txags92 said:

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I find it fascinating that within the course of a few weeks with JV, we have gone from "he is going to skip a start because he slept wrong and has soreness in his neck" to "getting JV back this season would be icing on the cake". Not blaming JV, just amazing how snake bit our starting pitchers have been this season.

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Speaking of Verlander, if he wanted to hit his 140 innings to vest, he'd probably have to make another 14 starts this year (for around 6 IP per start). That ain't happening, even if he came back today.

The Mets are happy about this, b/c they are on the hook for half of that option.

I love that Jake does not get cheated on a swing very often. He murders more balls than he doesn't.

How do you create that kind of breakdown on savant?

One thing that has improved this year, but has mostly gone unnoticed is our defense. Espada talked about this being a key focus in spring and I think he's achieved it.

We've moved from 11th to 10th in OAA (minor), but sit +9 now when we finished +7 last year.
1B: -6 to -4
2B: -3 to -3
3B: 2 to 2
SS: 4 to 3
LF: -1 to -1
CF: 17 to 9
RF: -6 to 2

Most are pacing similarly except for RF. Tucker was playing much better and his backups are as well.

Catch framing isn't great, but we have seen improvement. We've gone from -22 to -7 so far.

23: Salazar 0, Yainer -5, Maldy -17
24: Salazar +1, Caratini 0, Yainer -8

Fielding Run Value - Top 150 Leaderboard

2023
43. Meyers +7
110. Julks +3
131. Dubon +2
134. Pena +2
135. McCormick +2

2024
15. Meyers
87. Bregman +2
103. Dubon +2
122. Pena +1
141. Tucker +1
143. McCormick +1
144. Loperfido +1

More guys on it and generally higher up.

redline248 said:

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How do you create that kind of breakdown on savant?

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Go to the search.

Make sure you select 'Group By: Player and Month' & 'Batter: Jake Meyers'

Selected whatever stats you want in 'Change Included Stats'

Their search filters are pretty extensive.

Below is how Jose Altuve has hit all types of fastballs from RHP, in the air, during the postseason, with runners in scoring position, vs the AL East.

He's 1-3

he could be a lesser version of josé siri if he were a quality defender in CF, but most reports indicate he’s not, so i don’t know what kind of viable big-league profile he has unless he figures out how to make more contact.

a strikeout-prone, low-OBP profile doesn’t work in RF

— Dan (@Dan_Martin4) July 23, 2024

For the record, Leon, in AAA is 25.9% K and .379 OBP

Leon needs to get on that good skull-expanding stuff then.

Here is how Houston's RFs stack up: (PAs while playing RF only)

Tucker - 16.1% K, .395 OBP
Chas - 25.9%, .293
Cabbage - 33.9%, .268
Loperfido - 31.4%, .314

I understand it's a crowded OF, and there is more to consider than just those numbers, and Leon is probably expected to be a CF...but that guy's argument is pretty weak, IMO.

The Astros traded McDermott to the Orioles in the Trey Mancini deal during the 2022 deadline https://t.co/XkU7RugjyX

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 23, 2024

redline248 said:

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Here is how Houston's RFs stack up:

Tucker - 16.1% K, .395 OBP
Chas - 25.9%, .293
Cabbage - 33.9%, .268
Loperfido - 31.4%, .314

I understand it's a crowded OF, and there is more to consider than just those numbers, and Leon is probably expected to be a CF...but that guy's argument is pretty weak, IMO.

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Look at how Cabbage & Lopes did in AAA

35.4%, .396
28.0%, .365

Chas has 3 previous years of above avg play to lean on.

Do we really think Leon is a better option than Cabbage & Loeprfido?

Farmer1906 said:

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redline248 said:

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Here is how Houston's RFs stack up:

Tucker - 16.1% K, .395 OBP
Chas - 25.9%, .293
Cabbage - 33.9%, .268
Loperfido - 31.4%, .314

I understand it's a crowded OF, and there is more to consider than just those numbers, and Leon is probably expected to be a CF...but that guy's argument is pretty weak, IMO.

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Look at how Cabbage & Lopes did in AAA

35.4%, .396
28.0%, .365

Chas has 3 previous years of above avg play to lean on.

Do we really think Leon is a better option than Cabbage & Loeprfido?

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I have no idea. Do we really know what either of those players are at the MLB level? Is that 2nd set of numbers all that impressive for AAA?

As I said, I know it's a crowded situation, and I don't know if Leon will ever be good. The key, here, is probably Jake. If Leon projects as a CF, then sure, trade him. I don't know that I would be all that upset if Cabbage or Loperfido are traded, either.

This week last year (July 24-28), there were 12 mlb trades. Should see some movement in the coming days.

Notables:

• July 24: Braves acquire RHP Pierce Johnson from Rockies for RHP Victor Vodnik and RHP Tanner Gordon
• July 26: Dodgers acquire SS Amed Rosario from Guardians for RHP Noah Syndergaard and cash
• July 26: Angels acquire RHPs Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lpez from White Sox for LHP Ky Bush and C Edgar Quero
• July 28: Dodgers acquire RHP Lance Lynn and RHP Joe Kelly from White Sox for RHP Nick Nastrini, RHP Jordan Leasure and OF Trayce Thompson
• July 28: Astros acquire RHP Kendall Graveman from White Sox for C Korey Lee

Farmer1906 said:

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redline248 said:

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Here is how Houston's RFs stack up:

Tucker - 16.1% K, .395 OBP
Chas - 25.9%, .293
Cabbage - 33.9%, .268
Loperfido - 31.4%, .314

I understand it's a crowded OF, and there is more to consider than just those numbers, and Leon is probably expected to be a CF...but that guy's argument is pretty weak, IMO.

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Look at how Cabbage & Lopes did in AAA

35.4%, .396
28.0%, .365

Chas has 3 previous years of above avg play to lean on.

Do we really think Leon is a better option than Cabbage & Loeprfido?

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He's a righty so that alone makes him a better pairing with the other.

Thanks, Farmer. I take stuff from contributors from the Crawfish Boxes with a grain of salt.

From espn

So with this setback for JV - he ain't getting to 300 - at least as an Astro. 3 wins this year so far. 260 for his career. The Covid year and his TJ year really set him back.

And that was kind of the point -- we don't quite know what we have in Leon.

He was thrown off by the SS experiment and couldn't focus at the plate because he was learning a new position.

Part of an article from Chandler in May:

Quote:

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Pedro Len playing 'freer,' chasing less, giving Astros another option in center field
By Chandler Rome
May 9, 2024

SUGAR LAND, Texas Growth isn't measured in the mammoth home runs Houston Astros prospect Pedro Len is launching in a hitters' haven. Few ever questioned his power, and the Pacific Coast League is a perfect environment to showcase it. Across his first 31 games, Len already has hit three home runs farther than 470 feet. One April 30 traveled an estimated 505 feet.

Twenty-four days earlier, a 3-foot groundball better illustrated Len's long road to a real approach. The Sugar Land Space Cowboys clung to a one-run lead in the sixth inning and the bases were loaded while Len fell behind 1-2.

"Previous years, he's down (1-2) and we're kind of sitting there like, 'Oh, my God: Don't chase, don't swing at something, don't help them,'" Sugar Land manager Mickey Storey said.

Added hitting coach Aaron Westlake: "Last year, he even knew it, there were times where it just felt like he was a sure out because he would get himself out."

Len made his Triple-A debut in 2021. Teams across the league are aware of his aggressive tendencies, so it's little surprise he saw an elevated fastball. For once, Len did not chase it. The cutter that followed tailed toward the bottom of Len's strike zone. He had to swing, but still managed to make contact.

Power is one of Len's most prominent traits, but becoming infatuated with it can create bad habits. Len's swing grew too long and he became susceptible to high fastballs and breaking balls down and away. Too often, he sold out for power when situations simply required contact. Here, he faced another.

The baseball exited Len's bat at just 66.7 mph, but it bounced in play. A groundout to third base allowed an insurance run to score and passed the baton to Sugar Land's next hitter, a sequence Houston's major-league lineup can't master but Len has learned is so valuable.

"The metric boards aren't going to light up, but when you spend so much time with a player and see that," Storey said with a grin, "it's been great to see him be good because we know how good he can be."

The Astros signed Len for $4 million during the 2021 international signing period and, in a team news release, proclaimed him "an everyday center fielder" as well as a "rapid mover to the big leagues."
Four years and 346 professional games later, the 25-year-old Len remains in Triple A. It's proof that player development is not linear. An ill-fated attempt to cross-train him as an infielder delayed some of his development. So did myriad injuries, be it a fractured pinky, facial fracture or sports hernia.

Len is back to playing exclusively outfield, which Westlake surmised is "a huge relief off his shoulders." Len's first 127 at-bats of this season show it, offering hope he is close to actualizing the Astros' enormous expectations.

Another home run Wednesday gave him six in 31 games, but Len's more measured approach is exciting those in the organization far more than any power he displays. He has shortened his swing to create more contact and fix some flaws with his bat path. That he's swinging even less is a welcomed sign for both Storey and Westlake.

"For him, just being able to make contact is huge because he hits some of the hardest balls in all of baseball, not just the minor leagues," Westlake said. "If he can just get the barrel to the ball, good things happen to him."

Len awoke Wednesday with a 22.7 percent chase rate in his first 30 games. Last season, Len swung outside the strike zone 31.2 percent of the time. He has slashed his strikeout rate from 28.4 percent to 23.4, bumping his on-base percentage from .343 last season to .382 in this one.

"He's going up there and he's not swinging at the first thing he sees. He gets in a hitter's count and it's not 'auto swing' where, in years prior, a pitcher gets behind 2-0 you could almost guarantee he was swinging, no matter what," Storey said.

"He's taking the pitches he should take and swinging at the ones he should. This is the numbers and the metrics turning on us. If he does what we've been trying to get him to do and he does what he knows he needs to do, this is what we get. We get a player that's capable of hitting over .300 and hitting 30 home runs."

Len will enter Thursday's game with a .299 batting average and on pace to hit 29 home runs, a torrid start to a pivotal season. Len is Rule 5 draft-eligible for the first time this winter, meaning Houston must put him on the 40-man roster if it wants to protect him from selection.

Sustaining this performance almost guarantees Len will be added, but Houston's horrific start to the season prompts wonder whether it might be more immediate. The Astros' center field situation is as unsettled as when Len arrived in 2021, so much so that general manager Dana Brown bemoaned its lack of production during an interview with MLB Network on Tuesday.

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And from a Chandler article in Feb:

Quote:

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Injuries have impacted Len's trajectory. So has the transition to a new country and a more professional environment amid a pandemic, no less. Most international free agents face those hurdles, but Houston exacerbated it with a curious decision to cross-train Len as a middle infielder, placing more pressure on a young player already feeling too much of it.

The team touted Len as an elite defensive center fielder yet forced him to start 121 of his first 315 minor-league games at second base or shortstop. Team officials lauded Len's natural athleticism and believed it could manifest itself in the middle infield. That he already demonstrated above-average defense in center field factored into the decision, too.

"It wasn't designed to place such a burden where he failed. It was, 'We think you can handle this, and if you can, it's going to give you multiple avenues to the big leagues,'" Storey said.

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Welcome back to Mariners talk.

Julio and J.P. Crawford headed to IL … https://t.co/AgeK7gypMF

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) July 23, 2024

Much different look to M’s lineup tonight: pic.twitter.com/QtDQzzO9Qv

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) July 23, 2024

No timeline on Julio Rodriguez (ankle Soarin) or J.P. Crawford (broken pinkie), per Servais.

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) July 23, 2024

The Astros against Osvaldo Bido: Altuve 4, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Diaz DH, Singleton 3, Peña 6, Meyers 8, Caratini 2, Loperfido 9

Bloss RHP

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 23, 2024

linkdude said:

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Welcome back to Mariners talk.

Julio and J.P. Crawford headed to IL … https://t.co/AgeK7gypMF

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) July 23, 2024

Much different look to M’s lineup tonight: pic.twitter.com/QtDQzzO9Qv

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) July 23, 2024

No timeline on Julio Rodriguez (ankle Soarin) or J.P. Crawford (broken pinkie), per Servais.

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) July 23, 2024

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Insert home alone Woof meme

EastCoastAgNc said:

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The Astros against Osvaldo Bido: Altuve 4, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Diaz DH, Singleton 3, Peña 6, Meyers 8, Caratini 2, Loperfido 9

Bloss RHP

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 23, 2024

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Umm Chandler, you will need to be more specific on which Diaz is in the DH spot.

Don't really want to go down this rabbit hole, but here's some fun with small sample size data.

Clear cheating pic.twitter.com/G6MStu1Ozf

— Griff (@Jram2TBJ) July 23, 2024

I would take this line up or swap out Carantini for Dubon every day until Tucker comes back.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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The Astros against Osvaldo Bido: Altuve 4, Bregman 5, Alvarez 7, Diaz DH, Singleton 3, Peña 6, Meyers 8, Caratini 2, Loperfido 9

Bloss RHP

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 23, 2024

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Hopefully we put up 10+ and won't have to worry about Chas getting a leverage pinch hit at bat

Here's an odd collection of stats. The A's are 28th in batting average, 19th in OPS, and 4th in homers.

No meatballs, please!

Kyle Tucker did some outfield work today at the Coliseum, but Joe Espada said "there still is not the pushing or strength we'd like to see, but it's better." Tucker is hitting in the batting cages and Espada said "that's actually the activity it feels the best."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 24, 2024

In other news, Skenes went 8 tonight with 2 hits, no runs, and 8 Ks in his prep for MMP on Monday night.

Also, dibs if Frio has a last minute conflict!

Penn Murfee threw a bullpen today at the Coliseum. Joe Espada said he could throw one more before possibly going on a minor-league rehab assignment.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 24, 2024

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Penn Murfee threw a bullpen today at the Coliseum. Joe Espada said he could throw one more before possibly going on a minor-league rehab assignment.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 24, 2024

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Forgot about that guy.

linkdude said:

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Don't really want to go down this rabbit hole, but here's some fun with small sample size data.

Clear cheating pic.twitter.com/G6MStu1Ozf

— Griff (@Jram2TBJ) July 23, 2024

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Didn't this dude talk **** about the Astros too? I tried to find it but I remember him saying something.

ETA. No I think it was Whit Merriman or something like that.