Needs

[JimR]

My opinion only:

Another hitter to DH. If he is a LFer, that is better. Tucker?

A good LHP in the pen. We are trying to get by with RHP who are “good against LH hitters.” LH hitters torched us today.

Gattis is lost. He needs some help until he figures it out.

[Fredia]

wonderful insight ..agree on all

[Astros Fan in Big D]

My opinion only:

Another hitter to DH. If he is a LFer, that is better. Tucker?

A good LHP in the pen. We are trying to get by with RHP who are “good against LH hitters.” LH hitters torched us today.

Gattis is lost. He needs some help until he figures it out.

And the lefty with the HR and the game winning rbi didn't have a big league hit before last night.

Hell,  even the rangers were able to go lefty/righty in the 10th.

[HudsonHawk]

I would have liked to have had a right handed pinch hit option, other than Marisnick, in the 10th today.  They went RH heavy in the starting lineup, and wouldn’t you know it, with the game on the line, the one  lefty came up and Banister got the matchup he wanted because Hinch basically didn’t have one.  13 pitchers is too many, IMO.

[TerryPuhl21]

My opinion only:

Another hitter to DH. If he is a LFer, that is better. Tucker?

A good LHP in the pen. We are trying to get by with RHP who are “good against LH hitters.” LH hitters torched us today.

Gattis is lost. He needs some help until he figures it out.

I’m right there with you Jim. I really wish we had signed Carlos Gonzalez, but that is water under the bridge now. I just don’t see many options right now unless it is Tucker, and I don’t seem them bringing him up and starting the clock on him just yet. I think as long as the starting pitching can keep us above water, I think they try to ride this out a while.

A lefty in the pen is a must. Listen, I know Boshers not Guduan haven’t exactly displayed shut down stuff in their MLB careers, but I was disappointed to see Hoyt called up rather than one of these two. Hoyt faded badly at the end of last season and had a horrible spring. Boshers didn’t have a great spring either but Guduan did perform exceptionally well this spring. He should have been the one called up to give us a lefty option in the pen.

Gattis is a disaster so far and I don’t know what you do with him. If we are going to carry this many pitchers we don’t have any other choice but to keep sending him out there, but I’d rather see Davis learn on the job and flounder if necessary, than keep sending Gattis out there.


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[HudsonHawk]

I’m right there with you Jim. I really wish we had signed Carlos Gonzalez, but that is water under the bridge now. I just don’t see many options right now unless it is Tucker, and I don’t seem them bringing him up and starting the clock on him just yet. I think as long as the starting pitching can keep us above water, I think they try to ride this out a while.

They don’t lose anything by bringing Tucker up now other than a little more money. If he’s ready, and they need a bat, that’s a lousy reason for not having him here.

[JimR]

Tucker is 12-40 with 3 doubles, 1 homer, and 8 RBI  in ten games thus far.

[Jacksonian]

Tucker is 12-40 with 3 doubles, 1 homer, and 8 RBI  in ten games thus far.

He has not yet spent a combined full season between AA and AAA.  I’m betting it’s mid June or later before any call up.

[TerryPuhl21]

They don’t lose anything by bringing Tucker up now other than a little more money. If he’s ready, and they need a bat, that’s a lousy reason for not having him here.

I don’t disagree with you HH, just typing what I think they will do.


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[HudsonHawk]

He has not yet spent a combined full season between AA and AAA.  I’m betting it’s mid June or later before any call up.

If he’s not ready, he’s not ready. No reason to rush him. But if he is, no reason to keep him down.

[JimR]

He has not yet spent a combined full season between AA and AAA.  I’m betting it’s mid June or later before any call up.

If he truly is special, there is no reason to wait very long. I do not know how many ABs they require, but the offense needs help now.

[Jacksonian]

If he truly is special, there is no reason to wait very long. I do not know how many ABs they require, but the offense needs help now.

You know better than I what kind of pitching he’s facing.  It’s only been 10 games.  I don’t know how long it takes for pitchers to adjust.  I would imagine they’d like to see how he adjusts to pitchers’ adjustments.

[JimR]

You know better than I what kind of pitching he’s facing.  It’s only been 10 games.  I don’t know how long it takes for pitchers to adjust.  I would imagine they’d like to see how he adjusts to pitchers’ adjustments.

AAA is not a FB league, at least it was not when I was watching in RR.

[juliogotay]

If he truly is special, there is no reason to wait very long. I do not know how many ABs they require, but the offense needs help now.

Yesterday:
1-5 in the lineup: 8x23, 2K:1BB, five runs scored.
 6-9 in the lineup: 0x15, 5K:2BB.
The team is hitting .212 w/RISP this season.

[Jacksonian]

Yesterday:
1-5 in the lineup: 8x23, 2K:1BB, five runs scored.
 6-9 in the lineup: 0x15, 5K:2BB.
The team is hitting .212 w/RISP this season.

Reddick had a career year last season.  He’s hitting about as his history suggests.  For Marwin however the ball must look like a pea.  Gattis’s history says he’ll continue to suck as DH.  I think Luhnow and Hinch will earn their salaries figuring out what to do with him and his position.

[austro]

DH is perhaps the most frustrating/puzzling piece. You had to figure that one of Gattis, Reed, White, or Davis would actually rise to the top and claim the spot, but they've all sucked.

I think Jose Bautista is still available.

[TerryPuhl21]

Reddick had a career year last season.  He’s hitting about as his history suggests.  For Marwin however the ball must look like a pea.  Gattis’s history says he’ll continue to suck as DH.  I think Luhnow and Hinch will earn their salaries figuring out what to do with him and his position.

When you mention career year for Reddick you may be on to something. Anytime a team in any sport wins a title you can pretty much bet that at least a handful of players had “career years.” Reddick is a prime example. Last year he hit a career best .314. That was 18 points higher than the best season he’s ever had and his career average is .265. You can say the same thing for Marwin and Jake. They each did some things last season far and above what you would “normally” expect from them. Some of these players were bound to take a step back which is why it was important to not stand pat in the offseason. We made some moves on the pitching side but did nothing to tinker with the offense. Altuve, Correa, Bregman and Springer may be able to somewhat duplicate what they did last year because they are young and highly regarded talents to begin with. I’m not so sure about some of the others and that is the problem. For example, Altuve may still hit .346 but if the bottom of the order isn’t getting on base this season like last, Jose’s .346 is gonna look different at years end.

If the pitching staff stays healthy and effective we can hopefully give this a little time to see if things turn around. But that is a big if with Keuchel and McCullers track record.


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[TerryPuhl21]

DH is perhaps the most frustrating/puzzling piece. You had to figure that one of Gattis, Reed, White, or Davis would actually rise to the top and claim the spot, but they've all sucked.

I think Jose Bautista is still available.

Not sure Bautista is what we need right now. There is already way too much swing and miss 7 through 9 in our order.


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[juliogotay]

Not sure Bautista is what we need right now. There is already way too much swing and miss 7 through 9 in our order.


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I hear a lot of hand-wringing  here. Same record as last year after 15 games (10-5).  Last years' first 15 included losing 3 in a row at home and a stretch of losing 4/5.

[austro]

Just in case it wasn't clear, the Bautista thing was a joke.

[TerryPuhl21]

I hear a lot of hand-wringing  here. Same record as last year after 15 games (10-5).  Last years' first 15 included losing 3 in a row at home and a stretch of losing 4/5.

All true, and we could be the Dodgers right now so yes, it could be worse. No need to panic right now but that said I think it is fair to be concerned. In my opinion one of the biggest reasons we were so successful last year was our ability as a team to cut down on the strikeouts. Those are wasted at bats with absolutely zero productivity. Our strikeout percentage last year per plate appearance was 17%. This year it is 24%. That is a big difference and probably the sole reason for at least a couple of losses already.


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[das]

All true, and we could be the Dodgers right now so yes, it could be worse. No need to panic right now but that said I think it is fair to be concerned. In my opinion one of the biggest reasons we were so successful last year was our ability as a team to cut down on the strikeouts. Those are wasted at bats with absolutely zero productivity. Our strikeout percentage last year per plate appearance was 17%. This year it is 24%. That is a big difference and probably the sole reason for at least a couple of losses already.

They seem no less selective at the plate this year than last. It appears they are making less contact when they do choose to swing hence the uptick in K’s. So, you have to ask yourself why. League is adjusting to this group of players by following the Astros lead and taking an increasingly analytic approach to how they attack Astros hitters’ weaknesses?  Fatigued from the shortened offseason and are a bit behind the rest of the league?  Simply regressing to the mean?  Untimely slumps in the lower part of the order, just lime happened multiple times last year?  These are the things I’ll be looking for.  All the while while enjoying the 108-win pace that they are on...

[JimR]

There was a strikeout graphic a few games ago which showed they are chasing much, much more than last year.

[Jacksonian]

There was a strikeout graphic a few games ago which showed they are chasing much, much more than last year.

Maybe trying to over-vaunt?

[Astros Fan in Big D]

There was a strikeout graphic a few games ago which showed they are chasing much, much more than last year.

One of the most gratifying things about last year's regular season for me was the team's offensive production while striking out at the lowest rate in the league.

While I would take Joey Gallo on this team in a heartbeat,  I don't want a team of Gallos.  That's simply not a style of team baseball I want to see.

[BlownRanger]

I'm with juliogotay in that it's way too early to panic (and I realize no one here is panicking).  Mid-April is too early for major alterations.

If the offensive struggles continue, I suspect the first move will be the very simple move that jump-started last season's offense:  The insertion of Reddick into the 2-hole against right-handed starters.