Shohei at #4?

That's ridiculous. He's #1 even with taking a year off of pitching.

⭐️ Top 10 ⭐️

These stars make up the final list on this year's #Top100RightNow! pic.twitter.com/RftKZQBzHD

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 22, 2024

These starters headline the position in the #Top100RightNow!

Gerrit Cole - 9
Spencer Strider - 17
Zack Wheeler - 28
Corbin Burnes - 29
Blake Snell - 30 pic.twitter.com/TSN8g07F7A

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 22, 2024

How much longer will Snell go unsigned? This doesn't help his asking price any

8 is way too low...easily 5

I think it's more ridiculous Julio Rodriguez is #10 over guys like Bryce Harper or Adley Rutschman.

Cole plays once every 5 games?

For Sunday’s split squad, Hunter Brown will start in West Palm Beach against the Cardinals and Brandon Bielak will start in Port St. Lucie against the Mets.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 22, 2024

All I do is Nguyen said:

---

What bothers me the most is Judge is ahead of Ohtani. If I was building a team I would choose Ohtani over damn near everyone

---

This is this year as DH only. Not saying Ohtani at DH is still not over judge but it's a very different comparison than just Ohtani

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

Jake Meyers said he has been an "emotional roller coaster" over the past three seasons. Here's how he tried to address it this winter, with help from the Astros' mental health and performance providers - https://t.co/iRPX3Bim8S

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) February 22, 2024

---

How is it the Astros have a penchant to select players with mental health problems? First Obese Framber now Jake form Rake farm

J.P. France said he threw a little off the mound yesterday and it went well. He was limited to flat ground throwing the first week of camp due to shoulder inflammation.

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) February 22, 2024

Interesting that we have heard/seen nothing on Abreu or Whitley...

What service do yall use to post screenshots to Texags?

I have a couple of screenshots to post regarding Ohatni, but I never know what service to use.

Same.

EastCoastAgNc said:

---

Interesting that we have heard/seen nothing on Abreu or Whitley...

---

We have some info.

https://www.fox26houston.com/video/1412600

https://www.mlb.com/astros/video/forrest-whitley-on-his-health-seeing-familiar-faces?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share



[url=https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-abreu-ready-to-rebound-for-astros][/url]
https://www.mlb.com/news/jose-abreu-ready-to-rebound-for-astros

Quote:

---

"Last year, he really wanted to show what he was all about and he did that with his makeup and his toughness," Espada said. "I think we can protect him a little bit more by being smart about his workload and stuff like that. I think he's going to be productive and be a really good player for us this year."

In an effort to keep his back and the rest of his body healthy, Abreu said he took up Pilates in the offseason. He did it three times a week, and even jokingly recommended it to reporters.
"My agent was the guy who pushed me to go do it and I'm extremely grateful for him," Abreu said. "It's for the whole body."

A healthy Abreu will continue to carry a big workload this year, just like the slugger prefers. Abreu should see more at-bats at designated hitter, which will keep him off his feet a bit more. Last year, Abreu started 134 games at first base and seven at designated hitter.

"Obviously, [Espada] is the guy that gets to make those decisions," Abreu said. "For me, I'm in a good position and I would like to play first base. The most important thing is the team can win and if the team can win with me being [at DH], that's what we're willing to do."

---

All I do is Nguyen said:

---

What bothers me the most is Judge is ahead of Ohtani. If I was building a team I would choose Ohtani over damn near everyone

---

Judge and Ohtani are very, very similar offensive players.

It's the pitching that separates them. I will say that Ohtani has only been top 10 in pitcher's WAR once (in '22). Even if he pitched all of '23, he would have been we outside of top 10 for pitchers.

Not saying his not the best player in the league, but when you look at WAR alone, there are a lot of guys who are only doing one thing that are very close to him in WAR.

Proudag06 said:

---

All I do is Nguyen said:

---

What bothers me the most is Judge is ahead of Ohtani. If I was building a team I would choose Ohtani over damn near everyone

---

This is this year as DH only. Not saying Ohtani at DH is still not over judge but it's a very different comparison than just Ohtani

---

I think Jude and Ohtani are very comparable as hitters.

I should have been more specific, I meant pitching abreu, not hitting abreu. I was more referring to seeing them in action rather than then talking

There is baseball today (SD/LA)

the first two Statcast tracked games are tomorrow, which is very exciting if you're a fan of the .. Minnesota Golden Gophers pic.twitter.com/4enWA4JDA3

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) February 22, 2024

texasaggie2015 said:

---

It's a lot more common than you think. Especially in baseball.

---

I guess because it's not widely publicized that's why it seems to rare. I hope they all get the help they need

tjack16 said:

---

Shohei at #4?

That's ridiculous. He's #1 even with taking a year off of pitching.

---

Ok, I understand what Ohtani is doing is amazing. Supremely talented baseball player. He's great at both hitting and pitching.

My hot take, if you will, is that Ohtani is a top 5 player in baseball, but not the clear cut #1.

Below are the WAR lists from 2021, 2022, and 2023, his All-Star seasons. In '21, he doesn't crack top 10 in either batting or pitching WAR. In '22, he cracks top 10 in pitching WAR. In '23 he cracks top 5 in batting WAR. He as injured in '23, but based where he was at in '23, he wouldn't have cracked top 10 in pitching WAR.

Look, he ends up top 1 or 2 in WAR in '21-'23, which means he's doing both at a high level. My main point is there are a lot of guys doing it one way only who are keeping it close in WAR to the guy doing two things. Ohtani is incredible, and I enjoy watching him play. I just don't think he's the clear cut #1.

I have no problem with him at #4, especially in a year he isn't pitching.

Ohtani was very good on the mound last year...but he wasn't outstanding

season ERA was 3.14

only started 23 games

he was much better in 2022...2.33 ERA and 28 starts

someone remind Jake the major league minimum salary is $700,000

he will be okay