18% of his official AB's. It's even better than that when you consider his total plate appearances, 495. His K % would drop to 15% which is far and away better than 95% of the guys who are on the big league squad. White had 131 hits in his 403 AB's for a .325 BA and his H/K ratio was nearly 2 to 1.

 

Gattis is not so much in the mix because he had surgery for a sports hernia recently and the worry is Gattis will miss opening day. Gattis did drop 20 pounds in the offseason and worked on his fielding because he wants to be more than just the DH. AJ Hinch talked recently about giving him a real shot at backup catcher. Gattis has played catcher in the bigs for Atlanta and he showed some skills it would just be a matter of knocking off some rust. First and foremost he's got to get well and get back on the field.

 

Houston has broken new ground in the world of pro baseball when they hired a woman named Rachel Balkovec to be the strength and conditioning coach for the Astros Latin American program. She was the first woman to be a strength and conditioning coach in baseball history when she was hired by the St Louis Cardinals as an intern S&C coach in 2012. Doors are opening to women as the battle for sexual equality continues to make progress.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/165143530/astros-rachel-balkovec-breaking-down-barriers