Houston Astros Regular Season Thread

[Guest eagle eye]

EE, sheck your post, he hit .297 in AA and just got promoted to AAA.

 

You're absolutely right but, I think you get my point.

[KABrother88]

FWIW, Springer earned Texas League All-Star game MVP last night going 2 for 3 with 2 HRs, 3 RBI, a walk, SB and 0Ks.

 

C Rene Garcia got the start behind the plate. Went 0-2 but reached on an error and scored later, threw out a would be base stealer and picked off another at first

 

3 Hooks pitchers saw action in the 6-0 win over the the TL North team

 

David Martinez gave up 1 hit pitching the 2nd inning

Jake Buchanan gave up 2 hits pitching the 5th inning

Mike Foltynewicz pitched a perfect 6th inning

 

[Guest eagle eye]

What have we learned the past two days as the Astros faced off against the St Louis Cardinals?

1) Lucas Harrell is still learning to be a big league pitcher. He has a lot of talent but he needs to work on his mental toughness. Still he deserves a better record than he has but in most starts he hasn't got a lot of run support. Last night was not one of those cases however as a disasterous 4th inning sank Harrell's ship. Better days are ahead IF he can harness his temper.

2) Eric Bedard seems to be developing into the pitcher the Astros front office hoped when they signed him this past off season. He seems to be showing the form he showed in his early days with the Baltimore Orioles before injuries stole the momentum he was building. Bedard was even in the running for the Cy Young Award in 2007 for a losing team. Former Lamar Cardinal and MLB player for Boston, Kevin Millar, once said Bedard had the best curve ball in the major leagues. At 34 he's not going to be in the long range plans for the Astros but we'll take what he can give us, right? Even if it's a valued trade bait as the trading deadline approaches.

3) The Astros are proving that despite struggling at the plate that they can compete with anyone. St Louis, the Astros most recent opponent, and Pittsburgh are tied for the best records in MLB at 48-30 and Houston has split the two games of the series. When the Astros pitching is on they can beat anyone and that is a very good sign. The Astros finish June with a series against the Los Angeles Angels, a team they have owned in 2013. In their last 10 games the Astros are still playing .500 ball and amazingly enough for the month of June they are 12-12. Not freakin' bad.

[Guest eagle eye]

Sorry, I've jinxed the Astros again. I posted that the Astros "owned" the Angels so far this year and darned if the Angels haven't won the first two games of this series. Not only that but Houston has managed to awaken Josh Hamilton's bat. Never fails, spin a little confidence in our boys and it's good for a doggone losing streak. Hopefully, Houston can bounce back this afternoon.

[Big T]

Got swept. Look at Hamilton's numbers, he owns the Astros. If he could just hit against the Astros every game he would be hall of fame worthy in ten years lol.

[Guest eagle eye]

It seems that Lucas Harrell is the new age Nolan Ryan. Back in his day Ryan was tagged with innumerable losses he didn't deserve because the Astros didn't give him run support or the relievers surrendered a lead he left the game with. Well, that's Lucas Harrell in a nutshell. Granted he's no Nolan but he seems to be saddled with the same crap luck. Harrell pitched really well yesterday giving up a solo home run in his seven innings of work. He deserved the win but Houston offense took the day off. Granted the Angels C J Wilson pitched a whale of a game but Houston had their chances and just couldn't capitalize on any of them. The Astros did even the score for Harrell in the 6th but the run was unearned. Jose Cisnero came in for Harrell in the 8th and promptly surrendered the winning runs to LA. The Angels were kind of owned up until this weekend by Houston but two stellar pitching outings by Harrell and Bud Norris were ruined by the bullpen, poor defense and a limp offense. You have to say Jordan Lyle's outing Saturday wasn't his best stuff but Houston had chances to win the series and flat blew it.

[Guest eagle eye]

Several notable items from Astros-land:

 

Houston got pounded last night by Tampa Bay in the first game of their series 12-0. Dallas Kuechel got run in the 5th after allowing 5 earned runs in 4.2 innings but the real casualty was Hector Ambriz who, in one inning of work allowed 3 runs in 4 hits including a home run with 2 BB's and no K's. Ambriz has had a lousy month of June and his first appearance in July got him sent down to OKC. The Astros called up Brett Oberholtzer who is expected to be used in long relief possibly as early as tonight.

 

The Astros acquired shortstop prospect Ronald Torreyes from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for two international signing bonus slots.

 

As a side story Houston began the international signing period's first day today by signing 4 prospects. Here's the article along with a brief bio of the newest Astros.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130702&content_id=52466038&vkey=news_hou&c_id=hou

 

The Astros have announced the first appearance of their 2013 top draft pick, Mark Appel. He scheduled to make his first start Friday night for Class A Tri-City. Appel has moved into the Astros system making signing his contract just 12 days after being drafted and making his first pro start by Independence Day.

 

Carlos Pena, who has missed the past two days due to being off for a death in the family. Pena is back but not in the starting lineup tonight because he just did arrive for the game on time missing the pre-game warmup period with his teammates.

 

Two of Houston's top prospects pitchers, Jared Cosart and Jason Stoffel were named to the AAA All-Star team. Cosart is Houston's #4 ranked prospect and Stoffel, a relief pitcher, is a player that Houston has been high on for a good while according to GM Jeff Luhnow.

 

Finally, Houston is locked in a battle with the D-Rays which is turning into another ass-kicking. It's 5-0 in the top of the seventh. I posted this before but Houston's lack of offense is a disturbing trend and they are on a pace to be handed their 2nd shutout in as many nights. Granted the D-Rays are good and right in the thick of a very competitive AL East race but the Astros lack of offense puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on their pitching staff. Not to mention adding more grey hairs to Bo Porter's scalp.

[Big T]

Thanks for all the updates EE. I'm going to post the international signings in a few but first I want to point out that our Astros have once again taken first place!!!! For last place lol. That's right, if they keep this up we are going to see Carlos Rodon will be in a Astros uniform in the near future!

 

Can you even imagine a Rotation of-

 

Appel

Rodon

Cosart

Folty

FA

 

That my friends would be SICK! Here's to the number one over all pick in 2014!

[Big T]

So the Astros have been very busy today on the international front despite loosing yet again to the Rays tonight 8-0. So far they have signed:

 

Short Stop Dominican Republic- Joan Mauricio 16 YO- $600,000

SS/OF -Osvaldo Duarte

SS/C- Jonathan Matute

CF- Nestor Tejada

 

They have also acquired a AA prospect from the Cubs in exchange for two International money slots. I can't say any of these guys look like sure fire MLB players, but if you spread your money around like the Astros did your more likely to find that kid who turns out to be the next Big Papi, Gurerro, etc. There really wasn't a sure fire player this year in the international pool unlike the previous years with Cespades, Chapman, etc.

 

 

[Guest eagle eye]

So the Astros have been very busy today on the international front despite loosing yet again to the Rays tonight 8-0. So far they have signed:

 

Short Stop Dominican Republic- Joan Mauricio 16 YO- $600,000

SS/OF -Osvaldo Duarte

SS/C- Jonathan Matute

CF- Nestor Tejada

 

They have also acquired a AA prospect from the Cubs in exchange for two International money slots. I can't say any of these guys look like sure fire MLB players, but if you spread your money around like the Astros did your more likely to find that kid who turns out to be the next Big Papi, Gurerro, etc. There really wasn't a sure fire player this year in the international pool unlike the previous years with Cespades, Chapman, etc.

 

As I said in a previous post the Astros got Ronald Torreyes from the Cubs. He's a shortstop who could play third or 2nd base. Decent hitter and good fielder.

 

The international players signed:

Joan Mauricio - "Mauricio is one of the few true shortstops in this year's international market," said Ocampo. "Defensively, he does everything easy -- smooth, silky actions, very good internal clock, quick hands and feet. Offensively, he has a pretty swing from the left side, good pitch recognition, and sneaky left-handed power which we expect to develop as he gets stronger. For us, Mauricio is one of the top 10 players in this year's class -- a true shortstop with projection and offensive upside. We're very pleased to have him as part of the Astros' organization." Mauricio is from the Dominican Repulbic and he's 16 years old.

 

Nestor Tejada - "Tejada does a number of things well, but his strength is in the batter's box," said Ocampo. "We've evaluated him in a number of competitive environments -- 15U IBAF tournament, MLB showcases and even against our own low [Class] A pitching in Kissimmee, and he has always performed and hit in games. Nestor is a great makeup kid -- intelligent, hard working, a great teammate and a true competitor who leaves it all on the field." Tejada is also 16 years old and he's from Aragua, Venezuela.

 

Jonathan Matute - Matute is a 16-year-old from Caracas, Venezuela, and has the ability to play both catcher and shortstop. Duarte is the oldest of the four signings, checking in at 17 years old.

"Matute's tools are solid across the board, and he separates himself with his intelligence and aptitude for the game," Ocampo said.

 

Osvaldo Duarte - "Duarte's best tools are his bat and his plus-plus speed," Ocampo said. "Offensively, Duarte is a line-drive hitter with a short, quick stroke. Defensively, we project Duarte as a future average Major League shortstop, but he also has a good chance to be a plus defensive center fielder because of his speed." Duarte is a shortstop/outfield prospect who is 17 years old.

 

Note: Comments in quotes are from the Astros international scouting director Oz Ocampo. All four players will report to the Astros academy in the Dominican Republic but they will not appear in games until the 2014 season.

 

New prospect from the Cubs Ronald Torreyes from Astos.com: Torreyes, 20, was hitting .260 (58-for-223) with 13 doubles, 25 RBIs and a .337 on-base percentage in 64 games for the Double-A Tennessee Smokies. He has struck out only 15 times in 223 at-bats, while walking 22 times. An infielder by trade, Torreyes has played only second base this season, but has also seen time at shortstop and third base in his career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest eagle eye]

I know fans are tired of the losing. Me too. I know fans are looking for brighter days for Houston. Me too. But the thing I am most tired of is the absolutely horrible offense Houston fields day in and day out. I've posted this before but how can fans have a reasonable expectation of winning when you trot out a batting order with seven of your lineup hitting .224 or less with two of the starters, Brett Wallace and Jimmy Paredes under the Mendoza line? I can't believe it. I feel sorry for Bo Porter having to make out a lineup card with this roster. I'm tired of Carlos Pena and Chris Carter and neither one was in the lineup last night but for veteran players to be hitting .215 and .229 makes you wonder how they are still in the big leagues. Speaking of Wallace and Paredes, isn't it time to cut bait with these guys? As well as they play in AAA they just plain suck in the bigs. The only problem is, do we want to rush the prospects up the ladder before they are ready? We see guys who are tearing up the minors and the temptation is to bring them up. You have to admire the restraint by the Astros front office because they aren't stupid. They can see their offense bites but they stay the course and they aren't trying to rush prospects up if they feel they aren't ready. With the lowest team salary in the league you might think they'd pony up a little dough to get someone who can at least hit .250. This crap about "he's good for the locker room" is just that, crap. Pena, Wallace, Carter and Paredes have all had their chance and they haven't delivered. With the trading deadline coming up would it hurt to invest a little for the now? Is it too much to ask Jim Crane to field a roster where the team batting average is not so embarrassing? Are we giving Jeff Luhnow too much of a pass for not doing more to give Bo Porter some offense? Is Reid Ryan just playing with his pencils up in his office? The Astros have like a $23 mm total salary. It's just shy of the All Star break and it's clear this team can't hit their ass with both hands much less a baseball and a spending a little money wouldn't hurt. The Astros, for the most part have had some pretty good pitching and little offense would have translated into some wins. But, on the other hand, maybe they are just fielding this roster in hopes of scoring the 1st pick in the 2014 draft. May be. Still, it would be nice to have more than 4 players on the roster who hit .250 or better. Wouldn't it?

[KABrother88]

And it has begun. Jared Cosart got the call and will make his big league debut Friday against the Rays. At AAA OKC, Cosart was 7-4 in 18 games (17 starts) with at 3.29 ERA in 93 innings. 93 Ks in those innings but 50 walks which has always been his Achilles heel. Possibly the biggest number I like is his 2.48 Ground Out/Air Out ratio. At 23,he is a big piece of the future so lets hope he has success and builds confidence going forward. Jimmy Paredes was send down to make room

 

Brad Peacock is also pitching very well of late at OKC...started off pretty shaky when he first got send down but right now he sits at 5-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 59 innings with 57 Ks to 19 walks (pitched 6 shutout innings allowing 2 hits last night)...has only surrended 5 ER in his last 6 starts (37.1 innings)

 

George Springer is raking since he was promoted (.417 with 7 HRs in 14 games)...a welcomed sign after he struggled jumping from A+ to AA mid season last year

 

Jonathan Singleton...not so much...hitting .209 with 1 HR in 25 games with 38 punchouts

[Guest eagle eye]

Houston turned the corner out of June and crashed right into July. They ended June 3 games under .500 and those 3 were the last three at month's end. The Los Angeles Angels got some payback by sweeping Houston in 3 games to end the month. Okay, 12-15 ain't bad especially for these no-hitting Astros. But those final 3 games in June set the table for a July swoon. The boys were hammered in a 4 game set against Tampa losing 3 of 4 and getting shut out twice. Then they lost 2 of 3 to the Rangers in Arlington and followed that by losing 2 of 2 to St Louis. Ouch. If you are keeping track Houston is 2-7 so far in July and they haven't won a series since they beat Milwaukee 2 of 3 back on June 18-20. Maybe some time this season they can put good starting pitching with the resurgent offense they have shown in the last 7 games. They have consistantly put up 4 or 5 runs they just can't stop their opponents at the plate. Hopefully, Jarred Cosart won't get pummelled by the D-Rays tomorrow night.

 

As a motivational tool this site gives me the opportunity to help prod Astros players who are slumping. Case in point, in an earlier post I said Houston should give up on Brett Wallace who was hitting .193 at the time of my post and now he has four doubles, a triple, 3 home runs and 10 RBI's while his BA has climbed to .225. Wallace Achilles heel is common to this Astros lineup-to many K's. Wallace has 29 K's to only 5 walks. Not so good. Of course I'm kidding about my impact on Wallace but it's weird how I bitch about a player he goes on a hot streak and I praise a player, like Lucas Harrell, he becomes a dumpster fire. Like I said, weird. I wish my ju-ju would have worked on Jimmy Paredes but he continued his slump and has been sent to AAA OKC to make room for Cosart.

[Big T]

That's a very interesting move by the Astros sending down a position player and calling up a pitcher. Maybe despite what the front office has said, maybe Harrel's move to the pen is going to be a long term deal. That's the only explanation I can think of. Looking forward to seeing Cosart.

[Big T]

I just wanted to throw this out there. If Norris is not traded (and that's a big if) We could very well see this rotation next year.

 

Appel

Norris

Lyles

Cosart

Harrell

Spot Starter Wojo

Long Relief Peacock

 

Then If we get the Number one pick this year then we would draft Rodon.

 

Rodon

Appel

Norris

Lyles

Cosart

 

That is sick! But I have no doubt that Norris is going to be gone. But if there was ever a reason not to trade him then that is why.

[KABrother88]

I just wanted to throw this out there. If Norris is not traded (and that's a big if) We could very well see this rotation next year.

 

Appel

Norris

Lyles

Cosart

Harrell

Spot Starter Wojo

Long Relief Peacock

 

Then If we get the Number one pick this year then we would draft Rodon.

 

Rodon

Appel

Norris

Lyles

Cosart

 

That is sick! But I have no doubt that Norris is going to be gone. But if there was ever a reason not to trade him then that is why.

 

Folty should be in the mix by the time Rodon would be in the big leagues as well...those two along with Cosart and Appel...might have to invest in a radar gun...

 

If we end up with the number 2 pick i hope they stay NC State and get Trea Turner (unless Miami doesn't take Rodon for some crazy reason)...kid is a legit bat with plus-plus speed and a cannon at SS. Would allow Correa to move to 3rd with is where he may end anyway unless they would see Turner in CF

[Big T]

As much as I want to see Folty be a successful starter, I see him more as a closer. But yes, if Folty was to stay a starter we could see:

 

Rodon

Appel

Folty

Cosart

Harrell

 

That rotation has the potential of the Haliday, Lee, and Oswalt rotation of a few years ago but only ten years younger. Possibly Maddux, Smoltz, Glavin? Not saying it will happen as these guys have all yet to throw a pitch in the Big leagues but the potential is there.

 

I have no doubt that next year we will see a line up of

 

2B Altuve

SS Villar

1B Singleton

CF Springer

DH Chris Carter

C Jason Castro

3B Matt Dominguez

RF Brandon Barnes

LF JD Martinez

 

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Nolan Fontana get brought up and moved to third if Matt struggles. Also Luhnow has said the Astros will be active in the FA market this offseason so who knows who they could bring in. Hopefully bullpen help and a lot of it lol.

[Guest eagle eye]

So, Big T did you happen to see KABrother88's post about Singleton? Struggling at the plate is not a good sign. Is it temporary or is he fizzling out?

[Big T]

He's coming of a 50 game suspension. It takes about a month to get back into baseball form and he is right about that so we will see in a few weeks if he picks it up. He has put on some weight though. IDK if that has anything to do with his numbers or production on the field but just thought I would throw that out there.

[KABrother88]

Major League debut...on the road facing the hottest team in baseball who have won 8 straight...throw in the reigning Cy Young award winner pitching opposite of you...how would Jared Cosart respond...just 8 innings of 2 hit shutout bal...no hitter thru 6 1/3...also gave up 3 walks but 2 of them were eliminated on double plays (1 of those was with Jose Veras on the mound after Cosart was pulled after walking the lead off hitter in the 9th)...both hits allowed were eliminated on double plays by the next batter as well...great performance and hopefully a glimpse into what the future holds for this team.

 

 

As for the Singleton post...I also feel like he will get things together and should see some time in September at the least...just posted it since I was posting about some of our top prospects that were at OKC

[Guest eagle eye]

Welcome to the major leagues, Jarred Cosart! In his first big league outing of 2013 Cosart pitched 8 complete innings giving up only 2 hits and a big fat ZERO runs! I was thinking that if he went 5 he'd be doing well and I was praying that the red hot, 8 game winning streak, D-Rays wouldn't punish him too bad. Well. Were some eyes opened tonight! Cosart actually came in for the ninth inning but after he surrendered a lead off walk he was pulled for closer Jose Veras. More about him in a minute.

Cosart's performance was even more impressive when you realize he was facing one of the best pitchers in baseball in David Price. Price was pretty darn good too going the distance giving up 8 hits but only allowing two first inning runs on a 2 RBI hit by Carlos Corporan after the Astros had loaded the bases on singles by Jake Elmore, Chris Carter and JD Martinez. Four of the 8 hits Price gave up came in the opening frame.

Now for the ninth. Jose Veras is a piece of crap. He nibbled and pecked away at the Rays but he just couldn't help almost blowing another save. Veras is the Latino Brad Lidge. To close out the game Veras threw 28 pitches. 28! He also stranded the tying run at second when he struck out Evan Longoria on a called third strike fastball after throwing nothing but curves Longoria's entire at bat. It's getting to where I hate to see Veras come in the game. You just don't want to have your closer play chicken with a lead you work all night building.

Congrats to Jarred Cosart. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come!

[Big T]

Jarrod Freakin Cosart! You neglected to mention, EE, that he had a no hitter through 6 1/3 innings. Unfortunately from what I've heard this was just a spot start and Cosart will now be sent back down to AAA OCK unless he has forced the hand of Luhnow and Porter with this start. Either way it's good to see the future finally start to make their way to the big leagues and have a little success. Great game by Cosart and a good win for the Stros.

[KABrother88]

He is being sent down to stay on his pitching schedule but I think he has forced the front office to basically make that a AAA spot start and be back after the break

[KABrother88]

In another front office move the Astros gave Altuve a 4 year 12.5 million dollar contract extension with a club option for a 5th (6 million) and 6th (6.5 million) year...so possibly 6 year 25 million...good deal for the Astros

 

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130713&content_id=53633250&c_id=hou

[Big T]

Really great move here by the Astros, This knocks out two birds with one stone. A) You lock up your all-star caliber second baseman and B) you send a message to all of your young upcoming talent that hey if you do well here in the Big Leagues then we are willing to pay you to keep you an Astro. And thirdly, they have alleviated the fears of all the Astros fans who were worried that this ownership would not spend any money.