FYI, for those that can't consume enough baseball this time of year, Tucker is racking in the AFL. More BBs than Ks and an OPS greater than 1. His last 80 plate appearances in AA, Tucker also had more BBs than Ks.
https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/a-minor-review-of-2017-houston-astros/ Fangraphs guy’s quick take on Houston’s system. I disagree with his take that Houston’s system is thin. The 2nd tier is thinner than it has been the last few years but the overall depth is still very very good. Catcher is really the only position I see as a real weakness and below average compared to the rest of the league.
While I agree with the 2nd Tier being weak for Astros, Hulet is not the best source from Fangraphs regarding prospects. He's generally more geared towards the fantasy baseball audience. His information is usually good for when guys are about to be called up and for guys that might not need much of a transition period in the majors.
Similar build, similar swing. Both athletic as heck. I see it. Luhnow and the brass have put a lot of faith in him being really, really good.
Watching the Arizona Fall League, and the announcer says it's probably bad news for everyone with the Astros having a top 10 farm system: https://media.giphy.com/media/11oRLY4FRk2s36/giphy.gif
What happened to Yordan Alvarez? Saw on Twitter that he was removed from AFL roster and replaced in the All Star game but no reason given.
We really need one or two of our Latin prospects to jump up next year, because looking at our top 10, I see a lot of likely graduation next season. Given that we are the world champions we will only have like one of the top 70 picks right? Tucker and Whitley will likely be in Houston. Reed, Martes, Moran, Fisher, Paulino and Armenteros are pretty much all 4A guys at this point needing to prove their MLB worth. Bukauskas and Alvarez look good, but who would be after them? Celestino, Nova and our Perez's I'm guessing.
I agree that Astros system is going to be thin after the top and AAAA guys. That said, I would not call Martes, Fisher, and Armenteros AAAA guys just yet. Martes has played more in majors than in AAA. Fisher just needs to lay off the high cheese and the back foot breaking ball. Armenteros hasn't even got a shot at the majors, yet....though he does have a strong chance at becoming a AAAA guy. Sounds like Celestino is the guy most likely to break out next year.
Too early to say on Martes, Fisher, & Armenteros. Also Moran was a completely different player this year. Sucks that he got hurt (especially on such a fluke occurrence) because he looked like a guy that had figured it out. League didn't have chance to adjust to him (plus obvious SSS), so no telling if he could sustain it long-term, but honestly view him higher than I did when he was a top prospect.