Who Am I?

Brian McCann

Catcher

Age: 33

Height: 6′ 3″

Weight: 225

Bats left, throws right (He’s a catcher… we’ll allow it.)

Nickname: “Fun Police”

How Did I Get Here?

McCann was originally drafted in the second round by Atlanta in 2002. He debuted in the majors at age 21 in 2005, and remained with the Braves through 2013. After this, he signed a 6 year, $100M contract with the Yankees. He was traded to Houston in November 2016 for Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.

Contract Status: McCann will earn $17M this season and next, although the Yankees are paying $5.5M of this in each season. McCann has a $15M team option for 2019, when he will be 35, that vests automatically if all of the following occur:

1. McCann has 1,000 total plate appearances between 2017 and 2018;
2. He catches 90 games in 2018; and
3. He is not on the disabled list at the end of the 2018 season.

Why Am I Here?

Despite all of the positive remarks about Evan Gattis’s catching prowess, let’s be clear: McCann is the team’s primary catcher. Management decided that McCann’s hitting was worth at least $3M/year, and a couple of live arms, more than Jason Castro’s decided lack of hitting.

What are my strengths?

McCann has 6 Silver Slugger awards on his shelf, so let’s start with his bat. (Well, I assume they’re on a shelf of some sort. Maybe a display case. Or maybe when you start getting that many Silver Sluggers, you start sharing them with family. I’m really not sure.) McCann has always shown a good eye – he draws 50-55 walks a year. He also hits home runs like clockwork; in 11 full seasons, his career high is 26 and his career low is 18.

Behind the plate, McCann took a lot of flak in 2015 for his defense with the Yankees. But in 2016, he posted the best figures in the league according to BP’s pitch-blocking metrics, and he appeared to be a pretty good framer.

What are my weaknesses?

McCann is a dead-pull lefty – the kind you’ll expect to see a lot of shifts against. Unfortunately, this means you won’t expect to see a lot of benefit from the Crawford Boxes. Behind the plate, he’s below average with his arm. On the bases… well, there’s slow, there’s catcher slow, there’s molasses, and then there’s Brian McCann.

Lastly, there’s no way around this. On the field, at least, Brian McCann is an asshole.

McCann blocks home plate – on a home run

That’s just a sampling of the attitude that has earned McCann the badge of the game’s foremost “fun police.” At least Bregman may get along well with him.

Loves to hit: Changeups. McCann went 22 for 53 with a .660 SLG against the change in 2016.

Hates to hit: Inside pitches. Last year on pitches on the inside third of the zone, or beyond, he hit less than .150. This was a new trend in 2016, so it’s worth watching whether his bat speed has slowed such that he just can’t get around when busted inside any more.

What is my future with the Astros?

That’s a pretty rich contract to say that McCann will be anything other than your starting catcher for at least the next two seasons… and barring injury, that option looks likely to vest. Whether it will be a good price for a 35-year old catcher is very much up in the air.

What is my projected 2017 performance? 

For the first time, I feel the need to call out Baseball Prospectus on their projections. As I have indicated previously, BP tries to forecast playing time in their projections, whereas FanGraphs does not in ZIPS. Despite this, PECOTA actually shows more plate appearances for McCann than ZIPS does.

That in and of itself seems a little strange. But 595 plate appearances?? In his 12-year major league career, Brian McCann has made 595 plate appearances exactly ZERO times. His career high is 573, back in 2008, which is THREE Presidents ago. Mix in the fact that there are plenty of other DH options when Gattis is behind the plate, and I feel highly confident that McCann comes nowhere near 595 plate appearances.

Who else would I remind you of?

Another pain-in-the-ass Brave whose bat masked that he was better behind the plate than you probably wanted to recognize, Javy Lopez.

Who Am I?

Evan Gattis

Catcher

Age: 30

Height: 6′ 4″

Weight: 270 (Do YOU want to run into a 270 pound catcher at the plate??)

Bats right, throws right

How Did I Get Here?

James Evan Gattis is undoubtedly the finest product of UT-Permian Basin to ever don an Astro uniform. He was a 23rd round pick by the Braves in 2010, and was acquired by the Astros, along with James Hoyt, in exchange for Andrew Thurman, Mike Foltynewicz, and Rio Ruiz.

Contract Status:

Gattis is in the second year of a two year contract, and will earn $5.2M this season, but also has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Why Am I Here?

To say that Gattis is the backup catcher would misrepresent his role. First, Astros skipper AJ Hinch has already indicated that Gattis will catch more frequently than most backup catchers. Second, Gattis will have plenty of opportunities to DH when not catching, especially if Hinch still plans to give Carlos Beltran 30-40 starts in the outfield. Of course, if Gattis continues to show the extreme levels of splits between catching and DH’ing, then sticking with a platoon may make more sense:

2016 as DH: .219/.298/.410

2016 as C: .295/.345/.647

What are my strengths?

Well, let’s face facts – El Oso Blanco’s primary value lies in his bat. (You don’t acquire a catcher and then spend a year and a half shuffling him to left field and DH if you think he’s the next Squatting Molina.) Gattis is a big, burly man who can hit the ball really hard. And last year, he started becoming more selective about which of those pitches to swing at, and the result was career highs across his split lines.

But something funny happened on the way to the designated hitter spot: Gattis turned out to be at least not-so-bad behind the plate. He was a good receiver, pretty decent at framing pitches, and respectable in throwing out baserunners.

What are my weaknesses?

Behind the plate, Gattis still struggles to block balls in the dirt. His history of back problems also keeps him largely ruled out as the primary catcher.

At the plate, Gattis struggles to mash against right handers – his career SLG is 32 points lower against righties than lefties, and that spiked to a 67 point difference last season.

Loves to hit:

Sinkers. Gattis put 35 sinkers into play last season, and rung up 13 hits and 6 HR on those swings.

Hates to hit:

Curveballs. Out of 40 curves put into play, Gattis recorded only 5 hits – but at least 3 of those were homers!

What is my future with the Astros?

Gattis is in an interesting spot. He’s not exactly young, at 30, but doesn’t have many baseball years or catching mileage on him. He has only one year of club control after this, but the Astros don’t exactly have a lot of catching prospects beating down the door to the majors. I’d guess that Luhnow sits down with Oso to work out a 3-4 year deal this offseason.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

Who else would I remind you of?

If Cliff Johnson had been about 50 pounds heavier, I think you’d have a real close match.

Who Am I?

Ashur Tolliver

LHP

Age: 29

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 170 (Theory: this is meant to make him harder to hit by the fact that he disappears when he turns sideways to the hitter.)

Throws left, bats left

How Did I Get Here?

Tolliver was a 5th round pick by Baltimore in 2009. He was claimed by the Angels off waivers in September 2016, following 5 appearances with the big league club in 2016. He was then claimed by the Astros off waivers in December 2016.

Contract Status: Tolliver has two option years remaining and will not be eligible for arbitration until at least 2020.

Why Am I Here?

With the release of Kevin Chapman, Tolliver becomes the only left-handed relief option in the bullpen should Sipp falter or suffer an injury.

What are my strengths?

Tolliver features a live fastball that can touch 95 on occasion. He throws this fastball with his left hand. Such pitchers are not common. He also does not appear to be especially wild, based on his relatively low walk rates in the minors.

What are my weaknesses?

Tolliver does not appear to have developed much of a repertoire beyond that fastball. He occasionally flashed a slider and change. But honestly, if a lefty who throws 95 with a relative idea of where he was throwing it had even one other quality pitch, he wouldn’t have been waived twice before running out of option years.

What is my future with the Astros?

Absent getting an opportunity to shine in Sipp’s absence, and somehow outperforming all expectations, Tolliver’s time with the Astros will come to a close as soon as the 40-man roster spot is needed.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

Who else would I remind you of?

I just still can’t get over his build.

Who Am I?

Tony Sipp

LHP

Age: 33

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 190

Throws left, bats left

How Did I Get Here?

Sipp had the privilege of being drafted three times – and watching his stock drop each successive time: the Cubs took him in the 28th round in 2001, the White Sox took him in the 33rd round in 2002, and the Indians finally took him in the 45th round in 2004.

From this auspicious beginning, he debuted with Cleveland in 2009, and then was dealt to Arizona as part of a three-team deal with Cincinnati in the 2012 offseason. He became a free agent after the 2013 season, after being non-tendered by Arizona, and signed with San Diego. He lasted all of a month in San Diego, where he was promptly waived without a single major-league appearance, and then was claimed by the Astros.

Contract Status: As you would assume from the above, Sipp is in the second year of a three year, $18M contract.

Why Am I Here?

Every team is required by Napoleonic Code to carry a left-handed relief pitcher. With the release of Kevin Chapman, Sipp is the only current candidate for that role. Believe it or not, there are signs he could perform that role extremely well.

What are my strengths?

In his successful 2014 and 2015 seasons, Sipp kept hitters off balance with an effective slider and change, and located his fastball to success against both lefties and righties; in 2015, right-handed batters only managed a .190 BA and .227 OBP against Sipp, compared to .227 and .290 by lefties. He was even better in 2014 – .176/.235 against righties, and .138/.227 against lefties.

It is easy to make the argument that the pitcher that Sipp was in 2014 and 2015 absolutely deserved the contract he received.

What are my weaknesses?

The horseshoe fell out of Sipp’s hindquarters in 2016. Whether he can replace it is the biggest question.

You see, Dear Reader, what those 2014-2015 numbers omit is the degree of luck involved. The league average for Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) is almost always around .300. In 2015, Sipp allowed only a .275 BABIP. In 2014, that figure was an obscenely low .209. Achieving a BABIP around .200 is some Angels In the Outfield-type luck.

In 2016, the balls found the holes, and Sipp’s BABIP rose to .323.

But lest we attribute that purely to luck, let us be clear that batters were absolutely hitting the ball harder in 2016. Sipp allowed only 5 home runs each in 2014 and 2015; that number jumped to 12, in fewer innings, in 2016. The damage was not localized to one pitch – Sipp gave up 5 homers each on the fastball and slider, and allowed over a .600 SLG on each of those two pitches in 2016.

What is my future with the Astros?

Difficult to see.

It’s easy to say, the man has a rich contract, he’s here for the next two seasons. But with a club with championship aspirations, whose performance declined so sharply last year, and with such a narrow role? I wonder if they would eat the money if a better option presented itself.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

Who else would I remind you of?

Sipp reminds me not of any other left-handed reliever, nor of anyone with a similar delivery or repertoire. No, when I look at Sipp, I think of another reliever who had some pretty good years with the ground balls, but then those ground balls started finding holes at the worst possible times, on teams trying to make the World Series. The fans turned on him, and his time was short whether he deserved the scorn or not.

Yes, for better and for worse, Tony Sipp reminds me of Jay Powell.

Who Am I?

Brady Rodgers

RHP

Age: 26

Height: 6′ 2″

Weight: 210

Bats right, throws right

How Did I Get Here?

Rodgers was drafted by the Astros in the third round of the 2012 draft and was added to the 40-man roster when he was called up in September 2016.

Contract Status: Rodgers has 3 option years remaining (according to those online sources I have found, but that doesn’t seem quite right, as he was called up in 2016?)

Why Am I Here?

Rodgers provides an emergency starting pitcher should the need arise. If he’s making non-emergency starts, either he’s made a massive breakthrough during 2017, or injuries have hit the rotation awfully hard – he’s probably #8 in the pecking order of starting pitchers on the 40-man.

What are my strengths?

Rodgers has excellent control – he’s never walked more than 2 hitters per 9 innings at any level of the minors. His strikeout rate has been rising, to a respectable 7.9 per 9 innings in 2016 at AAA. He won’t remind anyone of Nolan Ryan, but he won’t be walking guys the way the Old Man did, either.

What are my weaknesses?

Rodgers lacks top-end stuff. He has no true plus pitch, which becomes evident when he tries to put hitters away; that is likely his limiting factor in the majors.

What is my future with the Astros?

It seems more likely that Rodgers would be part of a trade than that he would become part of Houston’s rotation.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

(This seems as good a time as any to point out that ZIPS assumes a full season in the majors, while PECOTA attempts to forecast playing time.)

Who else would I remind you of?

Another Astro righty that had to be traded away to find a spot in a big-league rotation, Nick Tropeano.

Who Am I?

Brad Peacock

RHP

Age: 29

Height: 6′ 1″

Weight: 210

Throws right, Bats right

How Did I Get Here?

Peacock was a 41st-round pick by Washington in 2006. He was traded to Oakland in December 2011 in the Gio Gonzalez deal, then traded to Houston (along with Chris Carter and Max Stassi) in 2013 for Jed Lowrie and Fernando Rodriguez.

Contract Status: Peacock would be eligible for arbitration after this season, and has no options remaining.

Why Am I Here?

My best theory is that it was a simple clerical error – they actually released him two years ago, but through some sort of glitch in the payroll department, he keeps getting a paycheck. So they let him stay in Fresno with his red Swingline stapler.

My only other theory is that Luhnow is being haunted by the ghost of Dan Strailly and thinks that Peacock will somehow do the same thing.

What are my strengths?

Peacock supposedly possesses a slightly above-average fastball and mixes a knuckle curve, changeup, and slider into his arsenal.

What are my weaknesses?

Peacock has trouble locating his fastball, knuckle curve, changeup, and also his slider.

Otherwise, he allows too many hits, too many walks, and too many homers.

What is my future with the Astros?

If he even makes one appearance this season, things have gone dramatically awry.

What is my projected 2017 performance?

Who else would I remind you of?

Thousands of AAAA pitchers who were fine in AAA but couldn’t hack it in the majors.