2018 Spring Training Game Thread

This was a good omen, I think this may finally be the year we go all the way.

 

Hinch did a good job of managing to get 7 pitchers into the game. At this rate within the first 4 games nearly all of the pitchers in camp should get an inning or two in, except for the few who need to get started later, like Keuchel.

 

No I tried twice to log-in + there was zero AT&T icon to choose from on the dozen or so cable providers + there was no way for that ATTSports app to authenticate my settings under my @att.net username. Its a mystery how to get past the log-in without an AT&T cable provider option.

 

Reed with 2 Ks, did he look better than his box score says?

 

Not that I could tell, but it's early... the first few ABs are just to shake the rust off. Reed should get at least 40 plate appearances this spring.

 

Yea, hoping he has a great spring that carries over

 

To be fair, the first strikeout was a very VERY questionable third strike. Don’t remember if it was high/low inside/outside but I remember that it was (and this is being generous) very questionable.

 

Steve Finley sans roids would be his ceiling

 

If I had to rank those 3 players in terms of their likelihood to contribute superior offense to the Astros over the next 4 years, I'd put them in the order of White / Fisher / Reed.

White has been hitting exceptionally well since 2015, when he won the PCL Hitter of the Year award. That was no minor feat as there are a lot of hitters i the PCL. He's suffered in the eyes of fans since his fall from grace in April - July 2016 but what many of those fans have missed is that he came back strong in Sept/Oct 2016 and proceeded to have an excellent offensive year throughout 2017 (OPS around .900 at AAA and .856 in the bigs). To my way of thinking, White has proven he's the real deal and now he just needs to have a space cleared for him to contribute... this would happen quickly if Gattis were traded.

Fisher has shown that he has superior hard contact skills, and that when he hits the ball in the air it stands a very good chance of leaving the park (over 25% of his FBs became HRs last year, about double the average HR/FB rate for the AL). What he has yet to show is an ability to avoid groundballs and consistently elevate the ball. In his few ABs yesterday, Fisher showed promising signs that he may be turning the corner in his GB/FB ratio. If he can continue to demonstrate that in ST, I'll be sold on Fisher.

Reed has shown that he can dominate at AAA but has been less consistent in the minors than White and Fisher, and hasn't really demonstrated anything of note at the ML level. I'd like to think he can do that this year, but he still looks a little slow at the plate. Getting in shape is a great start; White was also a portly fellow in 2015 and got a leg up on Reed just by losing weight and conditioning better.

As a 33rd round draft pick, White has consistently faced doubt and skepticism about his potential to be a major leaguer in a way that Reed and Fisher haven't. And yet, at every level of the minors he proved the doubters wrong. Everything I've seen from him over the past 18 months makes me think he will prove the doubters wrong yet again.

 

Alejandro Garcia is like 11th in our OF depth chart.

Not that it really means anything, just a little odd to see him starting a game.

 

MarGo, Tuve and Correa seem super close. I wonder whats gonna happen when/if MarGo leaves or the FO decides to pick between Tuve or Correa to extend.

 

I get the impression that Marwin and Altuve are much closer than Altuve and Correa.

 

Is this going to become a Biggio-Bagwell-Caminiti friendship type discussion?

I doubt it matters much. They understand it is a business, and it is the role players that sacrifice for stars, not the other way around. I hope they stay, but $$$ will be the primary factor, followed by their desire for a different market/challenge. We saw that with Hosmer going to SD. Money was pretty equal, but chose the Padres.

 

Ronald Acuna (top prospect in baseball)