Heard a few respectful whoops througout the day after his shots too
***** 2023 Houston Astros Season Thread *****
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Last: 10 mo ago by texasaggie2015
Forrest Whitley final line today:
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) April 7, 2023
4 IP | 1 H | 1 R | 1 BB | 4 K
Good start to the season for him! #Astros
It's very early, but I'm pulling for Whitley >>>>>Urquidy.
Urquidy is just not the same guy now that he seldoms shows the changeup
Urquidy is just not the same guy now that he seldoms shows the changeup
Since it's an off day figured I'd throw this out there. A little walk down memory lane. I mentioned before I'm ghostwriting a baseball book with 2 former minor leaguers.
One of the chapters I was working on recently was talking about character and work ethic and the difference between having it as opposed to not. In addition to the guys' stories, I did a deep dive into the era of Lance Berkman and Daryle Ward. As many of you recall from being fans in the late 90s / early 00s, the stigma on Ward over time included that he didn't work all that hard, he seemed on the heavy side (6-2, 240) and he didn't want to change positions away from 1B. This is a synopsis of the evolution of what went from seeming like the Astros had 2 incredible bats lurking in the minors to having one guy make it and one guy whiff in the majors.
TL;DR summary: Lance Berkman's work ethic made him a perennial All-Star while Daryle Ward's lack of it found him in no-man's land on our roster and then repeatedly traded and released.
So, Daryle Ward's dad Gary played 11 years in the majors even though he didn't debut until age 27. Made 2 All-Star teams. Daryle himself went to HS in California and played 2 years at a JUCO before the Tigers took him in the 15th round of the '94 draft.
Lance Berkman went to NB Canyon HS and went on a full scholarship to Rice as the Owls were really rising into a collegiate power. He hit .322 as a freshman, .398 with 20 HR as a sophomore, and then .431 with 41 HR and 134 RBI in 63 games as a junior. The Astros took him with the #16 pick in the first round of the '97 draft.
In his second year in the minors, Ward had a big year at A ball for the Tigers - drove in a franchise record 106 runs but was still listed as a Grace C prospect. In 1996, he was in High A and hit .291 with 21 HR and 98 RBI and got a taste at AAA Toledo to end the year. But the Tigers had no plans for him because they had 24-year old Tony Clark at first and Ward couldn't play in the outfield.
So they traded him at the end of 1996 in a 10-player deal to the Astros. The Tigers wanted Brian L. Hunter to play center and it was a whole big thing.
Ward started crushing it in the Astros' farm system. He hit .334 with 21 HR and 98 RBI between Jackson and New Orleans in 1997, and in 1998 he was at New Orleans the whole year, hitting .305 with 23 homers. But that's when the work ethic concerns started to pop up with the scouts. They all said he was a nice guy, but he didn't seem to want to work hard a lot of the time, and was wasn't interested in playing any position but first.
Considering the Astros had Jeff Bagwell at first and weren't in the AL at the time (no DH), that didn't make a whole lot of sense. It wasn't until 1998 that he actually played games in left field, but in 1999 was back to almost exclusive play at first base (59 of 62 games).
Then there's Lance. He played 40 games of High A ball in 1997, and by 1998 he had done so well at Jackson that he played 17 games in New Orleans alongside Ward at season's end. He had also played first base in HS and college, but Berkman clearly knew the score up in Houston and began playing left field immediately in High A right after he was drafted.
Ward played a few games with the Astros in 1998, and in 1999 he started the season back at New Orleans. In 61 games he hit 28 homers and was batting .353 so the Astros brought him up. But Lance was also red hot - he hit .323 in 64 games and got called up as well.
In the Majors, Ward was better in 1999, but it made sense. He had been playing pro ball since 1994. He hit .273 with 8 homers in 64 games. Lance hit .237 in 34 games.
So that gets us to 2000. As most everyone knows, the Astros moved to then-Enron field with its short porches in left and right and suddenly the team was trying to outslug everyone. And the year was an absolute disaster for the ML team. After 3 straight NL Central titles, the Astros went 72-90 with a team ERA of 5.42. Biggio missed the last 60 games of the year with the only major injury of his career.
But a bad season allows for young guys to get a lot of PT and make a name for themselves. Ward won the opening day job in left field and for the season he hit 20 home runs, slugged .538 and from the outside looking in seemed like he was going places. He played in 119 games, but only had 264 at-bats. That's because the Astros took him out late in just about every single game because of his defense, or he didn't start and got into games late to pinch hit. Of the 119 games he played in, he only played in 23 from start to finish.
Berkman played in 2 fewer games but had almost 100 more at-bats than Ward. He hit .297, slugged .561, and hit 21 homers. He out performed Ward in every single offensive category and by comparison played 57 complete games because he had made himself an outfielder.
In 2001, Berkman took Ward's starting job in spring training and had a monster year: .331, 34 HR, 126 RBI, 55 doubles. He made the All-Star team, finished 5th in the MVP voting, and finished 126 of the 153 games he started, playing all 3 OF positions. He was a perennial All-Star and RBI machine the rest of his career with the Astros, and eventually winning the World Series in 2011 with the Cardinals.
Ward played just 95 games in 2001. He got one more chance, in 2002, when Moises Alou moved on from the Astros to the Cubs. Ward took over in left, Hidalgo moved to right and Berkman played predominantly in center field, the toughest of the three spots. Ward played 136 games, only completing 56 of them, and hit 12 home runs with 72 RBI and batted .276. Over in center, Berkman hit .292 with 42 HR and 128 RBI.
Ward was traded to the Dodgers in an exchange of nobodies at the end of the year. He hit .183 in 52 games there and was released at the end of the year. He managed to play six more years, but his inability to succeed in the outfield meant he only played more than 100 games in a season once, and he never hit more than 15 home runs again. He had some injuries and some bad luck, but the unwillngness to work harder or be more flexible are what most people remember him for.
One of the chapters I was working on recently was talking about character and work ethic and the difference between having it as opposed to not. In addition to the guys' stories, I did a deep dive into the era of Lance Berkman and Daryle Ward. As many of you recall from being fans in the late 90s / early 00s, the stigma on Ward over time included that he didn't work all that hard, he seemed on the heavy side (6-2, 240) and he didn't want to change positions away from 1B. This is a synopsis of the evolution of what went from seeming like the Astros had 2 incredible bats lurking in the minors to having one guy make it and one guy whiff in the majors.
TL;DR summary: Lance Berkman's work ethic made him a perennial All-Star while Daryle Ward's lack of it found him in no-man's land on our roster and then repeatedly traded and released.
So, Daryle Ward's dad Gary played 11 years in the majors even though he didn't debut until age 27. Made 2 All-Star teams. Daryle himself went to HS in California and played 2 years at a JUCO before the Tigers took him in the 15th round of the '94 draft.
Lance Berkman went to NB Canyon HS and went on a full scholarship to Rice as the Owls were really rising into a collegiate power. He hit .322 as a freshman, .398 with 20 HR as a sophomore, and then .431 with 41 HR and 134 RBI in 63 games as a junior. The Astros took him with the #16 pick in the first round of the '97 draft.
In his second year in the minors, Ward had a big year at A ball for the Tigers - drove in a franchise record 106 runs but was still listed as a Grace C prospect. In 1996, he was in High A and hit .291 with 21 HR and 98 RBI and got a taste at AAA Toledo to end the year. But the Tigers had no plans for him because they had 24-year old Tony Clark at first and Ward couldn't play in the outfield.
So they traded him at the end of 1996 in a 10-player deal to the Astros. The Tigers wanted Brian L. Hunter to play center and it was a whole big thing.
Ward started crushing it in the Astros' farm system. He hit .334 with 21 HR and 98 RBI between Jackson and New Orleans in 1997, and in 1998 he was at New Orleans the whole year, hitting .305 with 23 homers. But that's when the work ethic concerns started to pop up with the scouts. They all said he was a nice guy, but he didn't seem to want to work hard a lot of the time, and was wasn't interested in playing any position but first.
Considering the Astros had Jeff Bagwell at first and weren't in the AL at the time (no DH), that didn't make a whole lot of sense. It wasn't until 1998 that he actually played games in left field, but in 1999 was back to almost exclusive play at first base (59 of 62 games).
Then there's Lance. He played 40 games of High A ball in 1997, and by 1998 he had done so well at Jackson that he played 17 games in New Orleans alongside Ward at season's end. He had also played first base in HS and college, but Berkman clearly knew the score up in Houston and began playing left field immediately in High A right after he was drafted.
Ward played a few games with the Astros in 1998, and in 1999 he started the season back at New Orleans. In 61 games he hit 28 homers and was batting .353 so the Astros brought him up. But Lance was also red hot - he hit .323 in 64 games and got called up as well.
In the Majors, Ward was better in 1999, but it made sense. He had been playing pro ball since 1994. He hit .273 with 8 homers in 64 games. Lance hit .237 in 34 games.
So that gets us to 2000. As most everyone knows, the Astros moved to then-Enron field with its short porches in left and right and suddenly the team was trying to outslug everyone. And the year was an absolute disaster for the ML team. After 3 straight NL Central titles, the Astros went 72-90 with a team ERA of 5.42. Biggio missed the last 60 games of the year with the only major injury of his career.
But a bad season allows for young guys to get a lot of PT and make a name for themselves. Ward won the opening day job in left field and for the season he hit 20 home runs, slugged .538 and from the outside looking in seemed like he was going places. He played in 119 games, but only had 264 at-bats. That's because the Astros took him out late in just about every single game because of his defense, or he didn't start and got into games late to pinch hit. Of the 119 games he played in, he only played in 23 from start to finish.
Berkman played in 2 fewer games but had almost 100 more at-bats than Ward. He hit .297, slugged .561, and hit 21 homers. He out performed Ward in every single offensive category and by comparison played 57 complete games because he had made himself an outfielder.
In 2001, Berkman took Ward's starting job in spring training and had a monster year: .331, 34 HR, 126 RBI, 55 doubles. He made the All-Star team, finished 5th in the MVP voting, and finished 126 of the 153 games he started, playing all 3 OF positions. He was a perennial All-Star and RBI machine the rest of his career with the Astros, and eventually winning the World Series in 2011 with the Cardinals.
Ward played just 95 games in 2001. He got one more chance, in 2002, when Moises Alou moved on from the Astros to the Cubs. Ward took over in left, Hidalgo moved to right and Berkman played predominantly in center field, the toughest of the three spots. Ward played 136 games, only completing 56 of them, and hit 12 home runs with 72 RBI and batted .276. Over in center, Berkman hit .292 with 42 HR and 128 RBI.
Ward was traded to the Dodgers in an exchange of nobodies at the end of the year. He hit .183 in 52 games there and was released at the end of the year. He managed to play six more years, but his inability to succeed in the outfield meant he only played more than 100 games in a season once, and he never hit more than 15 home runs again. He had some injuries and some bad luck, but the unwillngness to work harder or be more flexible are what most people remember him for.
Life is better with a beagle
That's what I decided to go with. I kept Tucker and Alvarez.NTAS said:
I gotta go with keeping Tucker as an 18th rounder being the best value. Treat every round as an individual battle and you win the war.
EastCoastAgNc said:Forrest Whitley final line today:
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) April 7, 2023
4 IP | 1 H | 1 R | 1 BB | 4 K
Good start to the season for him! #Astros
If he finally puts it all together, watch out. I'd take his ceiling over Brown's. The chance of having both of them over the next 6-7 years along with Javier locked in for 5, Garcia for 4, and Framber for 3 just ain't fair.
Jackal99 said:Sort of. The person who drafts him has him for both. So, two people can't have him in different capacities. But I can only use him as a pitcher or hitter in a game, not both. So when he's in a pitcher, I don't get batting stats for him.Farmer1906 said:
I'm a fantasy newb. Does your league treat Ohtani as both pitcher and hitter? In my league he's 2 players. Batter Ohtani & Pitcher Ohtani.
If he's not both, then the choice is easy.
If you can change lineups daily with those rules then Ohtani is the best player in fantasy and it's not really close. If it's weekly lineups I would take Tucker because of the great value. He's a first round pick in almost every scoring system. It just depends on what your guess is on Yordan's health on whether you think he is going to provide first round value. Normally he is a late first round pick in 12 to 15 team leagues but slips to a second round pick in some.
Good luck!
Yainer Díaz is now the 100th-best prospect in Major League Baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
— Kenny Van Doren (@thevandalorian) April 7, 2023
Catcher throwing the sign down for it pic.twitter.com/CErZMRI3Lq
— Tommy Lundy (@TommyLundy) April 7, 2023
Tyler Glasnow dubbed it that a couple of years ago.EastCoastAgNc said:Catcher throwing the sign down for it pic.twitter.com/CErZMRI3Lq
— Tommy Lundy (@TommyLundy) April 7, 2023
https://www.foxsports.com/watch/1879708739525
Life is better with a beagle
Ag4life80 said:
It's very early, but I'm pulling for Whitley >>>>>Urquidy.
Urquidy is just not the same guy now that he seldoms shows the changeup
I'm 2022, Urquidy threw the FB 53% of the time and pretty evenly distributed his change up, curveball, and slider.
The last 3 years, 2020-2022, he's thrown his change up around 15-18%.
You may be thinking of the cutter he tried to work in last season, but that was a disaster. He was much better after he stopped trying to throw that pitch.
Urquidy is a hell of a 4/5, and that's his max, which is ok. I love that dude. He has come up big for us in the playoffs. He saved the BP in that terrible start from LMJ in the WS.
He's a less talented JV mindset guy. He isn't afraid to challenge anyone with his FB, and is successful more times that not. Just when he's not, the ball goes a long way! He's just not more than a lower end rotation guy.
I've got a soft spot for the guy!
If Forrest can put it together, I'd be happy for him! I think Jose would be able to find another place to pitch if that's what it came to.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/jose-urquidy-664353?stats=splits-r-pitching-mlb&season=2022
Blake Snell comes set before Travis d'Arnaud is ready and umpire Jeremie Rehak warns Snell "no more"... pic.twitter.com/WKj7f1WwFf
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 7, 2023
When Urquidy broke in, his big splash game was against the Yankees in the playoffs. He used a really good changeup as his go to pitch. He has gradually just practically stopped using it. I do agree that he is a solid 5 or 6 starter right now.
Farmer1906 said:Yainer Díaz is now the 100th-best prospect in Major League Baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
— Kenny Van Doren (@thevandalorian) April 7, 2023
Catcher Yainer Diaz enters the Top 100 Prospects list upon Miguel Vargas' graduation.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 7, 2023
Check out the scouting report on a talented member of the #Astros' Opening Day roster: https://t.co/nrHWElHRnf pic.twitter.com/veQKPXwSZ5
Give my man consistent PAs. We need to get him ready.
I think the issue is with calling him a catching prospect. I don't believe we view him as that.
We must not view him as a hitting prospect or OF prospect because he's getting passed up by Julks on both.
Or maybe the rankings suck. The Astros have had a "depleted" farm system for years and yet we keep on turning prospects into MLB players.
Friendly reminder today's makeup game is a 3:10 start
tremble said:
Or maybe the rankings suck. The Astros have had a "depleted" farm system for years and yet we keep on turning prospects into MLB players.
Sure the rankings aren't perfect. I agree. They have generally underrated our farm system. Now what are you trying to say about actual players? Julks is underrated and Diaz over? They're both underrated?
It's going to a long (and great!) afternoon of baseball with the Ags starting around noon!Ag_07 said:
Friendly reminder today's makeup game is a 3:10 start
The @astros are back indeed 🫶. #gostros pic.twitter.com/7mM6ujes8R
— H-E-B (@HEB) April 5, 2023
Is today a double header? I just see the 3:10 game on the schedule.
No, 1 game. Make up from yesterday. Today was a planned off day in case of bad weather for the Twins home opener.
Lines up perfectly since it looks like the Masters may be rained out around the time the Stros start.
Masters. Ags game 1, Ags game 2, and Astros. A perfect Friday off work.
The expectations for Ward were about as high as they were for Kyle Tucker when he was in the farm system. I attended the Astros first game at Enron with my dad, who was also at the Astros first game in the Astrodome. The clearest memory I have of that game is my dad saying about Ward, who hit the first home run in Enron that night, "if he wants to make it he needs to lose some of that a**". I never remember him looking like he was in good shape.Quote:
He had some injuries and some bad luck, but the unwillngness to work harder or be more flexible are what most people remember him for.
Much better day today!!
— Todd Kalas (@RealToddKalas) April 7, 2023
Expected game time temp is 48 with brilliant sunshine.
2:30 pregame @ATTSportsNetSW pic.twitter.com/yUhlIpzaJ9
🤔 https://t.co/8OfEDwrywE pic.twitter.com/orXSTdBHDM
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 7, 2023
Any chance they wear them on the road, today?
I doubt it happens today. Usually when they've worn something like that on the road, the home team has a throwback uniform too. I doubt the Twins would do that for opening day.redline248 said:
Any chance they wear them on the road, today?
The Twins have shiny new unis that look great.
The Astros against Sonny Gray: Peña 6, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Abreu DH, Tucker 9, Hensley 3, McCormick 8, Dubón 4, Maldonado 2
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 7, 2023
Urquidy RHP
Dubon
2:30p on ALTERNATE channel today. pic.twitter.com/tnLlbrQu4s
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) April 7, 2023
FYI for those in Houston
Who else if Hensley is needed elsewhere?EastCoastAgNc said:The Astros against Sonny Gray: Peña 6, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Abreu DH, Tucker 9, Hensley 3, McCormick 8, Dubón 4, Maldonado 2
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 7, 2023
Urquidy RHP
Dubon
Farmer1906 said:Who else if Hensley is needed elsewhere?EastCoastAgNc said:The Astros against Sonny Gray: Peña 6, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Abreu DH, Tucker 9, Hensley 3, McCormick 8, Dubón 4, Maldonado 2
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 7, 2023
Urquidy RHP
Dubon
Don't you start bringing logic into this
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