Alvarez could go 0 for this next 100 at bats and his OPS would still be higher than Machado and Harper right now.
Agree 100% with this and I think they’ll point to situations like Alvarez. The guy is hitting over .400, he doesn’t need to be in AAA right now.
Can someone just remind me what AJ Reeds numbers in AAA were? I remember he killed it in minors then sucked in majors.
1. AJ Reed's numbers were nowhere near Alvarez. Alvarez could go 0-50 and he'd still have better numbers than Reed did in AAA. 2. What exactly is the point? Lots of prospects fail. Lots of prospects succeed. Ultimately, there's only one way to find out.
1. Cool, that’s what I was wondering. 2. I honestly just wanted to see just how much he was raking. I was all for bringing AJ up as well and yordan is doing even better. Just wish he played 1B
Reed's best year at AAA he hit 15 home runs in 70 games. Alvarez has 17 home runs in 38 games. There isn't even a comparison you can come close to. Most of Aj's numbers were amazing in AA. His weak bat speed exposed he really can't do better than AAA. Alvarez has a very quick bat speed. Reed was the best 1B in the astros minors when he was ascending. Alvarez is the best hitter in all of AAA period.
I maintain that it’s not just the level of competition that escalates... it’s everything that is completely different. Different equipment, different training regimens, obviously different accommodations, different road trip routines, different clubhouse amenities, the biggest stadiums they’ve ever played in...etc etc etc. It’s why pure baseball performance in the minors cannot be fully validated till a player spends enough time in the majors.
You know, I've been thinking, there's a good chance that since he's a big-name position player prospect, they have his debut at home, for a game that likely won't sell out otherwise. The Red Sox and Cubs will definitely sell big, so maybe not those, but maybe against the White Sox? Just my thinking, since I know the team loves to find ways to sell more tickets.
Correa debuted on the road and not only was he the most touted prospect in all of baseball at the time, the Astros were really struggling to draw fans consistently. I think there's actually less pressure on the player for a road debut vs home.
Hate to see players get hurt, but honestly, with Springer and Diaz not being available tomorrow (if what I heard is true), it would be nice to have a real bench guy other than our crappy backup catcher. I really want to see Diaz to the DL and Mayfield up (middle IF to replace a middle IF, Alvarez will probably wait). An absolute crime that he hasn't played in the majors yet. I mean, even if he ends up not producing, at the bare minimum the poor kid needs a shot.
He's not on the 40 man roster... and if they're going to DFA somebody to make room, it might as well be for Alvarez in a week or so.
Looking at the 40-man, I count 39. Plus, McCullers and Smith on the 10-day, there's potentially 3 open spots right now (though, they do have to have a full 40-man in order to use the 60-day dl option to open a spot). That's also a list that includes AJ Reed. I don't think anyone would have an issue with DFA-ing him. IMO, the only thing holding them back right now is what to do with White or Kemp, assuming Springer and/or Diaz don't have to go on the DL.
40 man considerations usually aren’t a big part of calling up a AAAA player like Mayfield, as the team can feel pretty confident that they can dfa him as soon as he’s no longer needed and he is very unlikely to be claimed. That said, it’s really hard to see a path to even a cup of coffee for Mayfield, as long as both Kemp and White are on the roster. It would probably take 4 infielders being injured at the same time, with at least 2 of those being guys capable of playing SS (Correa, Diaz, Bregman).
The different equipment, etc. likely plays into how a player plays his first 2-3 months. After that, I'm guessing it is 99% the level of competition (including opponents studying everything looking for weaknesses about you as part of competition).
Of course... as is the different scheudles/routines/etc. All of that can be adjusted to. But we've also seen teams (including the Astros) make assessments/decisions on a player within those first 2-3 months.
