BQRyno said:

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Now THIS I like

?_hv=2&w=1018

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This looks like what we'll see Joey Swords wearing in the dugout

RED AG 98 said:

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Daily Walkoff today.... wooof. "3 seasons" I guess means exactly 3 seasons and I didn't clue in on that initially

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I got a double, but it was not a no brainer

Fanatics and mlb shop has everything now

Verdugo signed. We could have done that.

Alex Verdugo lands in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/sBBbhLKET7

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 20, 2025

Hornbeck said:

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RED AG 98 said:

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Daily Walkoff today.... wooof. "3 seasons" I guess means exactly 3 seasons and I didn't clue in on that initially

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I got a double, but it was not a no brainer

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One of the toughest for me for sure

I moved to houston as a 16 year old in the summer of 2000 so my knowledge prior to that amounts to what I have learned from yall and the name that astro questions lol

RED AG 98 said:

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Daily Walkoff today.... wooof. "3 seasons" I guess means exactly 3 seasons and I didn't clue in on that initially

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1 out homerun,, lot of guessing today

Josh Hader just got four outs in a Grapefruit League game. It's time to start the season.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 20, 2025

Verdugo to the Braves for only 1.5 M

agproducer said:

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Verdugo signed. We could have done that.

Alex Verdugo lands in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/sBBbhLKET7

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 20, 2025

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We should have..... instead we have 2 AAA players in CF and RF

Mr.Bond said:

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agproducer said:

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Verdugo signed. We could have done that.

Alex Verdugo lands in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/sBBbhLKET7

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 20, 2025

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We should have..... instead we have 2 AAA players in CF and RF

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Verdugo was basically Jake Meyers without the defense last year.

NY is a different kind of pressure

Mr.Bond said:

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NY is a different kind of pressure

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Than Boston when you're supposed to save the franchise after the Mookie trade? I don't buy it.

Farmer1906 said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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NY is a different kind of pressure

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Than Boston when you're supposed to save the franchise after the Mookie trade? I don't buy it.

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I don't think it's that close. Boston is much more pressure than Houston but new York is it's a whole different animal my opinion


And unlike Jake or chas .... verdugo does have a sustained track record of success. Much more so than those 2

Mr.Bond said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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Mr.Bond said:

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NY is a different kind of pressure

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Than Boston when you're supposed to save the franchise after the Mookie trade? I don't buy it.

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I don't think it's that close. Boston is much more pressure than Houston but new York is it's a whole different animal my opinion


And unlike Jake or chas .... verdugo does have a sustained track record of success. Much more so than those 2

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I guess it depends on how you define success.

Top 3 seasons:

Verdugo:

• 2020: 125 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
• 2019: 112 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
• 2021: 106 wRC+, 1.9 WAR

McCormick:

• 2023: 133 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
• 2022: 115 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
• 2021: 108 wRC+, 2.1 WAR

He has been slightly above average for longer. And his falloff wasn't as bad as Chas's last year. There is a reason why he signed for 1.5 M one week before the season starts.

Dezenzo is 2-for-3 with two doubles. He has probably played his way onto this team with a .400 batting average and 1.104 OPS.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 20, 2025

One week until opening day, here are some storylines:

- Cam Smith, obvi
- Dezenzo's crushing
- Peña & *JAKE MEYERS* are crushing
- VanWey and Okert probably locked up bullpen spots
- Altuve adventures in LF

— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) March 20, 2025

The organization will want BOTH Dezenzo and Cam Smith getting starters reps/ABs.

Is there any conceivable way they both make the roster as starters?

Seems like the org prefers Cam Smith's defense in RF. Dezenzo (historically a 3B) has been playing LF/1B.

My guess is Cam Smith is the opening day RF. Dezenzo starts at Sugar Land, but is the first guy up with an injury to a starter.

Only way they both start is with Altuve at 2B imo. However, Espada has revealed Altuve to be primarily LF.


2B Altuve
3B Paredes
DH Alvarez
1B Walker
C Diaz
RF Smith
SS Pena
LF Dezenzo
CF Meyers/McCormick

Mr.Bond said:

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agproducer said:

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Verdugo signed. We could have done that.

Alex Verdugo lands in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/sBBbhLKET7

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 20, 2025

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We should have..... instead we have 2 AAA players in CF and RF

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Verdugo was a AAA player last year. I think Dezenzo and Smith looking good in spring has us thinking we can plug one into a corner OF spot if anyone falters. A lefty CF and utility IF is what we really need.

Roster decisions will probably heavily depend on Walker's availability for opening day.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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One week until opening day, here are some storylines:

- Cam Smith, obvi
- Dezenzo's crushing
- Peña & *JAKE MEYERS* are crushing
- VanWey and Okert probably locked up bullpen spots
- Altuve adventures in LF

— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) March 20, 2025

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Looks like someone will need to have "discomfort" to get all these guys with the big league club.

I think Dezenzo needs to start in AAA to play every day. I'd like Smith with the big league club, but I think you start him in the minors as well, get him some ABs and force the decision later in the year.

Roll with Chas and Jake to start the season, Eventually, we will see injuries somewhere.

I 'd go with:

C: Diaz
1B: Walker
2B: Rodgers
SS: Pena
3B: Paredes
DH: Yordan
OF: Tuve, Chas, Jake

Bench: Dubie, Big Jon, Caratini, Gamel

If by late-May/June, Cam and Dezenzo are tearing the cover off the ball, send Chas down or see if you could trade him for a prospect. I think he needs a fresh start somewhere.

I think we will see both guys this season.

The 2017 Astros were ride or dies pic.twitter.com/QGZMVGVnn7

— julia morales stan account 👑 (@astrosbatgirl) March 20, 2025

I think Dezenzo can get enough ABs between RF, LF, and 1B. He should get half the starts in RF with Chas getting the other half and 1/4 in CF. Dezenzo could then get maybe a day a week in LF and maybe a day every week or two at 1B. Then see how Zach, Chas and Jake are doing in mid May and reevaluate.

It’s still crazy to me that the dude that ran this account shot his gf for cheating on him pic.twitter.com/1CUZwKigBt

— Kyle Tucker’s Son ©️ Thank you Tuck (@Tuckplswin) March 20, 2025

What is this about?

I'll guess Zach stays and Cam goes to AAA to play every day. Maybe until late May or early June. Assuming he is still hitting.

And I'm like many here. Once the Bregman and Later Arenado things fell apart there was no longer a driving need for Altuve to be the permanent LFer. I wonder why they didn't revert back to him at 2B? I guess they think Rodgers is the answer there.

This is the last year Chas has options so let him keep figuring out his stuff in Sugar Land and give Zach a shot since he can play multiple spots.

This spring Meyers has at least shown something different than what he brought last year. I'm rooting for puddin' to do the same.

MaxPower said:

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It’s still crazy to me that the dude that ran this account shot his gf for cheating on him pic.twitter.com/1CUZwKigBt

— Kyle Tucker’s Son ©️ Thank you Tuck (@Tuckplswin) March 20, 2025

What is this about?

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Is that true? That dude got famous for trolling the Astros and their fans on social media. He was a huge *****. Started back during the COVID season.

This roster has some issues with how it's put together.

Dezenzo - our most ready big bat minor leaguer. He's not athletic enough to stay at 3B so he's being converted to 1B/LF/RF. But we signed Walker for 1B, moved Altuve for LF, and really only have RF left with Chas and potentially Cam there in the near future. Plus he's only gotten 32 innings in RF in spring. He worked in LF more during winter and in spring too (84 innings across both).

Smith - his bat has rushed him to the front of the line. However, he can't DH with Yordan & Altuve. Parades blocks him at 3B. Paredes hasn't been working at 2B or 1B (Walker blocks him there anyway). He needs to figure out a defensive position before he gets called up.

Second Base - we moved Altuve off of 2B. We know the defensive liability he is there, but he was a plus hitter for a non-hitting position. As of now, the competition is between Rodgers (cut by Colorado), Dubon (should not be a starter), and Matthews (ready yet?). Maybe they just believe in Matthews and the other 2 are just keeping the position warm for now. I don't love it, but it could work out.

Big Jon - Between Walker signing and having a ton of guys able to play 1B (Dezenzo, Paredes, Diaz, and Caratini) I just don't see the value he brings besides being left-handed. Is his bat good enough to be on the roster for predominantly PH opportunities?

Left Handed Bats -.... where they at? Anyone? Yordan is Yordan. Gamel is a nice corner OF platoon. Caratini behind the dish and spelling Walker occasionally at 1B. We top out with 3 lefties (2 being part time players). We could have really used a trade for someone like Brandon Lowe, Brandon Marsh, Cedric Mullins, Alex Burleson, or Brendan Donovan.

That said this is still a top 10 offense. Espada just has to pull the right levers.

I have been a little puzzled at prioritizing RF over 3B for Cam Smith. I know some scouts question whether he can stick at the hot corner (and perhaps our front office feels the same way), but Paredes is no gold glover himself at 3B. If you want to work both DeZenzo and Smith into the lineup as starters and keep Altuve in LF, then I would think you would look at Smith at 3B, Paredes at 2B, and DeZenzo in RF.

Otherwise, I would think DeZenzo would get the RF nod over Smith if only one can get starter reps, as DeZenzo has nothing left to prove at AAA while more seasoning in the minors certainly wouldn't hurt Smith.

EDIT: I should note that I am not against Smith playing RF at all, just wondering why we seem to be giving up on him at 3B so quickly when we have one hole in the IF and no long-term heir at 3B.

tylhair said:

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Only way they both start is with Altuve at 2B imo. However, Espada has revealed Altuve to be primarily LF.


2B Altuve
3B Paredes
DH Alvarez
1B Walker
C Diaz
RF Smith
SS Pena
LF Dezenzo
CF Meyers/McCormick

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To me, the question is does improving on Altuve's defense at 2B outweigh the (presumed) offensive dropoff of having Dubon/Rodgers in the lineup instead of Dezenzo? If you are moving Altuve to LF to get better defense, doesn't the improvement there need to be worth more than the hitting difference between whoever would end up in LF and whoever winds up playing 2B?

SpaceCityAg05 said:

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I have been a little puzzled at prioritizing RF over 3B for Cam Smith. I know some scouts question whether he can stick at the hot corner (and perhaps our front office feels the same way), but Paredes is no gold glover himself at 3B. If you want to work both DeZenzo and Smith into the lineup as starters and keep Altuve in LF, then I would think you would look at Smith at 3B, Paredes at 2B, and DeZenzo in RF.

Otherwise, I would think DeZenzo would get the RF nod over Smith if only one can get starter reps, as DeZenzo has nothing left to prove at AAA while more seasoning in the minors certainly wouldn't hurt Smith.

EDIT: I should note that I am not against Smith playing RF at all, just wondering why we seem to be giving up on him at 3B so quickly when we have one hole in the IF and no long-term heir at 3B.

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I don't think we are giving up on playing him there at all. He has just never played RF, so ST is a great time to get him reps out there and see what he can do. Our two potentially weakest links offensively if we move Altuve to LF are whoever replaces him at 2B and Chaz. Meyers is what he is because of his defensive value. So if we can setup two lineup possibilities to account for those weaknesses (Smith at 3B/Paredes at 2B, or Paredes at 3B/Smith at RF), we can account for a weak start from Rodgers/Dubon or Chaz.

I don't think the team likes Peredes at 2B

Dana just said in his Robert Ford interview that catch Tuve made Tuesday had a 10% probability.

What about the 2 he botched on sac flys

Anyone thinking Altuve can't play a competent left field after a little more work kind of puzzles me. The dude is a baseball legend. He plays with childlike love of the game. He's clearly driven to make it happen.

We can argue if he'll be good. Have positive OAA. Not going to throw out a ton of runner. Etc. That's fair. Seeing flashes of 5* plays makes me think he's got that potentially too.