How Houston Astros can navigate imminent talent infusion with tough decisions
BALANCING ACT
13 August
Help is on the way! Composite Getty Image.
As the Astros hit the home stretch of the regular season, some reinforcements may be arriving to give them a jolt which will hopefully help them clinch the division.
Justin Verlander is preparing for his second rehab assignment, and should rejoin the team shorty, assuming all goes well. When he does return, at best we should expect seven starts from JV before the regular season concludes.
And in those appearances, expecting him to go seven innings deep consistently might be a bit too much to ask. If Verlander can give you six innings and give up two or three runs on most nights, we should be pleased. He is 41 years old, coming off an injury.
Six deep
There will be a need for a six-man rotation during some upcoming stretches, but when there are days off on the schedule, we should expect one of the starters to be skipped in the rotation.
It will be interesting to see if they choose to skip the pitcher who's dealing with an inning's threshold (Ronel Blanco, Spencer Arrighetti), or if they skip the player with the worst recent results.
Would manager Joe Espada skip JV in the rotation if he's the weak link? Hopefully, we won't have to find out the answer to that question.
King Tuck
As we look at the standings, it looks like it could take ninety wins to take the division again. So the return of Kyle Tucker can't come soon enough.
When he does return, we could see him hitting in the five spot, with Yainer Diaz splitting the two lefties. Let's be real, 70% of Tuck would be an upgrade over the production the Astros are getting in right field currently.
We also have to imagine Tucker will be in the DH spot from time to time as he works his way back. And we've seen the Astros have no issue starting Yordan Alvarez in left field regularly.
A new twist
Finally, another Astro might be returning this season that no one really counted on. Kendall Graveman is recovering from shoulder surgery and could be an asset down the road.
Don't miss the video above as we discuss how the additions of Verlander, Tucker, and Graveman could impact the club moving forward.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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How Dusty Baker's latest comments shed new light on Astros internal decision-making
Oct 21, 2024, 5:29 pm
Former Astros manager Dusty Baker made an appearance last week on a podcast titled The Show With Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.
One of the things Baker discussed was his limited power in the Astros organization. Dusty spoke about “battles with the front office” and not being able to choose his staff members.
Baker made a point of saying that he basically inherited AJ Hinch's staff, outside one person. And he wished he had more “freedom” in selecting the staff.
To be fair, his comments aren't that surprising. The 'Stros had experienced a lot of success, and wanted to keep as much continuity as possible after firing their GM and manager.
But what we find most interesting about these comments is speculating which staff members Baker would have replaced if given the authority to do so.
The first name that crossed our minds was Joe Espada. Especially since we now know that Espada is the staff member that eventually replaced Dusty.
We also wondered if Baker wasn't happy with the hitting coaches. We know Dusty was old school with his approach to the game. Maybe he wasn't satisfied with how frequently his players swung at the first pitch, and weren't able to work deep counts.
Something that seems to have increased since Baker's departure. Just think how many times Jose Altuve would pop up the first pitch and Yordan Alvarez would be up to bat immediately. Even Alex Bregman's walk rate dropped significantly from last year to this year. Breggy walked 92 times in 2023, compared to just 44 in 2024. Astros GM Dana Brown spoke after the playoff loss to the Tigers about the need to work deeper counts in order to have more competitive at-bats next season.
Plus, if Altuve is going to continue to swing early and often, would it benefit the Astros to drop him down to second in the lineup? Despite stealing 20 bags last year, Altuve will be turning 35 years old in May. At some point, the team is going to rely more on his power hitting than his speed as he continues to age.
The question is, what other options do the Astros have on the roster to leadoff? Kyle Tucker could be a possibility, he has a nice combination of speed and power, and he's almost 7 years younger than 'Tuve.
Or perhaps Brown could find a more prototypical leadoff hitter on the trade market. Someone that wouldn't break the bank, but could get on base at a high clip.
Don't miss the video above for the full in-depth discussion!
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon. Find all via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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