Houston Astros Off Season Thread [Archive]

eagle eye

10-13-2014, 12:27 AM

The Astros have made a couple of roster moves to get below 40 on their 40 man roster. The moves were made as a normal course of business. Most teams do make some cuts to make room for a player or two they may be targeting in free agency or Rule 5 draft or something of the sort.
The players no longer with the Astros are:
> 1B Jesus Guzman who was given his outright release.
> LHP Rudy Owens was given his outright release.
> P Matt Albers - Houston declined to exercise their option for Albers.

Also P Jorge De Leon was claimed off waivers by the Oakland As. This means the Astros are currently at 36 players on their roster. Albers pitched in 8 games this past season before triceps tendonitis sidelined him the remainder of the season. By not exercising the option Houston will pay Albers $200K as a buyout of his contract which saves them from paying Albers $3 MM next season.

The Astros new manager, AJ Hinch, was inducted into the Stanford Players Hall of Fame this past Saturday. Hinch, a two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, graduated from Stanford with a degree in psychology in 1996. The catcher hit better than .300 in all four seasons at Stanford, including a .381 mark with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs as a senior. He also caught for the Cardinal's '95 College World Series team and earned a bronze medal at the '96 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Hinch, who was hired by the Astros two weeks ago, will be inducted with Nicole Barnhart (women's soccer), Notah Begay III (men's golf), Toi Cook (baseball and football), Laura Granville (women's tennis), Skip Kenney (men's swimming and diving coach), Anika Leerssen (sailing) and Heather Olson (synchronized swimming).

The biggest loss for the Astros this off season could be their hitting coach John Mallee. Mallee has been the Astros hitting instructor for the past two seasons and is responsible for helping Jose Altuve win a batting title this year. Mallee could have remained with the Astros under new manager AJ Hinch but he accepted the position of hitting coach with his home town Chicago Cubs. Mallee is from Chicago and his family lives near the Windy City in the off season. For Mallee, this is a dream come true. Mallee swore that one day he would stand on Wrigley Field in a Cubs uniform and last Tuesday he called his father, John, to tell him their dreams had come true. Mallee has helped Jose Altuve become one of the best hitters in the American League if not all of baseball. Mallee has also had a positive influence on Chris Carter and George Springer. With a lot young players about to start hitting the major league roster a steady hand like Mallee will be missed.

eagle eye

10-18-2014, 01:29 PM

The Astros have made several moves on their coaching staff as AJ Hinch prepares for his first season as the Astros manager.

On the 15th Houston announced the hire of 4 new coaches. Trey HIllman as bench coach, Dave Hudgens is the hitting coach, Gary Pettis is the 3rd base coach and Rich Dauer is the 1st base coach. Pettis and Dauer have other responsibilities and you can get to know all four in the article from Astros.com.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/98871144/astros-name-four-coaches-to-new-manager-aj-hinchs-big-league-staff

Mark Appel did another good job in his latest outing in the Arizona Fall League. The news that Appel is looking good is great news for Astros fans as his straight line to the bigs was side tracked by an emergency appendectomy in late January and it took most of the summer for him to get back to his old self. Appel finished the minor league season strong and he's continued that in the Fall League. Here's a link to an article about Appel's fall success. Take note of the item that the fall league is using a 20 second pitch clock to help save time. The game Appel pitched in lasted a mere 2 hours and 14 minutes!

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/98571718/astros-pitching-prospect-mark-appel-dominates-again-in-afl-start

Last but certainly not least is an article about 3B Colin Moran who is impressing coaches in the Astros fall instructional league. Moran was a top 10 pick in the 2013 MLB draft and a guy seriously considered by the Astros before they selected Mark Appel. He must have been a player Houston was sorry to say bye-bye to but sometimes things work out in your favor. This past summer Houston completed a trade with the Miami Marlins that sent P Jarred Cosart to Miami in exchange for Jake Marisnik who did some nice work for Houston since the trade, a minor league pitcher and Moran as well as a compensatory draft pick in 2015. Houston also gave up minor league outfielders Enrique Hernandez and Austin Wates in the deal. It's neat to have 4 1st round draft picks and 3 #1s in the past 4 drafts. It's just as neat to see that all of them are doing well---no busts in sight!

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/97861128/colin-moran-hitting-stride-at-houston-astros-instructional-league

KABrother88

11-05-2014, 02:36 PM

Dallas Keuchel won the AL Gold Glove for the pitcher position last night.

http://astros.mlb.com/news/2014/11/04/100554244/houston-astros-dallas-keuchel-wins-american-league-gold-glove-award

And in a move I don't really agree with Houston had acquired catcher Hank Conger from Anaheim in exchange for minor league catcher Carlos Perez and RHP Nick Tropeano...think NiTro would have been a solid middle of the rotation guy or a quality arm out of the bullpen at worst...we'll see what the future hold for Jason Castro as he was reportedly on the market prior to last season or if this means we've seen the end of Carlos Corporan.

http://astros.mlb.com/news/2014/11/05/100629490/astros-acquire-hank-conger-from-angels-for-carlos-perez-nick-tropeano

Big T

11-05-2014, 06:48 PM

I'm scratching my head.... I do not understand trading for an over paid backup catcher when we already have an adequate one on the roster. Unless there is something in the cards of Jason Castro. Just makes no sense.

eagle eye

11-05-2014, 08:21 PM

I hate to be a nay-sayer but despite the fact that he made the All Star team in 2013 I think Jason Castro has been a bit of a bust. Despite his 270-ish batting average he was part of the problem with Houston setting a record for strikeouts in 2013. The fact is his .243 career batting average isn't all that great. He is a good-not great-defensive catcher and he definitely strikes out way too much. In 2013 he struck out 130 times and this past season he struck out 151 times. I realize that catchers first responsibility is to handle the pitchers followed by being a good receptor of the ball and the ability to play good defense including throwing out base runners. I just described Brad Ausmus. He was an excellent defensive catcher in all phases so you could tolerate his .250 BA. See what I mean? My point is maybe it isn't Carlos Corporan on the trading block. I would not be surprised at all if Castro is dealt during the Hot Stove meetings.

I agree that I'd rather have NiTro rather than a backup catcher who is worse at the plate than Castro. Castro is actually younger than Conger. To me if this is the type of move that new manager AJ Hinch is going to make I don't have much faith in the future of the Astros.

eagle eye

11-22-2014, 06:32 AM

Ever wonder why American baseball teams continually poach players from the Japanese leagues? It's because those guys are pretty darn good. Need evidence? Look no further than the exhibition series of MLB All Stars facing Japanese All Stars dubbed Japanese Samuri. In the 5 game series, with an exhibition game to begin and end the series Japan proved to be better than the MLB. The MLB squad beat Hanshin-Yormiuri in the first exhibition game 8-7 but lost to the Japanese Samuri 3 strait before winning the last two. Japan came back and won the final exhibition game to close out the MLB All Stars trip to Japan. Jose Altuve didn't get to play until the 4th game of the best of 5 series because he was on the bench in favor of Seattle 2nd sacker Robinson Cano. Altuve got his chance in game 4 and he showed why he was the AL batting champ going 3-4 with a run scored in a 6-4 win and in the final game he went 3-5 with a run scored and an RBI in a 3-1 MLB win. In all Altuve batted .429 in the official 5 game series.

P Josh Zeid is now a Detroit Tiger. Detroit claimed him off waivers yesterday. Zeid said he is disappointed to leave but he's excited to go to a team that wants him. He said he will give his all for the Tigers and their manager, former Astro, Brad Ausmus.

Detroit also was in talks with Houston about acquiring one of the four catchers they have but the talks broke down and no deal was made. Houston's primary catchers the past 2 seasons have been Jason Castro and Carlos Corporan. Houston has also used AAA prospect Max Stassi at times. Earlier this month Houston traded a couple of minor league prospects for Anaheim Angel backup catcher Hank Conger. It is felt that Houston could deal as many as two of the catchers they have and it was speculated that Detroit was looking to sign Corporan. But, that's a moot point at this time.

The Arizona Fall League ended with the Salt River team winning the championship over Peoria. On Thursday the list of the top 25 prospects in the AFL was released and Houston's Mark Appel was ranked No 7. Here's the complete list of the top 25 from Astros.com.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/101975482/ranking-the-top-25-prospects-from-the-arizona-fall-league

An hour before the final Thursday deadline for announcing their 40 man roster Houston added 3 players to their roster as a protection against losing them in the Rule 5 draft. Here's the article from Astros.com about the moves.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/102032666/astros-add-trio-to-roster-for-rule-5-draft-protection

Last but not least former Houston player Lance Berkman has returned to Rice University to complete his degree in kinesiology. His enrollment comes 1 year after he retired from baseball ending a very successful playing career. Berkman is scheduled to complete his degree and graduate next summer.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/102089686/back-to-school-lance-berkman-hits-the-books-at-rice-university

eagle eye

12-10-2014, 11:30 AM

The Astros were finally sign a free agent pitcher they had their eyes on, 2 actually. They signed Luke Gregorson and Pat Neshek, both right hand pitchers to a 3 year and 2 year deals. This is another attempt to upgrade their bullpen which hasn't been good the last couple of years. It is also good to see them sign free agents after chasing David Robertson and Andrew Miller and losing out on both of them. They had actually outbid the Yankees for Miller, if you can believe that, offering the lefty $40MM contract to the $35MM the Yanks offered. Miller went to the Big Apple inspite of that. When he sees his check after taxes Texas might look a little sweeter in the future. But, it is the Yankees and it is New York so what the hell. Robertson, the Yankees closer last year opted for a contract with the Chicago White Sox shunning a deal to stay with the Yankees and an offer from the Astros. The White Sox upgraded their pitching with Robertson and making a trade with Oakland for Jeff Smardzija. Here's the article about the signings of Gregorson and Neshak for Astros.com.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/103699844/astros-agree-to-deals-with-luke-gregerson-pat-neshek

GM Jeff Luhnow got a contract extension this week with owner Jim Crane commenting that he's stuck to his plan and he has high hopes for the team going forward.

Speaking of Luhnow word on the street (or rather Astros.com) is they may be in the market for former SS Jeff Lowrie. What? With Carlos Correa coming up? Oh well.

Here's an article profiling the top draft prospects for 2015 which Houston will have a vested interest in with the 2nd(?) pick.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2015/#list=draft

eagle eye

12-12-2014, 08:04 AM

The Astros and free agent pitchers Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshak signed their contracts in San Diego at the MLB winter meeting with GM Jeff Luhnow on hand for the Astros. They were going to fly to Houston yesterday to take physicals. The Astros needed the help and hopefully these guys work out better than Matt Albers and Jesse Crane who spent all or almost all of the season on the injured list.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/103854346/houston-astros-find-necessary-bullpen-help-at-winter-meetings

The Winter Meetings also saw Houston lose 3 players in the Rule 5 Draft. Delino DeShields Jr, RHP Jandel Gustav and LHP David Rollins are now on their way to different teams.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/103821294/houston-astros-lose-delino-deshields-two-others-in-rule-5-draft

eagle eye

12-27-2014, 11:15 PM

I'm wondering, and have been since it happened on December 15th, why Houston signed former SS Jed Lowrie. Lowrie had a sub par year in Oakland this past season and he had a lot more talent around him to succeed. I don't get this move unless the 3 year deal they gave Lowrie is about how long Houston expects Carlos Correa to mature in the minors. Correa lost most of this past season to a broken leg that required surgery to repair.

I'm also surprised that KABrother88 and Big T didn't jump all over this story. This signing doesn't necessarily make the Astros better unless they plan to move Marwin Gonzalez to 3rd in place of Matt Dominguez. I guess I need a fresh perspective on how this makes Houston better because I just don't see it.

Big T

12-28-2014, 06:10 PM

eagle eye

12-30-2014, 04:36 PM

Jed, even with the sub par year last year, is an upgrade at the SS position. Gonzalez is not the answer and Correa is at least two years if not three away from breaking into the majors. Jed is just a stop gap and if someone else steps it up he would make a fantastic utility guy of the bench. Second, he was playing in Oakland. That is where hitters go to die. The simple fact that he was able to put up the numbers that he did, while not great they were not terrible, in Oakland gives hope that he can put up some numbers at MMP. And if he is able to rebound next season they can swap him at the deadline and the extra two years of his contract will make him more desirable to other teams as they will have him under control. It's not a bad move IMO. While Jed Lowrie is not the guy that many of us were hoping to see the Astros sign, he can and will bring value and much needed experience to this team as well as a decent glove at SS.

Good to see you BT! Jed Lowrie may or may not be an upgrade at SS because Marwin Gonzalez was better last season at the plate---much better---like 40 points in BA better. The big thing is it does give Houston an alternative at 3rd base because Matt Dominguez is and was just awful. Nobody in the bigs hit into more double plays. His BA speaks for itself. Houston could do so much better than Dominguez. Their minor league guy is reportedly a year or so away so Marwin can handle 3rd.

Big T

01-23-2015, 09:54 AM

Lets try this again. Lol So, the Astros have made a couple of key moves in the past several weeks. I have to admit that I was waiting for EE to break the news but since he hasn't here I am. First, the Astros sent Folty, Ruiz, and Thurman to the Braves in exchange for power hitting LF/1B Evan Gattis. Second move, the Astros signed OF Colby Rasmus to a one year 12 million dollar deal. Lets just say that the battle for the outfield just got interesting. Springer is a lock and up until the signing of Colby Rasmus I though Dexter Fowler was as well. But now with Colby in the fold you have Springer, Rasmus, Gattis, Fowler, Marisnik, and Hoes all battling for playing time in the outfield. Part of me wonder if the Astros didn't trade for Gattis to put him at 1B. But if so, where does that leave Singleton? They also sent Corperan to the Rangers in exchange for minor league pitcher Akeem Bostick. I will make lineup predictions later as I am now running late for class.

KABrother88

01-23-2015, 10:15 AM

With the flurry of moves I'll forgive you for missing Fowler was dealt to the Cubs for 3rd baseman Luis Valbuena and RHP Dan Straily. Not gonna lie I wasn't a big fan of the Gattis trade but I can see concern as to if Folty was ever going to harness his command...I can also see them seeing Ruiz as being expendable after acquiring Colin Moran last summer too. Our farm system has taken a big hit this offseason.

But I'll go ahead and give my shot at the pre-spring training opening day line-up (subject to change lol)

1.) Jose Altuve - 2B
2.) George Springer - RF
3.) Jed Lowrie - SS
4.) Chris Carter - DH
5.) Evan Gattis - LF
6.) Colby Rasmus - CF
7.) Jon Singleton - 1B
8.) Jason Castro - C
9.) Luis Valbuena - 3B

Rotation
1.) Dallas Keuchel
2.) Scott Feldman
3.) Collin McHugh
4.) Dan Straily
5.) Brett Oberholtzer

I think Atluve, Springer, Lowrie, Rasmus, Keuchel, & Feldman are locked into their positions...spring training battles I'm ready to watch play out:

Finding the right combination of 1B/LF/DH/C...feel like my opening day guess is what it will start with but there are many questions/variables here...Gattis can play 1st, catch and DH as well...we traded for Catcher Hank Conger this off-season...how are Castro's knees?...can Carter play any D? Marisnick played well at the end of the year, is he more valuable in LF than Singleton at 1st?...many questions to be answered.

The battle between Luis Valbuena and Matt Dominguez for 3B.

3-5 in the rotation should be up for grabs. Was McHugh the 2014 version of the 2012 Lucas Harrell? 3 other guys to look out for are Brad Peacock, Alex White, and Asher Wojciechowski

Can Feb. 20th hurry up?!?!

Big T

01-23-2015, 12:39 PM

Wow... I completely wiffed on the Fowler trade. Lol.

Big T

01-23-2015, 12:57 PM

KA, while Luhnow has traded away a few prospects, I don't think the farm system has taken a huge hit. Folty was going to get the call this year anyways. Ruiz, while showing some potential last season he was at least four years away from being ready for the big leagues. The biggest loss is Thurman IMO. But they also picked up some prospects from the rangers and the apparently the Cubs. They will also be receiving two top ten picks in this years draft. I think the farm is just fine.

1) Altuve 2B
2) Lowrie 3B
3) Springer CF/RF
4) Gattis LF
5) Carter DH
6) Rasmus RF/CF
7) Singleton 1B
8) Castro C
9) Gonzalas SS

The Rotation IMO is a freaking mess.

Dallas Keuchel
Scott Feldman
Collin McHugh
Dan Straily
Alex White (I really like this guy.)

Big T

01-23-2015, 12:59 PM

But, I do have to admit that I am not wild about the Gattis trade. While he has been able to show quite a bit of power, he has never put the full package together. The Astros were desperate to get a bat and I think that showed in this trade because they gave away too much. Now if Gattis can get it together, then the Astros come out of this smelling like a rose.

eagle eye

01-29-2015, 05:30 PM

The most interesting things happen in the off season. You can predict a lot of moves in the summer but the hot stove is always virgin territory and you never know what you'll get. (Anyone thinking about Forrest Gump right now? Ha!) Who would have though Houston would actually trade for Hank Conger? Am I the only one who was shocked about the trade of Fowler? I wonder why you guys don't mention Jake Marisnick as a viable option is your pre-season lineups! The stuff I've read is that Big Jake is the Astros best defensive outfielder.

To start the season I think it's going to be this;

1. Lowrie SS
2. Altuve 2B
3. Springer RF
4. Carter DH
5. Gattis C
6. Rasmus LF
7. Valbuena 3B
8. Marisnick CF I
9. Dominguez 1B

Call me crazy but as bad as Singleton was last season I wonder if he can make the roster. You know you've had a bad year when LJ Hoes has a better season at the plate. I could even see Gattis playing 1B with Castro catching even though Castro struck out way too many times for my liking. To me GM Jeff Luhnow rolling the dice against house odds. I think Fowler will be missed but it looks like the Astros are banking on Marisnick to step up. You are also hoping Rasmus finds his form, and praying that Carter's 2014 offensive explosion wasn't a fluke. You look at this roster and you still see a lot of holes. 1B is the only slot that isn't pretty cut and dried. I'm thinking that Chris Carter is in line for a shot at first sack. Spring training will be interesting for sure.
The starting rotation is a mess, Big T? Looks like the top 3 guys are pretty solid with Kuechel, Feldman and McHugh. You still have Oberholzer, Peacock (not my favorite), White (who needs to show me something) and Wojo. I am happy that Houston went after some big name pitchers and I will have to look and see what the guy who resigned with the Giants meant when he said he didn't like what was happening in Houston. Screw him. It's darn near February and it's almost time to head to Florida. Will Houston make a big jump in wins this season? Will they have a winning record? All interesting things to debate.

eagle eye

02-01-2015, 12:27 PM

The whole deal seems to be clouded in mystery. What deal? The whole deal about why Ryan Vogelsong didn't sign with Houston a few weeks ago. For his part Vogelsong was about as clear as that glass people put in bathrooms. You know the kind, that lets in the light of day but you can't see outside. All Vogelsong said was he was "uncomfortable" with what was going on in Houston. This was after Vogelsong looked for all the world he would be an Astro, even coming to Houston for a physical who it all went south. Days later he resigned with the San Francisco Giants for one year earning $4MM. Here's a little article that doesn't really shed any more light on anything that I've written so far. All it does is make you wonder what really happened.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/24/ryan-vogelsong-really-wasnt-comfortable-with-what-was-going-on-with-astros-before-returning-to-giants/

The preseason ranking of prospects is out and Houston has 4 players in the Top 100 prospects. Here are links to the article about the Astros who are part of the 100 and also about how Carlos Correa is the No 1 prospect at shortstop. There is also a link to an article that talks about Correa being ready to resume his quest to make it to the bigs.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/107806346/carlos-correa-ranked-no-3-on-mlbcoms-top-100-prospects-list

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/107655298/prospect-watch-top-10-shortstops

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/107252846/healthy-carlos-correa-eager-to-resume-big-league-quest

Big T

02-01-2015, 06:07 PM

Big T

02-01-2015, 06:17 PM

As for Marisnick, the Astros made all of these moves to build offense. Why would you take a good fielding and one year removed from an all star catcher out of the lineup and place in the lineup a weak hitting but good fielding outfielder? The Astros already have Castro and Conger behind the plate. Unless Conger or Castro is traded then Gattis will most likely not see any time at all behind the plate which only leaves 1B and the OF. They also added Rasmus who is a decent outfielder. Singleton is too high on the Astros radar for him to not be with the big team when camp breaks. What happened to everyone screaming at the Astros to not give up too early on their prospects? Now all of a sudden we want to throw Singleton by the wayside? Yeah he had a terrible debut now lets see what work he put in during the offseason. I will guarantee that he will break camp with the team. If he doesn't then the Astros front office looses face.

eagle eye

02-02-2015, 02:16 PM

Now Big T nobody said that Houston wasn't the second coming of the Detroit starting pitching (from 2014 anyway). But, if you look back to last season Kuechel could easily have won 18 games instead of the 12 he ended up with. With a little run support and better relief pitching it could have been, on the outside 20 wins. Kuechel's 2.93 ERA and 5 complete games which were both in the top 10 or top 5. I think Kuechel is a borderline No 1 and I look for him to be the starter on opening day. Colin McHugh came on and shocked everyone with how well he pitched. As with Kuechel, he needs to show he can do it year in and year out but McHugh's 2.73 ERA was better than Kuechel's and he was second to Kuechel in wins (11) and that's pitching 4 fewer games and almost 50 less innings. I'm counting on McHugh until he proves otherwise. Feldman was victimized maybe more than any of the other starting pitchers with lack of run support and bad bullpen woes. His 8-12 record is very deceiving especially considering his healthy 3.74 ERA. I think I just gave you the starters in order to begin the season, Kuechel, McHugh and Feldman. Feldman was the opening day starter last year and he should benefit greatly moving down in the rotation a bit. The signing of Neshak and Gregorson should help end the severe leakage from the bullpen and with Sipp and Qualls closing the door, watch out. IMO that's at least another 10 wins on the season. Oberholzer was up and down last year but he will benefit from the experience and I think the battle will be over the 5th spot and it could be by committee for the first month or so.

You are right about not giving up on Singleton but we agree he wasn't good at all in the batters box. The way or the time frame he was signed in may make it impossible to NOT keep on the 25 without losing him. That was the gamble Jeff Luhnow made last May(?) and he was needing some offense from somewhere and the way George Springer came on I suppose it was worth the gamble. Trouble was Singleton struck out a lot in the minors and it only got worse when he got to Houston. Singleton could play first and getting in the game on defense might take some of the pressure off at the plate. My fear is if he struggles coming out of the box when the regular season starts or, God forbid, he struggles in spring training it could ruin him. My concern was if he didn't improve his approach at the plate he won't be better and staying the same isn't an option. We will have to see because the Astros have a new hitting coach. The man that turned around Jose Altuve at the plate is gone and it remains to be seen what he will do with the young players coming up including Singleton.

eagle eye

02-05-2015, 11:06 AM

Here is a link to an article from Astros.com that I found very interesting. It's an article about the path new Astro Evan Gattis took to the big leagues. In a big way it's a very inspiring story of a young man who overcame himself to finally reach his dream. Of course the story isn't fully written yet but if his passion and drive carry forward Houston may have gotten a real diamond in the rough. As for Gattis, he may have come to one of the best places in baseball to see his career flourish. A hitter in a hitter's ball park. Evan Gattis will be worth watching unless I totally miss my guess.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/108350638/astros-slugger-evan-gattis-grateful-for-career-after-overcoming-obstacles

eagle eye

02-11-2015, 07:46 AM

It is roughly 11 days before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Gotta admit, I'm getting pretty stoked! I've seen concerns that Houston gave up too much in recent deals to acquire guys Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus. I've seen concern about gutting too much of the talent in the minors. I don't really think that is something that Astros fans need to worry about too much. GM Jeff Luhnow comes from an organization, the St Louis Cardinals, where a strong minor league pipeline to the big club is a given. Luhnow began his tenure in Houston with the idea that you build from the ground up, meaning Rookie ball all the way to the bigs, as the way to build an organization. Owner Jim Crane bought into Luhnow's vision and his subsequent hires for front office organization has been saavy and holds true to this business plan. I could go on and bore you with blah-blah business talk but as an example of the strength of this minor league system check out the link below for an article about what MLB.com columnist Jim Callis feels is a dyed in the wool sleeper prospect in the Houston Astros system, one Brett Phillips. Phillips was signed out of high school in 2012 and he had a breakout season at both of Houston's A affiliates in 2014. An outfielder with more than just a good bat. Check him out and let me know what you think.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/108842032/jim-callis-astros-outfielder-brett-phillips-tops-list-of-best-sleeper-prospects

eagle eye

02-11-2015, 04:26 PM

The Astros.com folks began a series of articles today profiling their roster which should be a pre-spring training stab at predicting the starting lineup and pitching rotation. Today they take a look at a few players who are coming off injuries like George Springer, Jon Singleton among five players profiled.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/108915742/astros-hope-to-get-improved-numbers-from-young-sluggers

eagle eye

02-12-2015, 11:43 AM

Here's a short video form MLB.com's Brian McTaggert about some of the top Astros prospects.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/40172882/v37227483/astros-prospects-to-watch-in-spring-training

KABrother88

02-13-2015, 11:06 AM

1 stinkin week boys and girls...pitchers and catchers report in 7 short days

eagle eye

02-14-2015, 01:54 PM

1 stinkin week boys and girls...pitchers and catchers report in 7 short days

6 Days now and the truck is packed and on the way!

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/109194478/astros-truck-loaded-hits-the-road-for-spring-training

eagle eye

02-14-2015, 02:16 PM

The Astros have two new pitchers as they head for Kissimmee. They have signed veteran starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez to see if he can find a spot in the Astros starting rotation. Hernandez, 34, went 8-11 with a 4.10 ERA in 32 games (29 starts) combined with the Phillies and Dodgers last season. General manager Jeff Luhnow said the veteran will compete for a spot in the rotation with Dan Straily (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=573185), Alex White (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=502229), Asher Wojciechowski (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=592879), Samuel Deduno (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=465679) and Jake Buchanan (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=594772). Brad Peacock (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=502748), coming off hip surgery, will be in the mix when he's healthy. -- info from Astros.com
Just before they left for Florida they signed a veteran reliever Joe Thatcher to a minor league deal which included an invite to the major league camp.
Thatcher, 33, will earn $1 million if he makes the Major League roster, with an additional $1.3 million available in incentives, according to a source. He can opt out of the contract if he is not on the team's active roster five days prior to Opening Day. -- Info from Astros.com

The Astros needed to upgrade their bullpen after being the absolute worst in MLB the past two seasons. The bullpen has recorded 54 blown saves over the last two seasons which is 5 more than the next place team/s. Adding Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek and now Thatcher to go along with Chad Qualls, Tony Sipp, Darin Downs and Kevin Chapman the Astros are hoping for more consistency from the pen. In the past two seasons Houston has averaged 27 blown saves. It's not hard to see that if they can slice that number in half that's 13-14 more wins and just so you see how big that is last year Houston improved by 19 games over 2013 and ended up with a 70-92 record. Thirteen more wins and Houston has an 83-81 record. That's one game over .500 folks. Let's add 7-8 more wins due to improved offense and Houston could end up a 90 win club! No wonder owner Jim Crane said recently he feels like Houston will be a playoff club in 2015!

News from Astros.com recapping offseason moves made by the Astros.

By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com | @brianmctaggart (http://www.twitter.com/brianmctaggart) | February 12, 2015 +
18 COMMENTS
HOUSTON -- In addition to a new manager in A.J. Hinch and many new faces on the coaching staff, the Houston Astros will welcome several new key players when spring camp opens next week in Kissimmee, Fla.
Because of their work through trades and free agency, the Astros could have as many as four different bats in the starting lineup from a year ago, as well as the key newcomers to the bullpen, which was an area of emphasis that needed upgrading entering the offseason.

RHP Luke Gregerson (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=502381): Gregerson signed a three-year, $18.5 million deal with the Astros in December and is the likely candidate to be the closer. The 30-year-old has been one of the most dependable setup men in the game. Last season, his first with the A's after five with the Padres, he went 5-5 with a 2.12 ERA in 72 outings. He has made at least 61 appearances in each of his six big league seasons, and at least 72 in five of them.
RHP Pat Neshek (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=450212): Neshek, who admittedly had a hard time finding a job a year ago, signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal with the Astros and should be a key cog in the back of the bullpen. The 34-year-old is coming off an All-Star season with the Cardinals in which he went 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 71 games. He struck out 68 batters and walked only nine in 67 1/3 innings, while saving six games.
OF Colby Rasmus (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=458675): The 28-year-old spent the last four seasons with the Blue Jays after coming up with the Cardinals, where he was drafted by Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow. Rasmus, who signed a one-year, $8 million deal, is a career .246 hitter with 116 homers and 352 RBIs in six seasons. He hit .225 with 18 homers and 40 RBIs last year and should add some punch to the lineup.
OF/DH/C Evan Gattis (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=594828): A catcher by trade, Gattis figures to play several different positions after being acquired in a trade with the Braves. He might see time in left field, at catcher, first base and designated hitter, but the Astros signed him with power in mind. He hit .243 with 21 homers and 65 RBIs in 2013 and he was seventh in the National League Rookie of the Year Award totals. Last year, Gattis hit .263 with 22 homers and 52 RBIs in 108 games at catcher.
3B Luis Valbuena (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=472528): Acquired from the Cubs in the Dexter Fowler (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=451594) trade, Valbuena, a left-handed hitter, will either platoon at third base with Matt Dominguez (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=518625) or be the outright starter. Valbuena, who agreed to a one-year, $4.2 million contract, hit .249 and set career highs in games played (149), home runs (16), runs (68), hits (119), doubles (33), triples (four), and RBIs (51) last year for the Cubs.
RHP Dan Straily (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=573185): Acquired from the Cubs in the Fowler trade, Straily will battle for a spot in the rotation. The 26-year-old appeared in 14 games (eight starts) for the A's and Cubs last year, but in 2013 was among the top rookie arms in the American League by going 10-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 27 starts. He has an average fastball, but good secondary stuff.
C Hank Conger (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=474233): The first acquisition of the offseason, the Astros brought Conger from the Angels with the intent of having him back up Jason Castro (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=488771). The 26-year-old played in 251 games with the Angels in the past five years in a backup role and is known for his ability to frame pitches. Conger is a career .224 hitter who last season batted .221 with four homers and 25 RBIs in 80 games.
RHP Will Harris (http://www.mlb.com/r/player?player_id=501789): Harris, acquired on waivers in November, appeared in 29 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, striking out 35 batters and walking just nine in 29 innings pitched, setting a franchise record by ending the season with 16 consecutive scoreless appearances. He also appeared in 43 games at Triple-A Reno and had a 0.99 ERA, striking out 44 in 45 2/3 innings.

eagle eye

02-17-2015, 01:17 PM

Several of us here on BRI have made predictions who the starting lineup will be on April 6th when the season begins. I thought it might be interesting to see the projected lineup by MLB.com's Brian McTaggert.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/109447218/astros-lineup-and-bullpen-to-feature-several-new-faces-this-spring

Here's the schedule for spring training beginning this Saturday when pitchers and catchers report.

Pitchers and catchers report
Saturday
Full squad reports
Feb. 24.
First Spring Training game
Home vs. Phillies, March 5, 12:05 p.m. CT
Opening Day
Home vs. Indians, April 6, 6:10 p.m. CT

eagle eye

02-19-2015, 02:16 PM

I wonder if I asked you, "What are the top 3 questions Houston needs to answer this spring?", I wonder what answers you would give. If you feel like it, before you read what Brian McTaggert said in the link below from Astros.com, give it shot. Don't cheat and read the article first. What is your top 3? See if you agree with McTaggert. BTW, pitchers and catchers are 2 days away.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/109660096/astros-looking-to-answer-three-key-spring-training-questions

eagle eye

02-20-2015, 09:25 AM

What's the main beef about baseball? If you asked me I'd say the pace of the game is too slow. Baseball is never going to be football or basketball for continuous action and even though I'm not a big soccer fan you can argue the ball is constantly in motion and the clock, for all intents and purposes, never stops. People in the new millennium are used to fast paced things. Internet, twitter, drive through, fast food, etc. You get the idea. A game as pastoral as baseball suffers by comparison and having games that really should be over in 2 and half hours can drag on for 4. Why? In large part, and I'm talking about major league baseball specifically, there are pitchers who make a big deal of the time they take between pitches and if it's not the pitchers it's the batters who feel like they need to step out of the batters box to adjust their batting gloves on every single pitch. Sheesh. Today MLB has taken steps to speed up play and it's long overdue in my opinion. There will be warnings and fines for violations of the new rules which will go into play in spring training. The warnings and fines will be waived during the first month of the season to give players time to get used to the new rules but beginning in May all bets are off and players will need to comply. For a rundown of the new rules here is a link to an article from ESPN.com. I personally am excited to see the game speed up. Games where the starting pitchers work quickly are awesome and they seem to influence batters to stay in the game--that is until they get behind or can't get to the pitcher so they deliberately slow down to throw the pitcher off his rhythm. The new rules address that mode of strategy because one of the rules states the batter must keep one foot in the batters box between pitches. A batter standing there trying to slow a pitcher down could conceivably give up a cheap strike because a pitcher goes ahead and throws a pitch for a strike when the batter is clearly not ready. I would love to see an MLB hitter's face if that happened. I guarantee you it wouldn't happen twice. Good for baseball. I am almost as happy about these rule changes as I was when former MLB commissioner Bug Selig stepped down. Both moves are great for baseball.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12351883/major-league-baseball-announce-pace-play-rules

eagle eye

02-20-2015, 03:07 PM

Pitchers and catchers arrived at the Osceola County Stadium today and started to settle in for the beginning of 2015 Spring Training Camp beginning with the first workout tomorrow. To paraphrase a line by Robert Duval in the 70's war movie, "Apocalypse Now", "I love the smell of a baseball field in the morning!". We can't smell the grass around here because it's too friggin' wet around here and this is allergy season to boot but I'll bet Kissimmee Florida is different. I'll bet little Disney cartoon blue birds are flying around hanging up bunting around the field and happy little people are hanging uniforms in lockers and maybe even a leprechaun or two dashing about. For the first time in ten years the Astros are in the discussion when it comes to the playoffs. Only Disney could produce this much magic! Football may have replaced the grand old game as the nation's national pastime but I'm old school enough to love the fact tomorrow kicks off the start of baseball. All I can hear in my head right now is James Earl Jones talking about baseball to Kevin Costner's character in "Field of Dreams". There is not another sport that allows you the time to appreciate the sport and it's history the way baseball does. It's just plain special. The kind of syrupy sentimentality that can "make your throat feel funny". That's how my little boy used describe how he was choked up over something. Hell's bells Chris, dad's throat feels funny right now.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/109814136/pitchers-and-catchers-mark-start-to-astros-camp

Roger Clemens oldest son Koby will begin his coaching career this summer for Houston when he will assist at the extended spring training in Kissimmee.

Here's a few items from Astros.com about the start of the new season beginning with some reflections by former Astros pitcher Brandon Backe. There is going to be a celebration the entire year commemorating the 2005 Pennant winning Astros of which Backe was a big part. I always liked Backe for his grit and determination. There is also an item about starting pitcher Alex White making his return this year from Tommy John surgery in 2013 and his hopes to make the Astros rotation. Check 'em out.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/109836316/former-postseason-hero-brandon-backe-reflects-on-career-2005-houston-astros-world-series-run

Big T

02-20-2015, 06:01 PM

Jon Singleton has already reported. Great to see him get there early after last spring training when he was one of the last to show.

eagle eye

02-21-2015, 10:36 AM

From the Bleacher Report

Roberto Hernandez will be late to Astros’ camp due to visa issues (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/20/roberto-hernandez-will-be-late-to-astros-camp-due-to-visa-issues/)

Bill Baer (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/author/crashburnalley/)
Feb 20, 2015, 7:25 PM EST

5 Comments (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/20/roberto-hernandez-will-be-late-to-astros-camp-due-to-visa-issues/#comments)
https://nbchardballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/cd0ymzcznguwzdbhnduynddiytjhm2yyzthlmtjjotqwyyznpt hlyjdjnwrkmwjkndc4zti4nwuwotkxmdazmzqzogiz.jpeg?w= 320Roberto Hernandez Pitcher Roberto Hernandez (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/mlb/1313/roberto-hernandez) is still in the Dominican Republic and will be late to attend Astros’ camp due to visa issues, per a report from MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/568853804424114176). Hernandez has already thrown a bullpen in the D.R. in preparation.
Hernandez, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Astros last week. He’ll compete for a job in the starting rotation. If he makes the major league roster, whether as a starter or a swing man, he’ll earn a salary of $2.65 million.
The veteran right-hander had a bounce-back season with the Phillies, posting a 3.87 ERA over 121 innings before going to the Dodgers in an early August trade.

From the Houston Chronicle via the Bleacher Report on how optimistic the Astros are about the state of the team's health going into spring training.

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2015/02/18/astros-optimistic-on-teams-health-outlook-entering-camp/#30605101=0

eagle eye

02-22-2015, 03:05 PM

Here are some items about pitchers and other assorted things from Kissimmee via Astros.com.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/110032836/pitcher-chad-qualls-is-grateful-for-houston-astros-offseason-additions

eagle eye

02-24-2015, 11:00 AM

Spring Training news and notes from Kissimmee including an article about new Astro pitcher Dan Straily, a meeting with MLB big wigs and Astros manager AJ Hinch and bench coach Trey Hillman to discuss the new pace of play rules being instituted this spring, A brief look at major league camp invitee Luis Flores who is slated to begin the 2015 season with AAA Fresno, talk about SS Jed Lowrie and 3B Luis Valbuena feeling at home in the Astros club house despite being newcomers. One note about the Lowrie section is all the players who showed up early. Not just the bottom feeders on the 40 man roster but guys who are expected to be starters and major contributors this season. Today is the day the players were supposed to report but many on the roster arrived yesterday and some even sooner. Just great to see.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/110155238/jed-lowrie-luis-valbuena-find-comfort-in-new-surroundings

eagle eye

02-25-2015, 10:09 AM

Today's Astros news is looking at the Astros focus on the health of the players. Health is priority one for the team as they build toward the regular season. AJ Hinch believing that even though he won the AL batting title in 2014 there is no additional pressure on Jose Altuve this season. One of Carlos Correa's main goals this off season was to improve his base running. AJ Hinch is trying some "bonding exercises" to try to build team chemistry this spring. Yesterday was the first day of full team work and what that means is we're one step closer to the first ST game. Baseball has officially begun in earnest and that ain't a bad thing.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/110362244/astros-prospect-carlos-correa-adding-head-first-element-to-sliding

eagle eye

02-28-2015, 01:54 PM

The Astros are trying a little something new this spring under new manager A J Hinch. His plan is to keep the ratio of players to coaches to 2 players to one coach. Third base coach Gary Pettis has been one of the guys instrumental in this new approach by the coaching staff as he has been handling the outfield and base running duties. The idea is that the players benefit more from a more one-on-one, or two in this case, and according to the players it's working well. Evan Gattis, for one, has raved about Pettis' coaching. Gattis has gotten a lot out of the back to basics approach Pettis is taking. In my experience you build from the ground up and focusing on fundamentals is never a bad thing. The Astros are hoping that Gattis and George Springer will be the cornerstones of the Astros outfield this season.

News and notes from spring training including the overall plan by the Astros including the expectations for this season and how training camp will be run. How Lance Berkman figures into the Astros spring training plans, P Kevin Chapman learning to use his change up, Astros prospects benefitting from being invited to the big league camp.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/110392964/astros-emphasize-plan-before-springing-into-action

Here's an item from Bleacher Report speculating on whether last year's 1st pick in the MLB first year player draft, Brady Aiken, will again be the first player taken in the draft. It's interesting to see what the reason for the contract impasse was last year with Houston. Also, 5th round pick by P Jacob Nix, who along with Aiken signed with the IMG agency, will again be available in this year's draft. The article is from Mike Rosenbaum MLB prospects lead writer.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2378767-will-2015-mlb-draft-prospect-brady-aiken-go-no-1-overall-in-back-to-back-years

This is an article from Bleacher Report writer Joel Rueter gives his take on the best and worst moves the Astros have made this off season. I have a feeling Big T will agree with him!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2378072-predicting-every-mlb-teams-best-and-worst-offseason-move/page/12

Here's a guy you may not have been able to name as an Astros prospect but the front office guys and new manager A J Hinch have eyes on this guy. Who is he? A 24 year player who was the 7th round pick of the Astros in the same draft as Carlos Correa. He comes from the University of Florida where is the all time leader or second in all the major hitting categories. A guy who humbled top prospect Carlos Correa the first time he saw this kid launching bomb after bomb in the first batting practice he saw him at. That guy's name is Preston Tucker and as the article points out he will begin 2014 in AAA Oklahoma City. One thing I don't like is the fact that Hinch wants Tucker to primarily work as an outfielder. The Astros have a stacked outfield and no real prospect for 1st base. As the article indicates, Tucker worked last season at first and acquitted himself well. It's easy to second guess when you're outside looking in and you know that Hinch has seen Tucker on tape and talked to his coaches but it's just that the Astros have a bit of a hole at 1st. Oh well, take a look at Jorge de Jesus Ortiz article on the guy they call Bamm-Bamm.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/astros/article/Astros-prospect-Tucker-a-real-power-broker-6106703.php?t=e78d4b0899d8ff4dd2&cmpid=twitter-premium#/0

eagle eye

03-04-2015, 08:10 AM

PLAY BALL! That will be heard today around spring training ball parks all over the Florida and Arizona landscapes. Spring training games begin today and the Astros kick off the spring with a game at home at Osceola County Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies. Colin McHugh is getting the start in the opener. Manager A J Hinch announced his starters for the first 5 games of the season yesterday indicating that after today Brett Oberholzer will start against the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla followed by Dallas Kuechel on Saturday in Osceola and in Sunday's split squad games Scott Feldman will start in Osceola against the Braves and Dan Straily will face the Tigers in Lakeland. It is so cool to see games begin.

Here's a bunch of news from Astros.com besides the first spring training game including a item about P Pat Neshak's baseball card collection, shift drills as part of the Astros teaching of fundamentals in spring training, A J Hinch lining up a seven man bullpen, prospect P James Hoyt getting closer to making the majors after coming to Houston in the Evan Gattis deal, Lance Berkman at spring training and other items from spring training.

PLAY BALL!!!!

eagle eye

03-05-2015, 07:48 PM

Okay, thanks for not outing me about being a day early talking about the opening day of spring training games. Up until 12:30 went I tried to listen to the game and found an interview on 790 with Colin McHugh talking about how excited he was about pitching tomorrow-duh-I finally figured out it was the 4th, not the 5th. Anyway, I got to listen to the first 3-1/2 innings and I must say the Astros did pretty well. Colin McHugh pitched two scoreless and the walk he gave up, according to the radio broadcast guys, was more on the ump than on McHugh. Mark Appel pitched two scoreless including retiring the side in the 3rd after giving up a lead off double. It seems Houston won 6-3 banging out 12 hits against the Phillies except for starter Cliff Lee, who may be auditioning for another team this spring. Lee gave no runs, one bloop hit by George Springer and no walks. It's good to see the games begin.

Here's some news and notes from today's game and articles about C Hank Conger, P Roberto Hernandez finally reporting to spring training.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/111318502/veteran-roberto-hernandez-reports-to-astros-camp

eagle eye

03-07-2015, 07:07 PM

Man I have been honey-do'ed to death the last couple of days. The game yesterday (Friday) against the Cardinals was a loss but according to the write up the Astros struggled at the plate including 0-3's by Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis with an 0-2 by Colby Rasmus to boot. Jose Altuve and Jed Lowrie started off well in their first action today against the Yankees which is good news. Of course it's not time to make any judgment about the team after just 3 games. Baseball, more than any other sport, is about the process. I'll be glad when they start to televise games.

Here's some news and notes from Astros.com about the games the past two days.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/111628328/jose-altuve-sparks-astros-offense-in-grapefruit-league-debut

eagle eye

03-10-2015, 12:25 PM

Houston is nothing if not entertaining. If it's not drama on the field it's a mixed bag of drama off it. Now, we're not talking about As The World Turns here but in the last few days Mark Appel was a somewhat healthy scratch due to soreness in his forearm, we saw the arrival of P Roberto Hernandez who was late getting to Astros camp due to problems with his visa and now relief pitcher Pat Neshak is riding a little pine nursing a sore foot. On the field it's been either feast or famine regarding scoring runs. Sunday's split squad games are a case in point. In Kissimmee Houston suffered the indignity of being no-hit by a combination of nine different Atlanta Braves pitchers but they managed to salvage a 10 inning tie on the strength of 2 runs scored in the 7th on a walk, a hit batsman and a couple groundout RBIs. Of course after that two run outburst Houston had a 2-1 lead which they blew in the top of the 8th. Minor league pitcher Jason Stottel gave up a leadoff double to Joey Terdoslavich the big blow of the inning that allowed Atlanta to tie the game. After that nobody score again through 10 innings when it was decided to call the game. By contrast Houston's other half of the roster playing Detroit banged out 20 hits scoring 14 runs in a 14-9 slugfest that could hardly be described as a pitcher's duel. Yesterday Houston eeked out a 1-0 win over Toronto with the lone run of the game coming on a bases loaded infield single to 2nd base to score L J Hoes and that was it. Houston got great pitching from Colin McHugh, Roberto Hernandez, Asher Wojciechowski and Will Harris. I'm listening to the game and in the bottom of the 3rd with Houston batting St Louis is leading 2-1 but the Astros have a little something going with George Springer on base after being hit by a pitch with two outs.

Update; Springer stole 2nd easily and moved to 3rd on a wild pitch. Jon Singleton at bat.

Singleton, BTW, is starting off his spring pretty well. He's 1-1 so far today and he's hitting .545 after the first week of the spring. Good signs but just as I was writing this Singleton struck out on a slider away and if you believe the play-by-play guy on the radio he was kicking his own ass for that K --- figuratively.

Brett Oberholzer did okay going 3 inning today. He surrendered 2 earned runs on 4 hits with a BB and 2 K's. Chad Qualls is on in the 4th.

As for Neshak's foot he had been feeling the soreness for a week and so Houston will sideline him until results of x-rays and an MRI come back. He has been told that he has caught this issue at a good time before it got to be more serious. Right now all the Astros know is it won't require surgery and he may be out up to 10 days to let the foot rest.

Marc Appel has been cleared after missing his last outing with soreness in his pitching forearm. That was on Monday when he was warming up to pitch. Yesterday he saw a doctor and today he has declared himself ready to play. Appel worked two innings and allowed three hits and one run, while striking out two batters on Thursday against the Phillies in his first spring outing. It was his first game action since last fall, when he pitched well for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. You probably can imagine the Astros front office people breathing a big sigh of relief having the No 1 pick in the 2013 draft set back at the beginning of 2014 with an emergency appendectomy. He had regained his form by the end of last season and he and Astros are hoping for much better things in 2015.

Game update:

Chad Qualls had an up and down inning in the 4th but he almost got out of it without giving up a run. Notice I said 'Almost'. With two outs and two strikes on a batter Qualls uncorked a wild fastball allowing a runner on 3rd to score. Qualls got the 3rd out causing the Card hitter to ground out to 3rd ending the Cardinal threat. Bottom of the 4th began with a walk to Jason Castro. Jed Lowrie at the plate.

eagle eye

03-10-2015, 07:22 PM

Just an update on today's game. Houston won 7-6 on the strength of a Max Stassi 2-run home run in the 7th and big 4 run 4th inning sparked by a double by Colby Rasmus in the Astros win over the Cardinals.

eagle eye

03-11-2015, 05:51 PM

Houston had an off day today meaning no game was scheduled but Houston did play Atlanta in a scrimmage. Evidently, nobody told Dallas Keuchel who was bringing the heat in terms of his intensity. He pitched 3 innings allowed no hits and no walks while striking out 3.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/112212112/dallas-keuchel-dials-up-intensity-in-scrimmage

eagle eye

03-12-2015, 05:34 PM

The Astros played a home game in Kissimmee against the Tigers and they had their second game go to a 10th inning. I shouldn't have because Houston blew some opportunities to score in regulation time but they came through in the clutch in the bottom of the tenth with a walk off hit by utility man Gregorio Petit. Dan Strailey pitched 3 good innings as he makes a bid for the 5th spot in the Astros starting rotation. After missing a few days with a sore foot relief pitcher Pat Neshak pitched a perfect 4th inning dominating the Tigers hitters. Good to hear that.

For a recap of today's game as well as some spring training news like, actor Will Farrell making the rounds of the Cactus league reminded Jason Castro of a situation with the Round Rock Express when Farrell in disguise as Venezuelan pitcher Rojo Johnson as a fund raiser for the Express. Funny story and so Will Farrell. Also A J Hinch saying he envisions new 3B Luis Valbuena getting lots of PT as well as some other articles in the link below.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/112426392/jose-altuves-3-for-3-day-helps-astros-in-walk-off-win

I was looking at Houston's hitting stats today and it's incredible some of the starts for Astros hitters after just one week into spring training games. You have to go down to the 14th player on the list before you have a batting average under .300. Jose Altuve went 3-3 today with a stolen base. His BA is currently tied for 9th place on the list with Jake Marisnick. Both are sporting a .417 BA. 3B prospect Colin Moran tops the list with a .571 BA. I'll bet you can't name the top 5 guys behind Moran unless you've been listening to the games or checked out the box scores every day. Shoot, Jon Singleton is 8th with a .429 Ave. In 14 ABs he has 6 hits, 5 doubles with 2 walks and only 3 K's. For a guy who struck out as much as Singleton did in 2014 the Astros have to be ecstatic with his first week of 2015 spring. The Astros have a record of 5-2-1 in their first 8 games of the spring. Wins and losses don't mean that much in the spring unless you had 3 consecutive 100+ loss seasons in the past 4 years. Then it gets a little more important to show a little something. There are a lot of guys who have something to prove and that's what you want---hungry players. Not just hungry players but hungry players with skill to feed that hunger. Maybe it's not so far fetched when owner Jim Crane said prior to spring training that he believes Houston is a playoff caliber team. Here's a link to the stat page I was looking at.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp?c_id=hou#playerType=ALL&elem=%5Bobject+Object%5D&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+hitting&game_type='S'&season=2015&season_type=ANY&league_code='MLB'&sectionType=sp&statType=hitting&page=1&ts=1426203175557

eagle eye

03-14-2015, 11:02 AM

The Astros played another tie ballgame yesterday after narrowly escaping one the day before. On Thursday Houston barely eeked out a win with a walkoff hit in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Detroit Tigers. On Friday Houston played only 9 innings and on a rally in the top of the 9th scoring two runs to tie the game Houston shut out the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the frame to maintain the tie and that was the ballgame. George Springer broke out the whoopin' stick yesterday hitting his first home runs of the spring. The first came in the top of the 3rd. It was a solo shot the made the score Nats 3 Houston 2. The second was a solo shot in the 5th giving the Astros the lead 4-3. Starter Scott Feldman got roughed up a bit giving up 3 runs, all in the third inning. In his 3 innings of work Feldman gave up 3 runs on 4 hits with a walk and no K's. Roberto Hernandez followed Feldman and didn't fare much better in his 3 innings of work. Hernandez gave up two runs on 5 hits, a walk and a K. Darin Downs, Josh Fields and Jake Buchanon pitched an inning each to close out the game with Fields surrendering a run in the 8th to bring the Nationals score to 6 runs.

The Astros play the Braves in their ball park Champion Stadium but the game starts a little later than usual. Instead of a 12 o'clock start the first pitch tonight is at 5:05 PM. Colin McHugh gets the start against an old teammate Wandy Rodriguez. Too bad that it's not on TV.

eagle eye

03-14-2015, 01:46 PM

The Astros have already made roster reductions after a week of spring training games. OF Domingo Santana and LHP Luis Cruz were optioned to the minors. That move could be made because both were on the 40 man roster. The other cut was C Luis Flores who was acquired via the Rule 5 draft. In the link below in an article from the Bleacher Report are some details of the deal.

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2015/3/13/8207543/domingo-santana-luis-cruz-among-astros-first-cuts-of-spring-training

In the link below Joel Reuter from the Bleacher Report gives his estimation on who will make the final 25 man roster to start the 2015 season. Feel free to disagree it see something you don't like. Also, Reuter gives his view of a couple of the more interesting position battles as he sees it. Do you think he missed one or two. Let's hear from you!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2391051-spring-training-predictions-for-all-30-mlb-teams-final-25-man-roster/page/12

Right now I have an issue or two with his list. Jake Marisnick has been very good so far and in many people's minds he's making a real bid to be the starting CF and Marisnick isn't even on Reuter's final 25. I agree with the infield except for keeping Matt Dominguez. I would rather Jonathan Villar make the team. As for the starters, I am not sure if I agree with his choice of Roberto Hernandez. Based on his so-so outing yesterday Hernandez hasn't done much to impress. I think Dan Strailey should be in there somewhere. And what about Alex White? White has only 2 innings worked and he's given up 6 earned runs on 6 hits and four walks and no K's. Not a good spring so far for Mr White.

eagle eye

03-15-2015, 10:13 AM

Here's some news and notes from Saturday, March 14th including a surprise one day promotion to the big league camp from minor league camp for OF Brett Phillips. Also a recap of yesterday's loss to the Braves, SS Jed Lowrie excited to be part of Astros future, Update on Jonathan Villar after being hit by a pitch in yesterday's game, P Brad Peacock feeling great after facing minor league hitters and more.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/112801420/called-over-from-minors-camp-brett-phillips-makes-major-impact

eagle eye

03-15-2015, 01:52 PM

Houston beat the Washington Nationals today in Kissimmee by a score of 3-2. Asher Wojciechowski faced off against Nats new pitcher Max Scherzer and did well. Both pitchers went 4 scoreless innings with both impressive. The Nats scored a run in the top of the 5th on solo home run by Dan Uggla off Pat Neshak but the Astros came back with a big 3 run inning in the 5 bottom of the 5th with hits by Jake Marisnick, Jose Altuve, and George Springer which gave the Astros a lead they would not relinquish. The Astros now have a 6-3-2 record and are in 3rd place in Grapefruit League Play.

eagle eye

03-16-2015, 04:40 PM

The Astros played a pair of split squad games today. At home in Kissimmee they faced the Atlanta Braves and battled to a 2-2 tie in 9 innings. In Viera, Florida the Astros faced the Washington Nationals and lost 2-1. This game was of note because it was the first start for Mark Appel and he didn't do half bad. He pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits, 2 walks and 1 K. The Astros lone run came on a single by Robby Grossman who advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by P Jordan Zimmerman and it followed by a single by Jonathan Villar. The Nats scored on an Ian Desmond sac fly in the first off Appel and a triple in the 7th scoring a run off Kevin Chapaman.
In the Braves game Dallas Keuchel started and went 2 innings without any damage but in the 3rd Keuchel gave up a lead off homer to John Buck, a double to Eury Perez, a walk to Eric Young Jr (remember his dad was a Texas Ranger). Next was a fly out and an RBI single by Freddie Freeman. Keuchel stopped the bleeding by inducing a groundout from Chris Johnson (another former Astro) and a flyout by Andrelton Simmons to end the Braves threat. It was the only two runs Atlanta scored and the inning certainly could have been worse for Houston but Keuchel pitched his way out of trouble in the inning. The Astros scored in the first inning on a bases loaded FC by Colby Rasmus plating Jose Altuve and on a double by Gregorio Petit that plated L J Hoes in the second inning.

eagle eye

03-17-2015, 03:27 PM

The Astros broke out the paddles and spanked the Pirates in their spring training home in Bradenton, Fla. On the shoulders of a 13 hit 13 run attack the Astros beat the Pirates 13-7. The Astros starter Roberto Hernandez had a bit of a shaky outing giving up 3 runs on 4 hits a walk and a K with a homer one of the 3 hits. Hernandez is in a battle for the 5th starter in the Astros rotation and the other two guys he's battling, Alex White and Dan Straily pitched right after Hernandez finished his stint on the mound. White came up next and he pitched two innings giving up one run on two hits and two walks. Staily followed with and and put in 2 innings as well. To me he had the worst outing of the 3. Straily gave up 3 runs on 3 hits with 4 walks and a K. If not a nice throw from L J Hoes to catcher Tyler Heineman to get Steve Lombardozzi at the plate the inning could have been even worse for Straily.
On the offensive side Houston could do no wrong. Well, not exactly, but they certainly did more than enough to overcome the pitching struggles. Robbie Grossman batted leadoff and went 2-2 and scored twice. L J Hoes went 1-2 and scored a run. George Springer went 2-4 with a triple and homer, Chris Carter has found his bat today and he went 3-3 and scored a run had 4 RBIs and Carlos Correa replaced Carter and went 2-2 scoring twice and knocking in a pair and C Jason Castro went 2-4 scored a run and had 3 RBIs including a 2-run homer.
The best thing about today's game is it was on television which, if I'm not mistaken, was the first Astros game telecast this spring. The Astros broadcast team of Bill Brown and Alan Ashby share broadcast duties with Pittsburgh's broadcast team of Greg Brown and Bob Walk. Both teams work for the Root Sports Network and they were happy to share the booth with one another. That Bob Walk guy is a former big league pitcher (I know, right?) and they guy is kind of funny. A lot of comparison's between where Pittsburgh was a couple of years ago and where the Astros are now. There was also a bit of lament that the up and comers hadn't arrived as yet or maybe weren't going to. Nice to see the Astros on the tube again and I hope this will be more frequent going forward.

eagle eye

03-18-2015, 05:14 PM

Evan Gattis hurt his right wrist late last week and he still hasn't been cleared to swing a bat. That doesn't mean he has been sitting around doing nothing. The Astros have Gattis doing defensive work as he tries to acclimate himself to playing in the outfield.

P Brett Oberholzer is dealing with a slight injury himself. He strained his left lat muscle. He was supposed to pitch a minor league game on Sunday but he was a scratch from that game as he will take treatment and rest the injury.

Dallas Keuchel was named the opening day starter earlier this week by manager A J Hinch. Hinch indicated that Keuchel has earned the honor based on his strong 2014 season and his commitment to getting better as a player since the end of last season. A day later Hinch named Scott Feldman his Day 2 starter. This leaves the 3rd starter as Colin McHugh. It's been widely though that Brett Oberholzer will be the 4th starter with Dan Straily, Alex White and Roberto Hernandez the frontrunners to be that guy. Stat-wise Hernandez is having the best spring but there's still almost 3 weeks before opening day.

P Lance McCullers is having a real nice spring according to Houston Chronicle writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz in the following link.

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2015/03/18/lance-mccullers-making-a-good-impression/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

eagle eye

03-20-2015, 11:02 AM

The Astros lost to the Mets yesterday 3-1 with projected #3 starter Colin McHugh getting through 4 innings giving up two runs on 4 hits with 3 K's and 0 walks. The two runs came on solo HRs, one in the first with two out to Michael Cuddyer and one to Curtis Granderson who led off the 4th. The Astros could only manage 4 hits of the Mets pitchers on the day. They finally managed to break through in the 7th on two doubles. One was by Luis Valbuena to lead off the inning and one batter later Jonathan Villar doubled Carlos Correa, who pinch ran for Valbuena, home for the Astros only run of the day.

Here's some news and notes from yesterday from Astros.com. The news includes an update of Evan Gattis wrist, Colin McHugh rounding into shape for the regular season and news about the Astros 2014 1st pick in the new player draft Brady Aiken leaving his first start of the 2014 season with soreness in his elbow. The same elbow the Astros were worried about when they dropped their offer to Aiken from $6.5MM to $5MM because of concerns over a tendon in the elbow. There is also news about 7 more players removed from the Astros roster including P Alex White.

What's the worst off season move by the Astros? It sure looks like it's trading for Hand Conger with the Angels. So far this spring Conger is hitting a lame .095. In 21 ABs so far this spring he has 2 hits with one walk and 9 K's.

It's looking like 3B Luis Valbueana is the best pickup. He's been good fielding his position and he's been en fuego. He's hitting .440 going 11-25 with one walk and 6 K's. Matt who? Dominguez that's who looks like if he makes the 25 man roster will be a sub for 1st base and 3rd base. This also means Dominguez will be a weak bat off the bench who has a propensity to hit into double plays. I would say Marwin Gonzalez could be that guy but his spring is not going like it did in 2014. He's hitting just .160 but in his 4 hits he's got 3 RBI's and 3 runs scored and he's only struck out 4 times in 24 ABs. That tells me he's making contact and the hits will eventually start falling in. I'm rooting for Marwin as I am not really a fan of Dominguez.

eagle eye

03-21-2015, 01:28 PM

The Astros faced off against the Washington Nationals and it was a pretty good day for the Stros except for starting pitcher Samuel Deduno. In his two innings of work he surrendered 4 runs on 4 hits with 4 walks and 1 K. All the damage was done in the first inning and it was a mountain the Astros were unable to climb even though they tried. The final score was 7-5 as Jake Buchanon, Asher Wojciechowski and Kevin Chapman each surrendered one run as the Nationals held on against every comeback effort the Astros put up. Jason Castro hit a solo homer in the 4th with Luis Valbuena adding a two run shot in the sixth providing the major fireworks for the Astros offense.

Dallas Keuchel is on the hill today facing the Yankees and in the 8th the Astros lead NY 2-0. Keuchel pitched 4.1 innings scattering 4 hits with 3 Ks and no walks. Darin Downs pitched the rest of the 5th without surrendering a run. Make Appel came on in the sixth and he's pitched 3 scoreless and hitless innings with 1 walk and 2 Ks. The Astros scored on a 2 run homer by Chris Carter driving in George Springer who tripled right in front of him. With only the 9th to go it looks like Houston will be notching the win today.

eagle eye

03-25-2015, 08:06 AM

The past two days have seen the Astros hit the ball -- a lot. On Monday Houston got 12 hits and scored 10 runs. It wasn't a power show because of the 12 hits there were two doubles and one home run. The Stros just hit the ball. This was a day after a 14 hit attack on Pittsburgh Pirates pitching in a blowout win. Monday was a different story because Houston pitching was horrendous as they gave up 19 hits and 14 runs. Unless you like watching a pitcher's duel you probably liked the game with all the offense happening on the field even though the Astros lost the game 14-10. Speaking of pitching starter Scott Feldman, 1st reliever Jake Buchanon and 2nd reliever Darin Downs were terrible. The Braves knocked them around unmercifully. Every time Houston scored a run or two to try to claw back into the game these guys surrendered another cluster of runs. Feldman is going to be your No 2 or 3 starter and at this point in spring training a game like that is a little disheartening. The Astros stopped the pitching hemorrhaging in the 6th when Luke Gregorson came in and shut the door on the Mets attack but even he gave up a hit. Between Gregorson and Josh Fields, Joe Thatcher and Kevin Chapman they combined to shut out the Mets the rest of the game but by then it was too little too late. Yesterday was a continuation of the previous 2 days games in terms of Houston hitting the ball. Against the Mets Houston rattled off 12 hits but only managed 4 runs on the day. In fact, until the seventh the Astros had scattered 10 hits around the park but only had 2 runs to show for it and they trailed in the game 3-2 by virtue of a run in the second and 2 in the 3rd given up by starter Colin McHugh who pitched 5 innings and generally looked pretty good in the game. Houston eeked out a run in the 5th and one in the seventh before putting up 2 more to take a 4-3 lead in the eighth. Houston pretty much stole the game from the Mets in much the same way they blew the game to the other New York team last Saturday. Carlos Correa was instrumental in leading the 8th inning rally with an infield single with two outs. Correa advanced to second on a balk by Mets pitcher Carlos Torres. Robbie Grossman walked followed by Gregorio Petit singling allowing Correa to score and Grossman was able to get to 3rd base. LJ Hoes then singled to center plating Grossman for a 4-3 lead. Jose Altuve ended the Astros 8th with an infield popup. What is significant about this is that Altuve went 0-5 on the day which is unusual in itself but he had zero Ks on the day which means he made the Mets earn every out. Altuve is a true All Star for Houston. If Astros fans were looking for the next Craig Biggio or Jeff Bagwell the search may just be over.

Want a dark horse to make the Astros 25 man roster? I'll give you Gregorio Petit. So far Petit has hit .364 (8-22) in just 13 games of spot duty. He's score 4 runs and 2 of his hits have been doubles with no home runs or triples. Petit is 9th on the team in hitting which is better than other infield possibilities like Matt Dominguez (23rd), Alex Pressley (25th) and Marwin Gonzalez (27th). Petit has shown he can come off the bench and get hits and he has shown he can make a spot start and make a good contribution to the Astros offense. He did it in the latter part of 2014 when he was brought up to the big club and he's done it this spring.

As far as outfield is concerned it seems to be coming down to a choice between Robbie Grossman and LJ Hoes. Grossman is 7th in hitting on the team with a .389 BA (14-36) with 5 walks and 5 Ks. He only has three extra base hits, 2 doubles and a homer with 4 RBIs. Hoes has been getting steadily better as the spring has progressed. He's 17th in hitting with a .286 BA (6-21) with 3 walks and 6 Ks. The real telling stat is his lack of power numbers. He has only one extra base hit, a double with no homers or triples. I assumed Hoes was a much bigger guy than Grossman but I was wrong. Both players are 6' tall and weigh in around 200 lbs. Unless Hoes explodes the next two weeks or Grossman gets hurt Grossman could have the inside track to the final 25.

Asher Wojciewski leads the Astros against the Phillies today at Philadelphia's spring home of Bright House Field in Clearwater Florida. Wojo is battling for the 5th spot in Houston's starting rotation and he may only have one more start to plead his case after today.

eagle eye

03-28-2015, 01:03 PM

Thursday was a day off for the Astros and because of rain so was Friday. The boys are back in action today and they are in the 4th inning against the Marlins trailing 1-0.

We are now in single digits before opening day and I, for one, can't wait. Got my tickets and I'm ready to take the day off from work and spend the day at the ballpark.

On Wednesday the thing big league managers fear most as spring training winds down happened late in the game against the Phillies. On a fly ball to right-center field right fielder Robbie Grossman and center fielder Jonathan Villar collided tracking down the ball. Villar made the catch but he came away with a mild ankle sprain while Grossman bruised his thigh. Grossman actually was able to work out with the team on Wednesday and Thursday which is a good sign for him and so far Villar has been held out of workouts to rest his ankle. AJ Hinch is hoping to have his final roster set by the time the Astros head back to Houston but it depends, in part, on how quickly Villar bounces back. BTW, Grossman is available but, as yet, he isn't in today's lineup.

last week I posted that last summer's No 1 pick Brady Aiken had to leave his first game of the season with tightness in his elbow. Well, on Wednesday Aiken had Tommy John surgery ending his season and damaging his draft status this summer. After he and the Astros failed to come to terms on a contract Aiken enrolled in the IMG Academy and it was playing for them he suffered aggravated an existing condition in his elbow. Last summer Houston had offered Aiken a $6.5MM contract after selecting him first overall until they found a problem with his ulnar collateral ligament in a physical after the draft. At the time Houston lowered the offer down to $5MM and that was totally unacceptable to Aiken. Now it looks like Aiken made a mistake passing on becoming a millionaire but in twitter he said he doesn't regret his decision at all. It will be a year, possibly two, before he's back to complete health. He's young and he has time to wait -- for now. Who knows, this would be a chance for him to go to college for at least one year and it probably would do him some good. God knows he's got to do something with his time since he won't be pitching any time soon.

In today's game Roberto Hernandez strengthened his bid to be the Astros 5th starter by going 5 innings giving up just one run on 3 hits a K and two walks. Pat Neshak has been shape as a tack this spring and he had another good inning of work allowing 0 hits, 0 runs with no walks and no K's. The Astros have tied the game with a run in the 5th on a Hank Conger HR. Conger, BTW has turned his spring around after a couple of days getting extra work in minor league camp. Before he was hitting .095 and looking like he didn't have a clue at the plate and as of today he's raised his average to .241 and has displayed the ability to hit for some power as well. It's great news for Houston as the competition for the backup catcher spot wasn't very interesting before. Now, with Conger coming on strong, the Astros are going to have to make some tough choices at all positions that now includes catcher. That is one telltale sign the team's talent level is getting pretty darn good top to bottom.

eagle eye

03-28-2015, 02:51 PM

Today's game update: Houston played to their 3rd tie game of the spring with the final score being 1-1. The game ended after nine innings. Houston recorded 8 hits on the day while allowing the Florida Marlins just 6 total hits.

As you might expect the pitchers dominated this game and I've already posted about starter Roberto Hernandez and reliever Pat Neshak. Tony Sipp pitched a scoreless, hitless 7th and Kevin Chapman pitched a shutout as he went the final two innings. He did allow 3 hits but he didn't walk anybody and he struck out two. The Astros play at home in Kissimmee tomorrow against the Yankees as Scott Feldman squares off against Nathan Eovaldi in a 12:05 PM start.

Did I mention it's only 9 days to Opening Day?

eagle eye

03-29-2015, 10:20 AM

The Astros have made 8 cuts to the roster. Most notable was Matt Dominguez being optioned to the minor league camp since he was last season's starting third baseman.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/115389382/correa-dominguez-among-8-astros-sent-to-minors

Big T

03-29-2015, 10:44 AM

Not surprising considering the numbers that Louis Valbuena has put up this T. BTW, he was named as the potential breakout veteran by MLB a couple days ago. Springer was number one or two on that list for potential breakout star of 2015. Good to see the Stros have two on that list. With Deduno locking up the long reliver spot, that means that there will not be room for either Wojo or Hernandez who are both battling for the fifth spot. Personally I want to see Wojo but they have both been lights out this ST.

eagle eye

03-30-2015, 09:10 AM

I agree with you Big T, it's been a nice battle for No 5 but if I had a guess I'd pick Hernandez because Houston has more money invested in him and he's a veteran. If he, or any of the starters should struggle then Wojo would be on a fast plane up to the big club.

The Astros just plain sucked against the Yankees yesterday getting shut out 7-0. Scott Feldman had a crappy outing especially for this late in the spring then Brad Peacock made his first big league appearance of the spring. There had been a lot of buzz about Peacock looking so good in his rehab from hip surgery this past off season and he came in and was the same old Brad. By that I mean he had trouble with location and he just wasn't sharp. I suppose I should be less critical because it is his first action this spring but that is his M-O. I was pissed when the Astros traded Jared Cosart and kept him but maybe there just was no market for Peacock. Who knows, but one thing is for sure Roberto Hernandez and Wojo have lapped Peacock in the race for a starter's job.

One good thing is Brett Oberholtzer who has been nursing a strained lat muscle will take the hill today against the Blue Jays. Obie has missed two weeks with the lat muscle issue and it will be good to see him get his work in. He should make two starts before the season begins ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! The Astros front office are hoping he can get back into a groove to be able to make a start next week when the games count.

The Astros last game in Florida will be Wednesday at Osceola County Stadium against the Tigers. It will be Dallas Keuchel's last spring training start and then they head back to Texas. It's getting close folks!

eagle eye

03-30-2015, 11:18 AM

Ok, here,s something that really ticks me off. In MLBs pre-season power rankings they have Houston ranked, get this, 26th out of the 30 MLB teams! 26!! The damn Texas Rangers are ranked higher and they sucked last season and they won't even have Yu Darvish this year! I'll post the link to the whole list later it right now I'm too shocked to function. I want those people drug tested immediately!

eagle eye

03-31-2015, 12:45 PM

Brett Oberholtzer's first action in a while wasn't anything to write home about, that's for sure. He pitched just 3.1 innings giving up 5 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and a K. The worst part of the outing were the 3 home runs he allowed.
The most interesting thing about Obie's evening on the hill was that it brought into question whether or not he would begin the season on the DL. After missing what turns out to be almost 3 weeks of spring training with a strained lat it was clear he has fallen behind the hitters as they have progressed through spring training.
It wasn't all bad for Houston as the Astros did score 4 runs on just 5 hits. All the damage was done off Toronto starter David Norris who is one of the Jays top prospects and looks to be their 3 starter in their rotation. George Springer and Jason Castro each homered in the 3rd and Jake Marisnick doubled right after Castro's homer. I don't put too much stock in ST results, I just want to see improvement and as far as the batting order it looks pretty darn solid with Altuve, Springer, Castro and other holdovers from last season performing pretty well. Not to mention how well Evan Gattis has looked, not to mention Hank Conger and a couple of other newcomers look to bolster the chances of this team to better than a .500 record.

Wojo pitches tonight in what could be his last chance to make his bid for a spot in the rotation. He actually has already lost one chance because Roberto Hernandez was named a starter by AJ Hinch. Wojo still has a chance because the door was left open by Oberholtzer's poor outing yesterday.

Big T

04-01-2015, 11:03 AM

Roster is Finalized! Singleton was sent to Fresno, Olberholtzer and Peacock are on the DL, Wojo was named as the third starter.

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/115834428/spring-forward-astros-set-opening-day-roster

Opening night Line up

Altuve 2B .333 7 HR 68 RBI
Lowrie SS .260 4 HR 50 RBI
Springer RF .278 38 HR 117 RBI
Gattis DH .260 30 HR 100 RBI
Carter 1B .220 27 HR 80 RBI
Rasmus LF .242 22 HR 70 RBI
Valbuena 3B .254 18 HR 67 RBI
Marisnick CF .270 8 HR 57 RBI
Castro C .240 15 HR 60 RBI

Rotation

Dallas Keuchel 3.89 ERA 15-9
Scott Feldman 4.28 ERA 10-10
Brett Oberholtzer 4.55 ERA 9-13
Asher Wojo 3.88 ERA 2-3
Collin McHugh 3.88 13-10
Hernandez 5.23 ERA 7-13

Final Record 82-80

eagle eye

04-01-2015, 01:39 PM

I'm glad that Wojo is getting his chance to begin the season. He's liable to be sent down once Obie is completely healthy unless Wojo does what McHugh did last season which is pitch so well the Astros have to keep him in the rotation.

As for the lineup on opening day, tickled to death about it. I predicted that if Singleton struggled this spring he'd be back in AAA way back in February.

One thing you might have noticed in Big T's post was that Singleton and others have been sent to AAA FRESNO (California). This is a change I totally missed on until I read the post. A little digging and I found that the Oklahoma City Redhawks who were owned by the Mandalay Entertainment Group was sold last fall to a partnership of Mandalay President and CEO Peter Guber and other principles of the Mandalay Group and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The result of the deal was that OKC became part of the Dodgers farm system beginning in 2015 ending the affiliation to the Houston Astros that began in 2010. As for the Astros, they were left out in the cold after the Dodgers bought OKC and they were unable to relocate to Round Rock because the Texas Rangers have a contract with the Express for 4 more years. The Astros and Dodgers weren't the only Pacific Coast League teams to relocate this off season. A record six clubs changed affiliates this off season. The reason Houston latched on to the Fresno Franchise was because the Oakland A's moved to Sacramento. This is crap move for Houston on several levels but the main ones are the Fresno Grizzlies won't be playing much in Round Rock and not at all in 2015. It's also 1,700 miles away from Houston meaning unless Houston is playing on the west coast it will be a pain in the rear to call a player up.
Ideally, if it was not contractually impossible the Round Rock franchise CEO Reese Ryan would love to work again with his dad, Nolan, and his brother, Reid, to bring the Express and the Astros back together. The Express was the AA affiliate of the Astros from 2000 to 2010.

The Astros have named free agent signee Luke Gregerson as the team's closer to begin the season. Gregerson and Pat Neshak were acquired this off season to give the Astros a much needed upgrade in their bullpen. Last year's closer, Chad Qualls will be a set up man along with Neshak with Tony Sipp getting his share of innings.

In today's game vs Detroit opening day starter Dallas Keuchel has a really nice day. He went 5.2 innings scattering 7 Tigers hits allowing one run with a walk and K. He ended his spring with a 0-0 W/L record with 4 Ks in 91 innings. He finished with a 1.93 ERA and a WHIP of 1.18. The lone run he gave up was with one out in the 6th. Now that's how you finish a good spring training season! As for the game, Houston is leading 3-2 in the top of the 8th with minor league pitcher Tyson Perez struggling but there are two outs in the inning--no make that 3 out with a popout to shallow center by Dixon Machado.

Big T

04-03-2015, 06:47 PM

The Astros wrap up ST tonight and tomorrow with their annual two games home stand against the KC Royals. The Astros trotted out a very interesting line up tonight:

Altuve
Springer
Valbuena
Gatiss
Carter
Castro
Lowrie
Rasmus
Marisnik

I hate Valbuena hitting third. The three spot is reserved for your best hitter and he isn't even the fourth best hitter in this lineup. First time he came to the plate there were men on first and third no one out and he popped out to SS. I mean come on get this guy out of there. Move Jed to the second spot and Springer to the third. I am hoping this is not a representation of the opening day line up.

Big T

04-03-2015, 07:02 PM

6 strikeouts through 3 innings so far for the Astros. Gonna be seeing a lot of that this season.

eagle eye

04-04-2015, 10:38 AM

6 strikeouts through 3 innings so far for the Astros. Gonna be seeing a lot of that this season.

LOL!

Big T

04-04-2015, 01:52 PM

Wait for it EE, wait for it...... Astros had a grand total of 15 strikeouts and 2 Walks in last nights game. Only run came from a solo shot by Gatiss in the 9th.

eagle eye

04-05-2015, 06:23 AM

Wait for it EE, wait for it...... Astros had a grand total of 15 strikeouts and 2 Walks in last nights game. Only run came from a solo shot by Gatiss in the 9th.

Okay, okay I get it. The Stros had a bad weekend at the plate. This was against the defending AL Champs and a team that looked pretty good in the World Series before succumbing to the Giants. Let's not forget who they were playing here. Happy Easter by the way. What we can take away from all this is that the starters the last two days did well. Scott Feldman was efficient in his start on Friday night giving up 2 runs on seven hits in his 87 pitches and 6 innings of work. Yesterday afternoon Collin McHugh was excellent in his outing going 4 innings and 46 pitches giving up just one hit. By contrast losing pitcher Lance McCullers threw 43 pitches in just two inning of work giving up all 3 runs to the Royals, 2 of which were earned.

What was disturbing on Friday night is that Pat Neshak and Luke Gregerson along with minor leaguer James Hoyt each gave up 3 runs in 8th and 9th innings. That was not good at all. If those guys do their jobs the final score would have been 2-1. It didn't help any that the defense committed 3 errors in the game but it didn't matter in the scoring because all the runs KC scored were earned.

I'll admit the Astros weren't so good at the plate against the Royals. A whopping 15 K's on Friday and another 9 on Saturday wasn't what AJ Hinch wanted to see I'm sure. Colby Rasmus could get sent down if he doesn't turn things around pretty soon, he had a terrible spring and his 3 K's on Friday weren't pretty. Houston did hit the ball on Friday getting 9 hits but they just couldn't get one when it mattered. They stranded 8 base runners 7 of which were in scoring position. On Saturday Houston didn't strike out as much but they also got fewer hits. One run on 4 hits with 9 K's isn't what you want to see in your box score when you lose 3-1 but, again, McCullers is a minor leaguer and he got bashed around a bit. C'est le vie, I guess.

At any rate, spring training is over. Houston certainly had it's moments good and bad but they did nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for the coming season. We begin the week with Easter Sunday and end it with baseball in full bloom and my favorite golf tournament, The Masters. The weather is shaky but it's not hot. Tell me, Big T, who's got it better than us?

BTW, I'll close out my posts on this thread with my prediction for the Astros this year. I don't think they'll improve 19 games like they did last year. That would be asking way too much but I'll say they are a lucky 13 games better. I think their final tally with be 85-77. Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh battle it out for who has the most wins on the club and lowest ERA. I think Keuchel ends up 18-10 with McHugh on his tail with a 17-11 record. I think Wojo will end up in the rotation permanently (this season) and I would not be surprised to see Jose Altuve in the hunt for another batting title.