Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
"He'd probably advise in all aspects of the business," Crane said. "He's been at it a long time and certainly has a lot of experience on the field. [Possibly] confirming some of Jeff's decisions and working with Jeff on the baseball side. He ran the business side of the Rangers.(link)
In 2005, the most recent year Baseball America conducted its Baseball for the Ages survey, DeShields ranked as the nation's top 12-year-old, beating out Bryce Harper and A.J. Cole, among others. He had just finished seventh grade. The son of the former big leaguer and 1987 first-round pick of the same name, DeShields has had an up-and-down high school career that included a modest showing at the East Coast Pro Showcase last summer. His loud tools have helped him leap past his peers and jumped him, for some scouts, to the top of a deep crop of Georgia prep talent. His best tool is his explosive speed, which has jumped up a grade to earn 80s on the 20-80 scale. Like many big league progeny, DeShields doesn't play with a ton of energy, and he got off to a slow start, which scared off some clubs. When the weather heated up, DeShields' bat did likewise. He showcased electric bat speed and present strength, leading to projections of average power in his future. His swing needs some fine-tuning and his defense in center field is raw. He has enough arm for center, though it's below-average. Some scouts also had makeup concerns after DeShields changed his mind about his college choice, eventually settling on Louisiana State.
Paredes, who turns 25 at the end of this month, batted just .192/.231/.248 with a homer and four steals in 135 plate appearances for Houston this season but was much better in the minor leagues. In 86 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Paredes slashed .287/.345/.462 with eight home runs and 16 stolen bases. Paredes spent most of his time in right field, but he graded out poorly at the position per UZR and DRS. He also has experience at second base and third base.
Kohl Stewart of Houston may be the first prep pitcher selected in the entire draft, but some area scouts say the nastiest stuff in Texas belongs to Taccolini. He throws a 90-93 mph fastball with sink and bore designed to chew up wood bats, and he backs it up with a hard slider that's just as difficult to square up. He also has a changeup, though at this point he's just giving high school hitters a fighting chance when he throws it. Still, Taccolini may not go high enough in the draft to pass up an Arkansas scholarship. He has a soft 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame, a less-than-ideal arm action and a violent delivery that features a head whack. Teams may let him go to college and prove that he can stay healthy and throw enough strikes. If he does join the Razorbacks, Taccolini has the righthanded power to warrant consideration as a two-way player.
“The whole plan is to try to get him down there, find some favorable match-ups and situations to put him in rather than starting the game. Hopefully, the success he’s able to have in the bullpen builds him back up where we get him back into the rotation. That is definitely the plan.”
Peacock had trouble throwing strikes, which got him in deep counts and ran his pitch count up high. The Astros want him to attack hitters more, and the bullpen will give him a chance to do that.
"I had to make a change for myself," he said. "[The team] preached to me about some things, but really I had to take it upon myself. This is my career and the best way for me to have success is to lose weight. My weight was getting outrageous, so I had to lose weight to show these guys I am really dedicated to baseball and this is what I love to do."
Other than his good plate discipline, speed, energy and emerging power, there is an intangible to Grossman that is intriguing: He plays with grit. He gets his uniform dirty.
...
Grossman might profile for some as a fourth outfielder. I think he can play every day. I think Grossman is a Major League-average hitter with raw power that will translate to pure power as he matures. His speed will win some games. His effort and intensity will open some eyes.
He has plus speed and tremendous instincts in center field, getting quick jumps and making good reads. Unlike most center fielders, he has a cannon for an arm and has recorded 33 assists during the last two seasons. ...Though Lin is an extremely disciplined hitter who draws walks and rarely strikes out, his offensive contributions have been minimal. He has just fair bat speed and a flat swing, so he makes a lot of soft contact.
Hunsicker was the Houston general manager from 1996-2004, during which time the club won four division titles and appeared in the World Series, in 2005. In 2008, when the Astros won 102 games, he was named The Sporting News executive of the year. He served in various management positions with the Mets before rejoining the Astros.link
Reached at Constellation Field, Wachsmann said the energy at Clemens’ outing Saturday reminded him of the atmosphere at Minute Maid Park when he attended one of the Esters’ World Series games against the Chicago White Sox in 2005.Link
One scouting report from the spring had Lane touching 92 mph and throwing his fastball in the 87-90 mph range consistently, complemented by a nice sinking changeup. He's also throwing a curveball
“We’re going to be the biggest spender in baseball on young talent,” said the man who has a lot to do with that, Astros CEO George Postolos. “Some of that has to do with the collective bargaining agreement (with teams with high draft picks getting more money to spend in addition to the shifting Latin American rules), and some of that has to do with the philosophy of our organization.
“We’ve built our budgets on spending as much money as we can internationally and in the amateur draft so that we become the organization that gets the best young talent in baseball.”
Happy V-Day. Impressive arm... LHP Reymin Guduan. Was up to 97 in fall.
F-Mart hit some balls very hard today... good sign. Good BP by Ruggiano, Deshields, Thurston, Moore and Diory.
Jarred Cosart's first mini camp pen was impressive today. I can't wait to see him against big league hitters.
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is in the middle of a monster season with the Magallanes Navegantes in the Venezuelan league.Woo-hoo! Good news, good times!
The 21-year-old Maracay native is hitting .378 with an on-base percentage of .409 through 38 games, good enough to be among the league leaders in average, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, extra-base hits and slugging.
The Astros announced that they outrighted catcher J.R. Towles and right-handers Alberto Arias and Jose Valdez to Triple-A Oklahoma City after the trio cleared waivers. The move clears space on Houston’s 40-man roster, which now includes 35 players.
Arias and Valdez can both elect free agency instead of accepting the assignment, while Towles will automatically become a free agent after the World Series.
Reds GM Walt Jocketty said he tried hard to get Pence and, in fact, thought he made a better offer than the Phillies. But obviously the Phillies’ offer was more attractive to the Astros. I’m told they wanted catcher Devin Mesoraco and that’s a no-no. Aroldis Chapman was out of the question, too.
Cashman admitted Thursday that he feigned interest in Carl Crawford last offseason to drive up the price for the Boston Red Sox to sign the free agent.
"I actually had dinner with the agent to pretend that we were actually involved and drive the price up," Cashman said.
Shortstop Clint Barmes, who broke a bone in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch on March 25 in Tampa, Fla., has been cleared to play catch and take swings without making contact.
"It's no surprise that Jim Crane is trying to put together a deal to buy the Astros," McLane said. "He is one of three people who are trying real hard to buy the team and there are another four or five waiting in the wings."
"[Astros manager Brad Mills] told me during the season to not give up on it," Bourgeois said. "It's something he wants to explore this spring, and I took it as I pretty much need to be ready. The best thing to do is to be ready, and that's why I went down there."
Phillips fouled a ball off his shin Saturday in Chicago and missed Sunday’s game. But he was in Monday’s lineup and said, “I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear - I hate the Cardinals.”Link
Mexican officials in the past have described Carlos Beltran as a key member of the gang, but it was unclear if he took over as chief of the cartel after his brother died.Link
Astros assistant general manager Ricky Bennett acknowledged the team will have a tough decision to make by Nov. 20 on whether to put the younger Clemens on the 40-man major league roster to protect him from the winter meeting draft.Link
Now, Cooper predicts the Astros will sweep the Brewers in their next series in Milwaukee.
In response to a reporter saying that the Astros could sweep the Brewers, Cooper said, "I'm predicting that, I'm going out on a limb. You heard it here first."
... Cooper said he is done predicting scores for games following his incorrect assumption of Saturday's final score. Cooper had told Drayton McLane that Backe would go seven innings while giving up one run, and that the Astros would score four by the time he came out. Instead, the Astros were down 7-1 in the fifth, and 11-1 in the top of the seventh.I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Coop might want to make some sacrifices to the BBGs, real quick.
Despite hitting .301 with 25 homers, 79 RBIs and a .553 slugging percentage, Huff presumably passed through waivers because any claiming team would be responsible for paying more than $10 million remaining on his contract, including $8 million in 2009.Wonder if the Astros are thinking about bringing him back. Since he went to Baltimore, he's only played at 1B, 3B, and DH.
If the Orioles trade Huff, 31, they likely would have to absorb some of his contract in order to receive a suitable haul of prospects in return.
the Astros plan to recall Runelvys Hernandez for Monday's start against Pittsburgh. Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock over the All-Star break to get two more starts to stay in line to pitch in Houston again.astros.com
While Houston has a couple of options for Tuesday if Oswalt cannot pitch, Cooper said previous starter Chris Sampson is not one of them.
..."He's pitched extremely well out of the 'pen," Cooper said. "We tinkered with it once, but I don't think we should continue. We need to keep him in a spot where I think he can settle into."
Seeking to add some infield depth and to find a potential replacement if they trade second baseman Brian Roberts, the Orioles have expressed interest in Astros utility infielder Mark Loretta.
29 — Home runs by the Astros this season from the sixth spot in the lineup, tied for second most in the majors.Chron link
...makes you wonder whether Jennings' time in the rotation may be coming to an end.The Link
With Roy Oswalt skipping his next start because of injury, however, Jennings is probably safe.
"If he continues to say he's healthy we'll have to leave him in there probably," Garner said. "He's been saying he's healthy."
With Jacoby Ellsbury in the wings, the Red Sox are considering moving Coco Crisp to strengthen their pitching staff. They would like to add a starter, along with a right-handed setup man. They have scouts following Brad Lidge and Houston's other relievers, especially Dan Wheeler and Chad Qualls. ... The Tigers also are studying Houston's relieversThe Link