2019 Houston Astros Thread

[UTexasFight 9288]

Things I like: winning
Thinks I love: being the best team in baseball

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

 

[TonyTexas 10382]

Great pitching. Our bullpen is smokin

[Guadaloopy 10757]

Ho hum, but still fun.  

[WBT 20132]

Back to .667 baseball

[tx 3 putt 74771]

keep racking up W's !!!!

[Mez2 4010]

 

Jake Marisnick’s increased role could portend an end to the Astros’ roster crunch

By Jake Kaplan 3h ago 

When the Astros decided to open the regular season with one fewer reliever than usual so they could fit both Tony Kemp and Tyler White on their active roster, they were merely delaying the inevitable.

Eventually, they were always going to have to make a decision on one or both of their out-of-options bench players. And recent playing time patterns plus the emergence of left fielder/first baseman Yordan Alvarez in Triple-A suggest a solution to the roster crunch could come soon.

Jake Marisnick’s swing appears to be back to its 2017 form, and if he can sustain even a semblance of the .885 OPS with which he entered Monday he will provide a lot of value to the Astros as their fourth outfielder. In the games Marisnick starts in center, Astros manager A.J. Hinch can give George Springer or Michael Brantley a half day as the designated hitter to keep them fresh.

This is exactly the strategy Hinch has deployed recently. Springer, who missed Monday’s game because of a stiff back, has already made 10 DH starts. Brantley has made nine. Marisnick’s start in center field in Monday night’s series opener against the White Sox was his ninth in 13 games and his fifth in a row. Entering Monday’s game, Marisnick had been worth 0.9 bWAR and 1.0 fWAR.

But where does that leave Kemp? By the looks of it, without a clear role. Before Springer was held out of Monday’s lineup — Springer described his status Monday as “day to day” after an MRI returned “all good news” — Kemp hadn’t started since May 12 and had started only twice since May 6. Excluding backup catcher Max Stassi and temporary 26th man Derek Fisher, Kemp’s 66 plate appearances coming into the week were the fewest among Houston’s position players by 20. He has four DH starts but none since April 7.

And that’s all while Alvarez remains in Triple-A. Once Alvarez reaches the majors — judging by the fact he hasn’t been promoted already despite his ridiculous Pacific Coast League numbers, it seems like the Astros will hold him down beyond the estimated Super Two cutoff in early June — there figures to be even less playing time available for Kemp.

Because Kemp has exhausted his three minor-league option years, the Astros cannot demote him to Triple-A without first exposing him to outright waivers. If placed on waivers, Kemp would surely be claimed by one of the other 29 teams. If they don’t envision more playing time opening up for him, their best move would be to trade him for prospects like they did with J.D. Davis to the Mets in January.

Kemp likely has more trade value than White, who’s limited to first base or DH. Like Kemp, White cannot be optioned to Triple-A without first passing through waivers, though he would probably have a better chance of clearing than Kemp.

His bat speed lacking compared with last year, White has struggled to hit fastballs this season. He entered Monday night’s game slugging only .289 overall and as one of only seven major leaguers with 90 or more plate appearances and zero home runs.

If the defensively limited Alvarez is the real deal, neither Kemp nor White would seem to have an obvious role. Once he’s in the majors, Alvarez should garner near-everyday at-bats. The Astros can try to hide him in left field at Minute Maid Park when he’s not playing as the DH. He’s played more first base in Triple-A recently than he had earlier in the season, but it’s unclear whether the Astros view him as a viable option there at the major-league level in the short term.

Barring another injury, the Astros will face their next roster decision when José Altuve returns from his left hamstring strain after a brief minor-league rehab assignment that should begin later this week. They’ve been carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players since Altuve landed on the injured list. They could shift back to 12 and 13 upon activating Altuve by optioning Framber Valdez or Chris Devenski. Their other option would be to make a move with White or Kemp to correspond with Altuve’s return.

A healthy Astros roster with Alvarez on it would have to preclude at least one of White or Kemp. It might preclude both. Reliever Joe Smith should complete his Achilles rehab at some point in June, at which point Houston’s bullpen should look something like this:

RHP Roberto Osuna
RHP Ryan Pressly
RHP Will Harris
RHP Josh James
RHP Joe Smith
RHP Collin McHugh
RHP Héctor Rondón
RHP Chris Devenski

Devenski has minor-league options, so the Astros could maintain a seven-man bullpen even once Smith returns. But if Alvarez is in the majors and playing regularly by then, they might be best served rostering eight relievers and only a three-man bench. In that scenario, their position player group would look like this:

C Robinson Chirinos
1B Yuli Gurriel
2B José Altuve
3B Alex Bregman
SS Carlos Correa
LF Michael Brantley
CF George Springer
RF Josh Reddick
DH Yordan Alvarez

C Max Stassi
UTIL Aledmys Díaz
OF Jake Marisnick

The knock on this configuration is of course the short bench, which was easier for the Astros to pull off in previous seasons because of Marwin González’s versatility. The lack of a left-handed bench bat in this scenario is the case for the Astros to keep Kemp in place of an eighth reliever even after Alvarez debuts.

All of this presumes health, too, which the Astros have managed to maintain outside of Altuve and Diaz’s recent left hamstring strains and Springer’s lower back stiffness. But once they add Alvarez to their roster, what remains for Kemp and White?

[UTexasFight 9288]

April showers bring May...
Choo choo motherfucker. Get off the damn tracks. 14-4 this month

[WBT 20132]

Now 17-4 at home.  The next best home record is 15-8 by Minnesota and (doublechecks standings) the Texas Rangers.

[runthebone 7874]

1 hour ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Do they do distance on AAA homers?

[UTexasFight 9288]

Do they do distance on AAA homers?

Yes
Dell Diamond has all of the statcast stuff (I think all of the Astros MiLB parks do).

Not finding a number on that Tucker bomb tonight though

The baseball truly is incredible. I can’t fathom what some of the PED boys would have done with this baseball in the late 90s

[UTexasFight 9288]

Now 17-4 at home.  The next best home record is 15-8 by Minnesota and (doublechecks standings) the Texas Rangers.

It’s the Rangers turn to be out in front in the revolving door for second place in the AL West.
Feels so much like 2017 in the early going.

[tx 3 putt 74771]

13-1 with roof closed

[softlynow 1612]

34 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

13-1 with roof closed

Fuck Bud Selig.

[rvm96 1643]

This is a big statline for Bukauskas from Sunday. He has had a rough start to the season.

Also, Seth Beer keeps raking after his promotion to AA.

 

[rvm96 1643]

It's also really cool to see the Astros top 3 hitting prospects be left handed batters. Now we just need some big time LHP's. 

[Fudge Nuggets 18825]

Sorry for the derail, but does anyone know if "LSU Fan" is still around?  I haven't noticed him in his normal seat(s) behind home plate this season.  Hope he's ok.

[DallasGatr 216]

I think I saw him earlier this season.

[Planet Houston 4918]

He got tickets for a certain number of years in his settlement with BP - I think it rolled off. 

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

Jake Marisnick's Increased Role Could Portend an End to the Astros' Roster Crunch

By Jake Kaplan

 

Jake Marisnick’s increased role could portend an end to the Astros’ roster crunch

By Jake Kaplan May 20, 2019 28 

When the Astros decided to open the regular season with one fewer reliever than usual so they could fit both Tony Kemp and Tyler White on their active roster, they were merely delaying the inevitable.

Eventually, they were always going to have to make a decision on one or both of their out-of-options bench players. And recent playing time patterns plus the emergence of left fielder/first baseman Yordan Alvarez in Triple-A suggest a solution to the roster crunch could come soon.

Jake Marisnick’s swing appears to be back to its 2017 form, and if he can sustain even a semblance of the .885 OPS with which he entered Monday he will provide a lot of value to the Astros as their fourth outfielder. In the games Marisnick starts in center, Astros manager A.J. Hinch can give George Springer or Michael Brantley a half day as the designated hitter to keep them fresh.

This is exactly the strategy Hinch has deployed recently. Springer, who missed Monday’s game because of a stiff back, has already made 10 DH starts. Brantley has made nine. Marisnick’s start in center field in Monday night’s series opener against the White Sox was his ninth in 13 games and his fifth in a row. Entering Monday’s game, Marisnick had been worth 0.9 bWAR and 1.0 fWAR.

But where does that leave Kemp? By the looks of it, without a clear role. Before Springer was held out of Monday’s lineup — Springer described his status Monday as “day to day” after an MRI returned “all good news” — Kemp hadn’t started since May 12 and had started only twice since May 6. Excluding backup catcher Max Stassi and temporary 26th man Derek Fisher, Kemp’s 66 plate appearances coming into the week were the fewest among Houston’s position players by 20. He has four DH starts but none since April 7.

And that’s all while Alvarez remains in Triple-A. Once Alvarez reaches the majors — judging by the fact he hasn’t been promoted already despite his ridiculous Pacific Coast League numbers, it seems like the Astros will hold him down beyond the estimated Super Two cutoff in early June — there figures to be even less playing time available for Kemp.

Because Kemp has exhausted his three minor-league option years, the Astros cannot demote him to Triple-A without first exposing him to outright waivers. If placed on waivers, Kemp would surely be claimed by one of the other 29 teams. If they don’t envision more playing time opening up for him, their best move would be to trade him for prospects like they did with J.D. Davis to the Mets in January.

Kemp likely has more trade value than White, who’s limited to first base or DH. Like Kemp, White cannot be optioned to Triple-A without first passing through waivers, though he would probably have a better chance of clearing than Kemp.

His bat speed lacking compared with last year, White has struggled to hit fastballs this season. He entered Monday night’s game slugging only .289 overall and as one of only seven major leaguers with 90 or more plate appearances and zero home runs.

If the defensively limited Alvarez is the real deal, neither Kemp nor White would seem to have an obvious role. Once he’s in the majors, Alvarez should garner near-everyday at-bats. The Astros can try to hide him in left field at Minute Maid Park when he’s not playing as the DH. He’s played more first base in Triple-A recently than he had earlier in the season, but it’s unclear whether the Astros view him as a viable option there at the major-league level in the short term.

Barring another injury, the Astros will face their next roster decision when José Altuve returns from his left hamstring strain after a brief minor-league rehab assignment that should begin later this week. They’ve been carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players since Altuve landed on the injured list. They could shift back to 12 and 13 upon activating Altuve by optioning Framber Valdez or Chris Devenski. Their other option would be to make a move with White or Kemp to correspond with Altuve’s return.

A healthy Astros roster with Alvarez on it would have to preclude at least one of White or Kemp. It might preclude both. Reliever Joe Smith should complete his Achilles rehab at some point in June, at which point Houston’s bullpen should look something like this:

RHP Roberto Osuna
RHP Ryan Pressly
RHP Will Harris
RHP Josh James
RHP Joe Smith
RHP Collin McHugh
RHP Héctor Rondón
RHP Chris Devenski

Devenski has minor-league options, so the Astros could maintain a seven-man bullpen even once Smith returns. But if Alvarez is in the majors and playing regularly by then, they might be best served rostering eight relievers and only a three-man bench. In that scenario, their position player group would look like this:

C Robinson Chirinos
1B Yuli Gurriel
2B José Altuve
3B Alex Bregman
SS Carlos Correa
LF Michael Brantley
CF George Springer
RF Josh Reddick
DH Yordan Alvarez

C Max Stassi
UTIL Aledmys Díaz
OF Jake Marisnick

The knock on this configuration is of course the short bench, which was easier for the Astros to pull off in previous seasons because of Marwin González’s versatility. The lack of a left-handed bench bat in this scenario is the case for the Astros to keep Kemp in place of an eighth reliever even after Alvarez debuts.

All of this presumes health, too, which the Astros have managed to maintain outside of Altuve and Diaz’s recent left hamstring strains and Springer’s lower back stiffness. But once they add Alvarez to their roster, what remains for Kemp and White?

[Fudge Nuggets 18825]

24 minutes ago, Planet Houston said:

He got tickets for a certain number of years in his settlement with BP - I think it rolled off. 

If I got fucked up at work then Diamond Club seats for the Astros games would be a reasonable component of a compensation package.  At least that's what I assume you mean about a settlement with BP and he had a prosthetic leg.

That man was thinking right; but should have made the tickets permanent.

Holy hell... found an article in the Chronicle archives about what he went through.  That guy went through some serious shit.  I always liked seeing him behind the plate at the games, seemed like he was always having a great time.  Wish him the best of luck.

Derail over.  Apologies.

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Fudge Nuggets

[1leggedduck 443]

If i'm ever going to need a pinch runner, I'm thinking Kemp. He's also more versatile and cheaper on uniforms and snacks. 

[Mez2 4010]

very racist

[WBT 20132]

Obviously he's faster than White but Kemp is middle of the pack on the team.

 

Rk.	Player	Team	Position	Age	Competitive Runs	Bolts	HP to 1B	Sprint Speed (ft / sec)
1	Marisnick, Jake	HOU	CF	28	34	6	4.16	29.4
2	Diaz, Aledmys	HOU	2B	29	41	2	4.26	28.5
3	Springer, George	HOU	CF	30	68	0	4.28	28.3
4	Altuve, Jose	HOU	2B	29	56	10	4.21	28.3
5	Gurriel, Yuli	HOU	1B	35	61	0	4.32	27.8
6	Correa, Carlos	HOU	SS	25	60	1	4.26	27.8
7	Bregman, Alex	HOU	3B	25	46	0	4.42	27.2
8	Kemp, Tony	HOU	CF	28	20	0		26.6
9	Brantley, Michael	HOU	LF	32	70	0	4.57	26.5
10	Reddick, Josh	HOU	RF	32	56	0	4.26	26.5
11	Stassi, Max	HOU	C	28	14	0		26.3
12	Chirinos, Robinson	HOU	C	35	30	0		25.5
13	White, Tyler	HOU	DH	29	30	0		24.8

[Fudge Nuggets 18825]

I didn't realize Diaz was that fast and also assumed Reddick was faster than his stats show.

[Rimbo 25212]

18 hours ago, maninblack said:

Tyler white is stealing money

I mean... you're not wrong. But that was nice to see.

[henrygandorf 28624]

the game was so boring and uneventful last night, for a minute i actually forgot that we won.

love the bullpen getting scoreless innings and gaining confidence though.

i like the looks of that june roster, but the biggest changes will happen in oct when we go to a 3-4 man rotation.  our bullpen looks vastly different when we add peacock and possibly corbin martin down there.  excited for joe smith to get in game shape as well.

still would like us to add an sp3 if it makes sense.  and if the next ryan pressly is hanging around, maybe we can get him too.  not having to depend on harris/devo down the stretch is fine by me.

[Rimbo 25212]

I like the fact that we talk about October like it's a given.

I mean, we used to do that, too, but it was a very different given.

[runthebone 7874]

Jesus, Tyler White is a slow fatass. 

[formermav43 4599]

18 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

still would like us to add an sp3 if it makes sense.  and if the next ryan pressly is hanging around, maybe we can get him too.  not having to depend on harris/devo down the stretch is fine by me.

Will Harris is criminally underrated. He’s been one of the best relievers in baseball during his tenure here and people act like he sucks. It’s weird.

[DallasGatr 216]

I’m with you. There can’t be more than one handful of 7th inning guys that are better.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4717]

21 minutes ago, runthebone said:

Jesus, Tyler White is a slow fatass. 

I was wondering why he was running full speed around the bases on the HR?

[formermav43 4599]

2 minutes ago, DallasGatr said:

I’m with you. There can’t be more than one handful of 7th inning guys that are better.

It would involve getting into other teams usage more than I care to to see how they typically use guys but, just comparing his stats to relievers in general, there might not be *any* that are better. 

Here are his numbers from 2015-2018 and their rank among relievers:

WAR: 4.1 (26th)

ERA: 2.55 (15th)

FIP: 2.93 (19th)

xFIP: 2.91 (10th)

IP: 240 (33rd)

So far this year, he’s already put up .4 WAR. His ERA is 1.08, FIP 2.19, xFIP 3.09. He has yet to surrender a HR.

Statistically, Harris is, at worst, a top 30 reliever. Probably top 25. Arguably top 20. I say there might not be any 7th inning guys better because, on most teams, that guy is pitching the 8th. Or even closing.

So underrated.

[Guest]

I miss Gergs....

[tx 3 putt 74771]

I’m growing very ok with Miley / Peacock as the game 3 starter, if it comes down to that 

[tx 3 putt 74771]

57 minutes ago, runthebone said:

Jesus, Tyler White is a slow fatass. 

I could take him in a 90ft race 

[WBT 20132]

19 hours ago, maninblack said:

Tyler white is stealing money

He's definitely not stealing bases

[Rimbo 25212]

18 minutes ago, slorch said:

I miss Gergs....

Do you miss him as much as he misses the strike zone?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Rimbo said:

Do you miss him as much as he misses the strike zone?

Might you settle for the facepuncher?

 

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

Looks like George will be out until the weekend:

 

[Fudge Nuggets 18825]

Translating Hinch-speak from the last couple of years, we should be happy to see him before the All-Star break.

[Jshep34 2294]

I blame HEB

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[UTexasFight 9288]

I’m growing very ok with Miley / Peacock as the game 3 starter, if it comes down to that 

No way
In May/ June, sure
Not in October
Puts way too much pressure on JV/Cole IMO.

Maaaybe I could get there with Miley and being a different style of pitcher than the top 2 (and turns in to the 2019 version of CFM), but this team is so much better with Peacock coming out of the bullpen ala 2017.

But to ride or die with the current starters for 3 months after the July 31 deadline and hope for no injuries and maintaining high level of play is too big of a gamble with the amount of dry powder we have in the farm system.

[HtownHorn 14293]

1 hour ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Translating Hinch-speak from the last couple of years, we should be happy to see him before the All-Star break.

Just put him on the 10 day IL. This is stupid.

[TonyTexas 10382]

Just put him on the 10 day IL. This is stupid.

I think this is a good indication that Diaz is ready to go and Springer will be ready for the Red Sox series.

 

[runthebone 7874]

2 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Translating Hinch-speak from the last couple of years, we should be happy to see him before the All-Star break.

I just hope the experimental spine transplant works out. 

[tx 3 putt 74771]

Next man up, Brady Rodgers 

mchugh to the IL 

Edited May 21, 2019 by tx 3 putt

[TonyTexas 10382]

I find it strange that a bullpen warmup would affect the retroactivity of the injured list.

 https://twitter.com/chandler_rome/status/1130932161975083008?s=21

[UTPhil2006 3754]

[Scraps 13461]

They knew i was going tonight and benched Whites fatass