Eh, i'm not so sure those are better. Let's look at us Vs the Yankees Framber last three ERAs 3.45, 2.82, 3.14, Innings 198-201-134 Cole last three ERAs 2.63, 3.50, 3.23, Innings 209-200-181 I know how Framber finished last year and Cole is Cole, but not much difference there JV 3.20, 1.75, Injured....162, 175 Rodon, 6.85, 2.88, 2.37...64, 178, 132 JV is old, Rodon coming off a season with Back issues, Forearm issues, sucking issues Javier, 4.56, 2.54, 3.55...162, 148, 101 Strom, 3.95, 3.50, 3.02...136, 138, 179 I like Stroman, but the biggest knock on Javier has been he doesn't go deep in games, but still had 26 more innings last year and 10 more the year before. Brown 5.09 last year in 155 innings Schmidt 4.64 last year in 159 innings This one is definitely to be determined Urquidy, 5.29, 3.94, 3.62...63-164-107 France 3.83 in 136 Nestor 4.97, 2.44, 2.90...63-158-93 Nestor easily has the most upside here, but he is coming off a rotator cuff issue that he is just trying to let get better without doing any procedures to. It's totally up in the air as to what they have in him. We have a guy who was never really healthy last year in Urquidy, who isn't Nestor quality but was very solid before being injured, and another guy in France who just gets people out Then at some point we have the possibility of getting Garcia and Lance back, the next pitcher up for the Yanks is they have any injury issues would be some minor league guys who have never thrown a pitch in MLB if i'm not missing anyone?? Getting Soto was huge for them in that park, but giving up King in the deal is SO YANKEE like. They always feel like they have enough pitching and never do Same thing with the Rangers, I hear about their staff but Eovaldi is really good, but worse ERA than Framber each of the last three years and nowhere close to the innings Gray had a 4.12 last year Heaney a 4.15 and it was his first year over 100 innings in quite a while Dunning a 3.70 that he should be able to repeat, but he had never been close to that before Bradford a plus 5 ERA in 56 innings. We undervalue our rotation because as fans we tend to remember the bad outings way more than the good. If we watched every game those other teams played like we watch the Astros, we would be crying about our lack of pitching Now i'll give ya the Orioles, their rotation could be the best in the game if some young guys prove they are for real, Burnes velo comes back and Means is healthy. I just hear people talk about how scary our rotation is and think damn (when compared to the others)
I think Trey Cabbage has a decent shot to make the opening day roster and even to play a lot. If he shows out in spring he represents an athletic corner bat who can hit for power and steal bases while hitting from the left side. Depending on how Meyers looks in the spring I could see Cabbage being the everyday LF, with Kessinger being optioned, Dubon as the backup infielder, Meyers as the 4th OF, and Singleton as the lefty bench bat. 2B Altuve 3B Bregman DH Alvarez 1B Abreu RF Tucker C Diaz CF McCormick LF Cabbage SS Pena Bench: Caratini, Dubon, Meyers, Singleton
I could be wrong, but it seems like the Astros have more faith in Dubon at CF than Chas. I can see Cabbage replacing Grae too. It will be interesting to see how things unfold.
I still think the plan is for Meyers to be the everyday CF. Cabbage could still make the roster as a bench player and I still think he would replace Kessinger rather than Singleton. I really liked Joey Gallo as a potential bench piece and Cabbage seems to be a very similar player (with maybe fewer walks and more steals).
That is going to be proven true or false soon. Also keep in mind that Espada is now the manager. Astros have kept things close to last year’s norm.
Yes, based on what Dana Brown said about finding an outfielder that has some speed and hits left-handed, I agree that cabbage has a leg up on a bench roll.
I don't see a 9 man starting line-up at this time. Just players who can hit from bo th sides like Alvarez and Tucker. Last year we had a line-up that hit LHers, who we face about 2/3rds of the time, better than RHers, who we face about 2/3rds of the time. The additions should improve the play against RHs, particularly with C and Cabbage hitting RHers and McCormick and Meyers hitting LHs with a significant differential. Better management of player's strength when rest is need will also help. I'm tired of benching players when they should start because they hit well against the SP.
I don't think Cabbage and Gallo are all that similar He just screams AAAA player to me. Mashes in AAA but doesn't have a great approach, and although he can run he isn't known as a particularly good defender. I think we traded for Cabbage because there was basically no cost so we are bringing him in to take a look. What makes Gallo great is a combination of elite power, elite plate discipline and really good defense. His K's are mostly swings and misses in the zone. Even with a batting average under 200 he gets on base. Dubon hit over 100 points better than Gallo last year and yet they got on base at basically the same rate. Gallo would have been a tremendous addition in my opinion. If Cabbage ends up as an everyday starter, something likely has gone very wrong
I agree with you that Houston has 8 established “everyday players” and that the 9th spot in the “everyday” lineup will be determined by matchups, rest days, and who is hot. But I really like the odds of that spot being very productive as it’s divvied up between Meyers, Caratini, Dubon, Cabbage, and Singleton.
I’ve never watched him play. The Astros saw enough to make a deal. If he makes the OD roster I think we see him a fair deal.
If we gave up anything with value to get him I would agree. I just think it was a deal where we had a piece we didn't see having value long term and got a guy who at least fits the category of the type of player we are looking for. His lack of plate discipline just gives him a very low chance of making it. Hopefully i'm wrong, hopefully our scouts detected something they think can be fixed and he will be a player. I just think that thinking of him as a guy who gets a lot of playing time is a bit far fetched, and especially seeing him and Singleton both on the roster is a bit worrisome. Having two guys who struggle badly to make contact isn't ideal in my opinion.
Obviously Cabbage is a very high risk player given his strikeout rate in the minors and the fact that two other teams have cut him loose. BUT the 2020 missed season introduced an element of potential late development that wasn’t there before, and Cabbage missed most of 2022. So there is potential that his 2023 numbers represent a big development and that there’s room for the trajectory to continue, and that’s not considering that Houston’s staff may see/fix something the other teams didn’t. Is it likely that he will be a star? No. But the tools are loud and his AAA numbers last year point to him being at least a viable bench player.
He is probably in the same class of player at this point as Pedro. I suppose if you have a guy who has about a 20-30% chance of making it as a major league guy, having two of them increases the odds that one of them makes it. For $5 million I sure think Gallo would have been worth it. His ability to play above average defense at both LF and 1B is a perfect fit for a bench spot here. I think what is likely is we are adding Cabbage to several of our own young guys who will come to spring training and see how they do. If Meyers hits the ground running and is a league average player, then it matters much less how any of these guys do. If Meyers struggles and none of these other guys look like they can be above average regulars, Brown will likely hit the trade market for a LF/CF guy, and honestly those guys aren't usually that tough to find in season
Altuve 2B RH 941 LH 846 Alvarez* DH RH 1044 LH 892 J Abreu 1B RH 654 LH 741 Bregman 3B RH 850 LH 696 Meyers CF RH 646 LH 785 Diaz C_ RH 931 LH 620 Tucker* RF RH 859 LH 934 McCormick LF RH 769 LH 1008 Pena SS RH 655 LH 834 Caratini~ C2 RH 745 LH 611 Cabbage* 3B RH 553 LH 533 Dubon IF RH 677 LH 858 Singleton* 1B RH 402 LH 930
We will see how it pans out. I think that IF Cabbage makes the team, then Singleton is gone. He sees pitches and walks more but doesn't meet any needs that Cabbage doesn't also fill. Cabbage has not played 3B since 2019 and was a total butcher (22 errors in 72 minor league games) and Dubon isn't really a backup 3B (2 innings since Astros got him, 73 innings in his career) so a backup 3B needs to be on this roster. With only 4 bench spots, if Caratini, Dubon, and Cabbage are on the roster there is no room for Singleton. Kessinger is the likely 4th player w/ Hensley battling him in spring.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zips-2024-2027-movers-and-shakers/ interesting article analyzing which players have seen their multiyear projections change the most since last year. McCormick and France were in the most improved lists, with Verlander on the most declined list.
R Alvarez LF 1044 Altuve 2B 941 Diaz C1 931 Tucker RF 859 Bregman 3B 850 McCormick CF 769 Caratini 1B 745 Dubon DH 677 Pena 655 SS Abreu 654 Meyers 646 Cabbage 553 Singleton 402 L McCormick LF 1008 Tucker RF 934 Singleton 1B 930 Alvarez DH 892 Dubon 3B 858 Altuve 2B 846 Pena SS 834 Meyers CF 785 Diaz C1620 Abreu 1B 741 Bregman IF 696 Caratini C2 611 Cabbage IF 533
