Q: Is the No. 5 spot between Josh James and Austin Pruitt at this point? A (Strom): Pruitt, James and I think [Framber] Valdez is still a legitimate guy. I never forget what [Mike] Trout said when he faced Valdez and said it was some of the best stuff he'd seen in baseball. And so that shows what Framber has. It's just a matter of consistency. I think you can probably count [Brad] Peacock out of the race. I think he's more valuable to us in the bullpen, so those are the three guys I think that are vying for that fifth spot. James has been very impressive. Credit to James. All winter long between Dan Howells, [head Minor League] strength conditioning coach, and [bullpen coach] Josh Miller and the stuff we've done on the video, he's transformed his delivery. We utilize Cole as kind of a model to help with control and direction, and he's taking to it quite well. https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/brent-strom-interview-2020-astros
Spring Training stats are near worthless. Though, K's have a small correlation to regular season performance. Here are the Ks and innings for the 5th start competition: Abreu 8 in 4.2 innings Framber 7 in 4.2 innings James 3 in 2 innings Pruitt 0 in 6 innings
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...u-gets-a-closer-look-with-Astros-15120825.php Strom said before Verlander’s injury. “Abreu, I’m not going to discount him. This is a kid that I foresee being a big-time starter at the big league level for a number of years.” Strom’s affinity for Abreu is no secret. During the first week of spring, the sage pitching coach claimed Abreu could be a “180 or 200-inning starter” later in his major league career. The Astros would undoubtedly welcome the production, but expecting it from a 22-year-old in his sixth professional season is silly. “They told me I can be a pretty good starting pitcher and I’m hoping to do that,” Abreu said. “I’m already in the position that I have to be ready for every chance that I can get. I just have to get that opportunity.” “I learned a lot, like coming in aggressive, throwing strikes,” Abreu said. “It was a really good experience last year.” “I feel confident going out there doing my job, knowing everything is working out for me,” Abreu said. “That makes me feel very confident and comfortable.” “I showed up to this spring training just trying to do my work and earn that spot on the team, not hoping for an injury or something to give me that advantage,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “I just keep trying to ramp up that intensity, that focus so I can keep going and hopefully make the club.” “If you ask me, yes (Abreu could be in the bullpen),” Strom said. “I want the 13 best pitchers I can find. We’ll figure out how to (adjust) it, but I want the 13 best pitchers I can find.”
**** it, pair Abreu with McCullers, and put Urquidy and James in the rotation. There’s your next 5 seasons of core rotation.
To start the season I expect the rotation to be: Greinke McCullers Urquidy Pruitt James Pruitt is out of options and with the Verlander injury it pretty much guarantees him a spot on the 25. Then it will be an in season competition for who goes to the pen when Verlander comes back.
What’s the updated projection on Whitley? I guess we’ll need more AAA innings to make a good comp, but I’m fearing he’s closer to a SP3 than an SP1.
He's incredibly high risk. The likelihood he's a SP1 has gone down a lot, but he still has the physical gifts to be a SP1.