Why would you sit Yordan for Tucker? Thats what he basically said. An outfield defense of Yordan, Springer, Brantley is pretty awful... No way we would do that with Verlander or Cole pitching, maybe Miley or Greinke.
I’ll live with an outfield of Alvarez/Springer/Brantley if I get their bats in the line up extending innings. I’m not sitting a guy with nearly an 1.100 OPS and another with a .900 OPS. Brantley makes the plays he is supposed to and Alvarez isn’t that bad.
I worded that poorly. Brantley in left, Springer in center, and Tucker in right. It was in the context of Reddick or Tucker. All I was saying was that you might want Tucker's power in the lineup if you are having to sit Alvarez. You then have Alvarez and Reddick as great pinch hitters. I don't know how Hinch will be able to run out a defensive outfield of Alvarez, Springer, Brantley.
A better LF makes that catch in the 9th last night... Brantley makes most plays he should in MMP LF (the smallest LF in baseball), but his range is non-existent, his arm is suspect, and he's an injury risk if he has to patrol a larger OF. Alvarez is that bad... but he's young enough to get better. That being said, I also don't want him over-extending himself and getting hurt by playing a daily OF. There's nothing wrong with him being a career DH.
At this point, I am strictly talking about the WS. I want Alvarez getting 4-5 at bats every game in a series.
Sure... but given that he hasn't played 3 games in a row in the field at any point thus far (presuming the Astros hold off the Dodgers and have HFA).... its highly doubtful. It also obviously depends on the series dynamic as well. If the Astros are in a must win situation (down 0-2) and aren't hitting, he's going to start in the NL park. If they're not in a dire state, and are killing it against their sub-par #3-#4 pitchers, his fielding options will likely be limited. Regardless, he's starting at least one of the 2-3 NL park games.... maybe there will only be 2 games.
Alvarez pinch hitting would have to be in bases loaded or men on 1st and 2nd. Otherwise they are walking him.
Nah. His LF UZR/150 is 1.8, which is higher than Brantley’s was in 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018, and higher than Brantley’s career number in LF. He is not that bad. He’s better as a DH, but Brantley probably is too, and nobody is calling him terrible.
You think a few reach over the wall easy catches equals stellar D? Fangraphs says otherwise.....over a 4 year period. You can have Reddicks recent "Surge" I have seen hjs playoffs and they have been utter crap at the plate. For those who prefer advanced stats, Reddick’s xwOBA is only .307. Tucker’s is .368. Some Astros fans might be surprised to find that, despite many heroic catches at the wall this season, Reddick has a negative DEF rating (defense) from Fangraphs. This is a consistent pattern since 2014. His base running also has a slightly negative rating. He has stolen four bases in six attempts all year. Of course, some would say that the veteran’s experience makes Reddick a more dependable choice in the playoffs. Wouldn’t the rookie be more likely to freeze up under the bright lights? History suggests that it is Reddick who freezes up under the bright lights. In six years of playoff appearances, Reddick is slashing .219/.280/.297 with a wRC+ of 58. In 2017 his playoff wRC+ was 9, although last year in the playoffs he rebounded to a more respectable 107.
Im using more of the eye test as his number of games is far too limited for stats to mean a whole lot. He looks lost a lot out there.
Well, what to think about Miley? Off the playoff roster? We should only need 1-3 total starts from his spot. Do we go with Urquidy? Or someone else?
It's looking likely that Miley will be similar to Fiers in 2017. Fiers was a big part of rotation for a good chunk of that year and ended up being left of the postseason roster. Miley has cost himself dearly these past several weeks.