Don't love Meyers but think he can be a little better than he was last year, maybe a .700 OPS. He would be better utilized in a light platoon with a lefty taking some ABs against righties.

I think a lot of you will be really surprised with Meyers this year. He was really promising before his injury and the Astros did him no favors by rushing him back. He just needs playing time. He started heating up in a big way when Chas went down for a week or so last year and he was playing more. The organization loved him when he got called up and Dana Brown and company love him as well.

Farmer1906 said:

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Quick pulse check on Jake Meyers.

Do we think he's...

A. - same old dude. below average on O and it ain't changing.
B. - He will take the next step to being above avg on offense
C. - About to break out.
D. - Going to regress to Maldy levels

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Starting job secured, Meyers 'in a really good place'

Quote:

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Spring Training statistics are not always indicators of what's to come in the regular season, but it's worth noting that Meyers has shown some pop in camp. He homered in his first at-bat and singled in the seventh inning of the Astros' 6-5 loss to the Mets Wednesday night, and with two weeks remaining until the regular season, he has a 1.150 OPS this spring.

"He's in a really good place," Espada said before the game. "His swing is different from last year. Success also helps build some confidence. Like I told him in the winter, he's going to play. I think when he's healthy, he's a very good player. He's a very valuable player to our team. It's showing so far in camp."
...

"He looks really good this camp," McCormick said. "I can tell he's hungry, and he has a longer leash this year, which is huge. There's a lot of confidence and support in this organization, and that's big."

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Don't know the answer to your question, but confidence can go a long way. I think he's always shown some power but little else since his injury. I guess the question is what is acceptable for a 9-hole hitting CF? Average OPS+, slightly below? I'm hopeful he has a solid season.

tjack16 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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tjack16 said:

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2 weeks from opening day

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Thank God, I always forget how miserable boring sports are post-Super Bowl, pre-Opening Day. Losing Joel Embiid off my fantasy basketball team has had me in a sports IDGAF mode for almost a month now.

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I'm all in on Aggie baseball every spring so that's been fun. If the Aggies win a few in the SEC tournament then March madness will be a little better for passing the time.

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I'm with you. I find plenty of events to keep me entertained during this time.

I'm going to say B. He'll be better but I'm not expecting anything special. Solid 8/9 hitter in the lineup that won't be a liability

I remember running into Meyers and his parents after a game early last year. His mom commented at the time that he was still getting back to full strength and to not give up on him yet. He has his chance to prove himself, so I hope it works out.

The problem with Meyers was somewhat the same problem with Hunter Brown in that they both came to the bigs on rosters that didn't need them so there was zero pressure to perform. In that environment it is a lot easier to relax and take the game as it comes and not press. But when that performance then earns you expanded playing time and suddenly you start pressing, things go south quickly.

It's one of the things that makes Yordan so unreal. Other than because of injury problems, I don't think he's even had a "bad" month in his career, let alone a whole season.

You don't have an option for improving but still being very average offensively.

Last year, we did Jake no favors with matchups. Almost 77% of his PA were against RHP. For his career, he's about .120 OPS points better vs LHP. That needs to be remedied.

Same with different pitching matchups. We all know Chas destroys 4 seam fastballs. But he's less effective vs sinkers. We'll ole Jakie boy actually hits sinkers well. .466 & .495 wOBA the last 2 seasons. I am not sure if this was ever taken into account with Dusty, but I hope Espada looks at it.

My take is that he's going to find a way to be around league avg (95 to 105 wRC+) if he plays every day. If he's only put in more favorable matchups and plays 75% of the time, then he'll be above league average (103-113 wRC+). With his defense plus about 400 PA, I wouldn't be shocked if he's a 3+ WAR player. He's like Pena, just be decent with the bat and your value will stay high due to the plus-plus defense.

Lookin' at Opening Day in two weeks like...😏 pic.twitter.com/nBFnnih1RX

— Houston Astros (@astros) March 14, 2024

Atlanta signs free-agent outfielder Adam Duvall to one-year, $3 million contract

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 14, 2024

Astros were having conversations with him for a while. Not sure if we lost interest or if there wasn't interest on his side.

He never made sense to me. Where do you think he'd fit?

I'm not sure. If I remember correctly, he has pretty even career splits. They had a lot of talks with both him and Soler.

He's giving me hope for an extension…

One of my daughters works at a title company in the Lake Conroe area.

This AM she blasts a group text to the family "Guess whose wife just came in to sign closing documents?"

So, with a little hope I said "Verlander's"?

Nope, it was AJ's wife

Just a little tangental story for today

tjack16 said:

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He's giving me hope for an extension…

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I felt like he was being very neutral in his response. Didn't really tip his hand one way or another.

bearkatag15 said:

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tjack16 said:

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He's giving me hope for an extension…

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I felt like he was being very neutral in his response. Didn't really tip his hand one way or another.

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He does seem more open to it then we were hearing before last season. At least that's what I read into it

A. However with a chance for some improvement to league average.

Jake has two flaws that when combined can be fatal. He strikes out too much, although he improved to a 25.8% K rate. A further problem is that his Hard Hit rate was 27.9% so when he makes contact it is typically weak.

Maybe he fixes one of those and combined with his superior defense becomes a nice player for a few years. The chances of him fixing both are slim.

Haven't heard anything different as far a Tucker extension goes.

Farmer1906 said:

---

Quick pulse check on Jake Meyers.

Do we think he's...

A. - same old dude. below average on O and it ain't changing.
B. - He will take the next step to being above avg on offense
C. - About to break out.
D. - Going to regress to Maldy levels

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if Jake were 24 years old, I would hold out hope for B or C

but he's 28 years old. Looks like "A"

that being said...give me a .720 OPS and I won't complain

(which he had thru May last year before tailing off)

and as previously mentioned...

it's up to Espada to put Jake in the best possible situations & matchups -- unlike the prior manager

don't sit Jake vs. LHP -- that's where he excels

Astros have optioned RHP Dylan Coleman to Triple-A. He has great stuff, but has had a hard time finding the strike zone consistently.

"I still think he's part of the plan," manager Joe Espada said.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 14, 2024

Abreu jogging around.

Verlander threw about 30-pitches

I think Meyers is capable of hitting ,260 + with 20+ homers. His stats were really good when he was called up.
He played scared and tentative last year. If Espada thinks he's a really good player, I'm buying in. Torn labrums are no small injury, so let's hope he's fully recovered

Yeah from what I've heard they're still very high on him. Still recovering and working on some tweaks they want him to make. They expect him to settle in and contribute to the big club after a couple months.

José Urquidy is not starting tonight, the Astros say. Luis Contreras is. Urquidy will pitch in a minor league game tomorrow.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 14, 2024

Marcus Stroman said he’s not pitching Opening Day. He’s pitching that Saturday game against Houston and the home opener

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) March 14, 2024

I guess it's Nestor opening day

Nestor or Clark vs Framber (I assume). Pretty huge downgrade from Cole vs JV.

I'd really like to see Jake get out and run the bases with some steals, although if he's batting 9th I guess that might not happen as much with Altuve and Yordan coming up after him. Pena too if he's not going to regain his power stroke.