Astros released the following players who were in Minor League camp:

IF Peter Zimmerman
OF Ramiro Rodriguez
C Colton Shaver
C Alex Holderbach
UT Michael Wielansky
C Nate Perry
LHP Kit Scheetz
RHP Elian Rodriguez
RHP Kyle Serrano
RHP R.J. Freure

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 28, 2022

Farmer1906 said:

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Dusty Baker said today that Cristian Javier will open the season in the Astros’ bullpen as their long reliever/spot starter.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

This means no 6 man rotation. Gotta feel for Javier a little. He's been pretty dang good as a starter.

In 19 starts he has a 3.42 ERA & 1.020 WHIP. Who wouldn't want that in their rotation?

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Like we've discussed numerous times on this thread:

1) We're not going to a 6 man rotation so long as JV is here
2) Our "sixth starter" will likely be part of the rotation by May
3) We're going to need 8+ starters to get through the regular season
4) Our rotation in October will likely look a bit different than it looks to start the season

Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Dusty Baker said today that Cristian Javier will open the season in the Astros’ bullpen as their long reliever/spot starter.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

This means no 6 man rotation. Gotta feel for Javier a little. He's been pretty dang good as a starter.

In 19 starts he has a 3.42 ERA & 1.020 WHIP. Who wouldn't want that in their rotation?

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Like we've discussed numerous times on this thread:

1) We're not going to a 6 man rotation so long as JV is here
2) Our "sixth starter" will likely be part of the rotation by May
3) We're going to need 8+ starters to get through the regular season
4) Our rotation in October will likely look a bit different than it looks to start the season

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Fo sho.

We're going to need 810-972 innings from starts (162 starts * 5 or 6 IP per)

That's ~127 ea for 7 guys.

For reference here is how 2021 broke down:
ZG - 171.0
LMJ - 162.1
Garcia - 149.1 (6 in BP)
Valdez - 134.2
Urquidy - 108.0
Odorizzi 100.2 (4 in BP)
Javier - 48.2 (52.2 in BP)

Assuming JV is close to what he was before, you can slot him for the 171. LMJ will be way down, but I don't see why Framber, Urquidy, & Jake can't go up.

Ag_07 said:

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If Javier is gonna be in the pen then use his ass. If he's not gonna be used keep him in Sugarland so he can get work and be stretched out of needed.

That's one thing I hated about how they used him last year. They put him in the pen and let him sit there.

Either use him or send him somewhere he can stay fresh.

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He was second to only Pressly and Stanek in IP out of the bullpen. He would have likely topped them if not for making 9 starts. He just needs more rest because in most outings he goes 2 innings or more.


Edit: I guess most of the guys we rode down the stretch got most of their innings on other teams (Yimi, Graveman, & Maton)

Say JV gives us five strong on opening day and we carry a one run lead into the sixth. Who pitches 6-7-8-9?

Deluxe said:

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Say JV gives us five strong on opening day and we carry a one run lead into the sixth. Who pitches 6-7-8-9?

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Maton/Stanek/Neris/Pressley

Ag_07 said:

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JV

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Would love to get his pitch count up in the 130s on opening day

texasaggie2015 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Say JV gives us five strong on opening day and we carry a one run lead into the sixth. Who pitches 6-7-8-9?

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Maton/Stanek/Neris/Pressley

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That's probably right

Generally speaking, I feel like Click has done a really nice job restocking the pen. He didn't have much to work with when he got here, but now we've got ~6 guys I feel comfortable with in medium leverage (Javier, Taylor, Maton, Stanek, Neris and Pressly). Also got some upside wild cards with Baez and Montero.

Deluxe said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Say JV gives us five strong on opening day and we carry a one run lead into the sixth. Who pitches 6-7-8-9?

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Maton/Stanek/Neris/Pressley

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That's probably right

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Pretty much but also match ups. If there's a potential to get Ohtani & Walsh in an inning then Taylor likely gets an inning over on of the non Pressly arms.

Brantley goes yard. Wainwright has to hate us. We're ruining his spring.

Farmer beat me to it

Here are the top 5 prospects on the @Astros' brand-new Top 30 list:

1. Jeremy Peña, SS
2. Korey Lee, C
3. Hunter Brown, RHP
4. Pedro Leon, SS/OF
5. Forrest Whitley, RHP

Complete list: https://t.co/KUOWDuxZtf pic.twitter.com/NqLKKUafqP

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 28, 2022

Hahaha

Ok same situation...Who is more likely to make an appearance in the 6-9th JV or Baez?

Uncle Mike!!! He launched this pic.twitter.com/TxmJsbFMjS

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) March 28, 2022

Goodrum doing all he can to beat Bellingers spring training stats:

4 games, 7 AB, 0 BA, 0 OPS, 6 strikeouts

Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Dusty Baker said today that Cristian Javier will open the season in the Astros’ bullpen as their long reliever/spot starter.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

This means no 6 man rotation. Gotta feel for Javier a little. He's been pretty dang good as a starter.

In 19 starts he has a 3.42 ERA & 1.020 WHIP. Who wouldn't want that in their rotation?

---

Like we've discussed numerous times on this thread:

1) We're not going to a 6 man rotation so long as JV is here
2) Our "sixth starter" will likely be part of the rotation by May
3) We're going to need 8+ starters to get through the regular season
4) Our rotation in October will likely look a bit different than it looks to start the season

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1) Agree
2) Potentially
3) Who exactly would those 7,8+ be...?
4) I sure as hell hope it doesn't or I think we will be in a world of hurt

Framber looking good today

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Dusty Baker said today that Cristian Javier will open the season in the Astros’ bullpen as their long reliever/spot starter.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

This means no 6 man rotation. Gotta feel for Javier a little. He's been pretty dang good as a starter.

In 19 starts he has a 3.42 ERA & 1.020 WHIP. Who wouldn't want that in their rotation?

---

Like we've discussed numerous times on this thread:

1) We're not going to a 6 man rotation so long as JV is here
2) Our "sixth starter" will likely be part of the rotation by May
3) We're going to need 8+ starters to get through the regular season
4) Our rotation in October will likely look a bit different than it looks to start the season

---

1) Agree
2) Potentially
3) Who exactly would those 7,8+ be...?
4) I sure as hell hope it doesn't or I think we will be in a world of hurt

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3) Lance is 7 when he returns. At least 1-2 of Solomon, Bielak, Ivey, Whitley and/or H Brown will make a start this year. Also think there's a decent chance we snag a starter at the deadline. We used 12 starters in 2019, 10 in 2020 (in only 60 games), 9 last year. Alot happens over the course of 162. Injuries, transactions, guys outperforming/underperforming expectations, etc.

4) What if I told you at the beginning of last year that Luis Garcia would be a top 2-3 starter by playoff time? What if I told you in the beginning of 2020 that Framber Valdez would carry our staff in the playoffs? What if I told you in mid-2019 that Wade Miley would basically be unusable in the playoffs? Alot happens over the course of 162. Injuries, transactions, guys outperforming/underperforming expectations, etc.

The Astros have traded OF Norel Gonzalez to the Miami Marlins. He has been assigned to their Double-A affiliate.

— Kenny Van Doren (@thevandalorian) March 28, 2022

Ryan Pressly pitched a clean fourth in is Grapefruit League debut, but his fastball velocity was diminished. He threw seven of them and averaged 92.4 mph. He averaged 95.4 mph last season.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

I wouldn't overreact yet, but that is a significant dip.

Looks down across the board. But this is his first appearance. I wouldn't freak out yet. (having to repeat this to reassure myself).

Deluxe said:

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Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Dusty Baker said today that Cristian Javier will open the season in the Astros’ bullpen as their long reliever/spot starter.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

This means no 6 man rotation. Gotta feel for Javier a little. He's been pretty dang good as a starter.

In 19 starts he has a 3.42 ERA & 1.020 WHIP. Who wouldn't want that in their rotation?

---

Like we've discussed numerous times on this thread:

1) We're not going to a 6 man rotation so long as JV is here
2) Our "sixth starter" will likely be part of the rotation by May
3) We're going to need 8+ starters to get through the regular season
4) Our rotation in October will likely look a bit different than it looks to start the season

---

1) Agree
2) Potentially
3) Who exactly would those 7,8+ be...?
4) I sure as hell hope it doesn't or I think we will be in a world of hurt

---

3) Lance is 7 when he returns. At least 1-2 of Solomon, Bielak, Ivey, Whitley and/or H Brown will make a start this year. Also think there's a decent chance we snag a starter at the deadline. We used 12 starters in 2019, 10 in 2020 (in only 60 games), 9 last year. Alot happens over the course of 162. Injuries, transactions, guys outperforming/underperforming expectations, etc.

4) What if I told you at the beginning of last year that Luis Garcia would be a top 2-3 starter by playoff time? What if I told you in the beginning of 2020 that Framber Valdez would carry our staff in the playoffs? What if I told you in mid-2019 that Wade Miley would basically be unusable in the playoffs? Alot happens over the course of 162. Injuries, transactions, guys outperforming/underperforming expectations, etc.

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"Will make a start" and "going to need 8+ to get through a season" are not the same statement in my opinion.

And what if I told you that if you expect new guys to have breakout magical seasons every season but that same guy not remain just as productive and stick the next year....that we wont be playing in late October. And what if I told you that theory didn't work last year when we probably lost because we just flat ran out of arms and the guy we were using couldn't do it for two series in a row.

Also what if I told you that when Lance comes back he isnt #7, in fact that would push Javier further away from starting not closer.

So when can we expect Lee to make it to the big leagues? Does Machete last all year or will Lee replace him?

All I do is Nguyen said:

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So when can we expect Lee to make it to the big leagues? Does Machete last all year or will Lee replace him?

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I believe Lee will be Castro's replacement...not Machete

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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Yordong to dead center

Yordan Alvarez just hit the absolute shit out of a home run to the opposite field off Adam Wainwright. 110.5 mph off the bat.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 28, 2022

Goodness, Yordan sent this to Jupiter pic.twitter.com/3r1KL3tL3R

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) March 28, 2022

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My favorite part is the fan who just goes "ohhhh" when he hits it. And the jack-wagon in the booth who was about to say he was lucky the wind wasn't blowing to stop it...piss rockets don't get stopped by the wind

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I think the first voice was Dusty reacting...the Jackwagon is none other than Jim Edmonds