Farmer1906 said:

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MaxPower said:

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Not sure he makes sense for us. Right handed and bad OF and Yordan going to take a lot of DH ABs. If you are getting a bat first guy then Garver makes more sense as his secondary position is more of a need.

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Garver can't catch more than a couple dozen games, max. He's a liability back there.

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Yeah I didn't realize that. May not be a fit.

Marvin said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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The 2023 MLB season just ended but...

Who will be the 2024 World Series Champs? 😅#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/m48S7qc4Di

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) November 2, 2023

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Baltimore looks like a potential flyer on that list.

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Probably should take those odds now, because if they add decent starting pitching this offseason or before the trade deadline next year, those odds will get better for them.

It'll jump if they somehow add Montgomery to their rotation alone.

Honestly, Seattle is a good flyer too. If they truly add two good bats this year, they will be freaking tough.

Quote:

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Yainer Diaz - strangely he's a reverse platoon guy. Struggles vs LHP as seen above.

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I'm did not realize how extreme it was in the minors.

OPS 2019 / 2021 / 2022
Vs L .776 / .791 / .642
Vs R .902 / .918 / .966

I do think the #s were a little exaggerated in the bigs this year.

wOBA / xwOBA
Vs L .264 / .342
Vs R .387 / .374

His K% jumps way up vs L. The type of contact is similar from sides.

Vs L / R
EV 90.4 / 90.2
LA 12.3 / 11.2
Distance 161 / 153
HH 44.4% / 43.7%
Barrel/BBE 13.9 / 11.6
Barrel/PA 9.7 / 9.1

There is argument to be made he hit the ball slightly better vs LHP. The problem is his K% jumps to like 17 to 26.

I might kick the tires on McCutcheon

walked 75 times last year in 473 plate appearances

which drove his .378 on-base %

he played last season on a 1-year $5 MM deal

however with a .776 OPS...some team might throw a 2-year deal at him

Seattle must think they are very close. AL West rules

I mean if there's "trolls" come on in. Not sure what the problem is there.

W said:

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I might kick the tires on McCutcheon

walked 75 times last year in 473 plate appearances

which drove his .378 on-base %

he played last season on a 1-year $5 MM deal

however with a .776 OPS...some team might throw a 2-year deal at him

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Achilles tear this year. I don't think he'll be back next year. If he is, they usually take an additional year to get back to where they were before.

Farmer1906 said:

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W said:

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I might kick the tires on McCutcheon

walked 75 times last year in 473 plate appearances

which drove his .378 on-base %

he played last season on a 1-year $5 MM deal

however with a .776 OPS...some team might throw a 2-year deal at him

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Achilles tear this year. I don't think he'll be back next year. If he is, they usually take an additional year to get back to where they were before.

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I was straight stat needing and had no idea.

Arozarena. What would it take to get him? Aren't they looking for a SS?

It was only a partial tear that required six weeks in a boot, but sounds like he's only interested in playing for Pittsburgh. Although a shot at a WS would have to be something to consider.

Wabs said:

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Arozarena. What would it take to get him? Aren't they looking for a SS?

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In the short term, maybe.

Junior Caminero is one of the top prospects in baseball. He's more of a 3B, but can probably play some SS.

Carson Williams is another top 50 type prospect who's supposed to have an excellent glove. He' only 20, but cracked AAA last year.

iBrad said:

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It was only a partial tear that required six weeks in a boot, but sounds like he's only interested in playing for Pittsburgh. Although a shot at a WS would have to be something to consider.

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That's good news for him. Achilles tears are nasty.

Definitely still cause for concern at his age. We don't really need another Brantley situation.

Lonestar_Ag09 said:

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PrestigeWorldwideAg12 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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I need help. Someone talk me down off of Trever Bauer. Seems like a nice value play with serious upside. If we unload pitching to add a bat, why not?

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I was in on Bauer before it even came out that the whole story against him was BS

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I get what you mean here…but the dude is still a weirdo and I don't believe the story is just BS.

In order to be entrapped you still have to do something. Very simple to not be blamed for choking and beating a woman even if they want you to do it or whatever. You just don't do it. And even more insane don't "date" random strange

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The whole thing was a setup

irish pete ag06 said:

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tjack16 said:

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I think 2024 is a HUGE year for Peña. If it's a bounce back year then we know he's the SS of the future. But if it's a repeat of 2023 then that leaves the front office with decisions to make

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Agree.

The big improvement in K\BB ratio is a great sign. Usually precedes swinging at better pitches to hit and more barrels.

If he can spend this offseason getting the ball off the ground he will start raking again.

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If you can take his average and OBP from 2023 and add in the power we saw from 2022, that would be ideal for his production. Maybe adding more to that OBP number from walks.

That would put him at a .263/.324/.426 (.750 OPS) with 20-25 HR as a bottom of the lineup guy.

The HR droughts of both Pena and Tucker seem like such wild anomalies by themselves, but when packaged together…

Marvin said:

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I was reading different articles on the Astros defensive decline this year and found these quotes interesting:

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Astros coach Gary Pettis said that Tucker "has a tendency sometimes to stand flat-footed with no movement pre-pitch. When he does that, sometimes he breaks maybe a second later than he normally would. That's all it is, really, with him, it's whether he's on time or not."

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The lolligagger fell off a cliff. His outs above average tied Abreu for the team worst.

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The Astros positioning data (or lack thereof, it sometimes seems) is so, so much worse this year than it was under the previous two front office regimes. It's not just the absence of the shift...the positioning data is mediocre to bad this year, where it was among the best in baseball under Luhnow and Click

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To that point, here are a few team defensive stats skipping the Covid year (MLB ranking '19, '21, '22, '23):

• Defensive efficiency: 1, 3, 3, 10
• Fielding runs above average: 1, 3, 4, 9
• Defensive runs saved: 2, 3, 5, 16
• Errors: 2, 1, 6, 13
• Outs above average: 1, 2, 2, 11

I look forward to the new manager relying on data instead of feels to fix some of this. Abreu and Altuve are bad defenders at this point in their careers, and Alvarez will not win any gold gloves. But, there is still room for improvement.

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This post really caught my eye but didn't seem to garner much attention and I kind of wonder why?

Anyway, any one care to provide some explanation as to what happened this year, why the steep decline from previous years? Can it all be attributed to the fall-off by Altuve, Abreu's less than stellar defense, more starts by Alvarez, etc.? Or is it something to do with the coaching, defensive alignments, what?

Just seems like an area of concern that should be addressed.

Also, the bats. Time for a new batting coach or coaches? Has their approach passed them by, gotten stale? Or is this something that will be left up to the new manager to decide, let him (yea, I'm assuming a "him") make the call.

Thanks all. Still learning more about this game and like to hear from the many of you on here with much more experience and insight than I have.

Washington has one as well.

RC_57 said:

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Marvin said:

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I was reading different articles on the Astros defensive decline this year and found these quotes interesting:

Quote:

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Astros coach Gary Pettis said that Tucker "has a tendency sometimes to stand flat-footed with no movement pre-pitch. When he does that, sometimes he breaks maybe a second later than he normally would. That's all it is, really, with him, it's whether he's on time or not."

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The lolligagger fell off a cliff. His outs above average tied Abreu for the team worst.

Quote:

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The Astros positioning data (or lack thereof, it sometimes seems) is so, so much worse this year than it was under the previous two front office regimes. It's not just the absence of the shift...the positioning data is mediocre to bad this year, where it was among the best in baseball under Luhnow and Click

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To that point, here are a few team defensive stats skipping the Covid year (MLB ranking '19, '21, '22, '23):

• Defensive efficiency: 1, 3, 3, 10
• Fielding runs above average: 1, 3, 4, 9
• Defensive runs saved: 2, 3, 5, 16
• Errors: 2, 1, 6, 13
• Outs above average: 1, 2, 2, 11

I look forward to the new manager relying on data instead of feels to fix some of this. Abreu and Altuve are bad defenders at this point in their careers, and Alvarez will not win any gold gloves. But, there is still room for improvement.

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This post really caught my eye but didn't seem to garner much attention and I kind of wonder why?

Anyway, any one care to provide some explanation as to what happened this year, why the steep decline from previous years? Can it all be attributed to the fall-off by Altuve, Abreu's less than stellar defense, more starts by Alvarez, etc.? Or is it something to do with the coaching, defensive alignments, what?

Just seems like an area of concern that should be addressed.

Also, the bats. Time for a new batting coach or coaches? Has their approach passed them by, gotten stale? Or is this something that will be left up to the new manager to decide, let him (yea, I'm assuming a "him") make the call.

Thanks all. Still learning more about this game and like to hear from the many of you on here with much more experience and insight than I have.

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Fielding Run Value

2022 to 2023
Maldonado: +2 to -16 (-18)
Tucker: +8 to -5 (-13)
McCormck : +6 to +2 (-4)
Dubon: +6 to +2 (-4)
Pena: +5 to +2 (-3)
Bregman: +3 to 0 (-3)
Alvarez: 0 to -3 (-3)
Altuve: +1 to -1 (-2)

It was almost across the board, but Tucker & Maldy shoulder the most blame.

There were a few bright spots

Gurriel -7 to Abreu -4 (+3)
Castro, Lee, & Vazquz -3, -2, & +1 to Diaz & Salazar +1 & +1 (+6)
Brantley -1 to Brantley & Julks +1 & +3 (+5)
Meyers: +5 to +7 (+2) - in fewer innings

These aren't exactly 1 to 1, but they're kind of close.

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How do we address it?
1. Replace Maldonado - seems like this is happening
2. Fix Tucker - he's too young and healthy to see such a sharp decline. He doesn't need to win another GG, but he can't be a liability in RF.
3. Play more Jake, Chas, Dubon in the OF and less Alvarez (gotta balance this without giving away at-bats to lesser guys)
4. We can't. Bregman, Altuve, & Abreu aren't getting younger. They're going not going to somehow get quicker.

I like.

I mean I'm all for it, too....

But probably need to tone down expectations. Teams like the Braves and Rangers can go big because they're in suburbs. Astros are in the middle of downtown Houston, simply not enough room for some things. And the land that is there is $$$.

I think we'll see less Yordan in left regardless of what he prefers.

Wabs said:

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If they can do what Atlanta did then I'm all for this. That place is awesome for pre/post game.

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We had a blast in Arlington before the game... and during... and after.

Anything is better than what we have now though.

htxag09 said:

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I mean I'm all for it, too....

But probably need to tone down expectations. Teams like the Braves and Rangers can go big because they're in suburbs. Astros are in the middle of downtown Houston, simply not enough room for some things. And the land that is there is $$$.

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They already own the land. There is plenty of room to do something awesome. Arlington has room but the footprint of their Bars and Hotel aint very big.



No reason we can't have something awesome.

Thanks Farmer.

Considering Stat was my favorite subject at A&M, I love exploring the #s side of this.

Any comments on the bats? Do we place all the decline on the approach at the plate, on not working counts, etc.? And if yes, is that, once again, the wish of departed management?