Ever-seeking new ways to expand their depth, the Astros recently approached outfield prospect Myles Straw about taking some groundballs at shortstop, per The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan. Straw was understandably surprised at first, even skeptical, but lo and behold, he has evenly split his time between center and short through ten games at Triple-A Round Rock. Straw, 24, ranks as the #16 prospect in Houston’s system per MLB.com, #17 per Fangraphs. Outfield depth in Triple-A and the Astros’ past success with utility players like Marwin Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel may be driving the Straw experiment, but it’s a win-win for team and player, as it behooves both sides to maximize Straw’s chances of making an impact at the big league level. Even though Straw is already arguably their best defensive outfield prospect, diversifying his defensive profile will certainly increase his odds of finding a permanent role on a major league roster, should the experiment prove fruitful. More from the AL West…
- Josh James has stumbled out the gate this season, but he’s focused on repeating his delivery and finding a consistent rhythm from which to pump his 100+ mph fastball into the zone, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The 26-year-old flame-throwing righty has surrendered seven earned runs in only eight innings of work through six appearances out of the Houston pen (7.88 ERA). Wildness has been an issue (6.8 BB/9) as has the long ball (3 HR allowed, 3.4 HR/9) – but gaudy strikeout numbers are also par for the course for James (12.4 K/9). The K-rate provides some statistical backing to James’ hopes that more consistent mechanics could fix his control issues and unlock some real potential – he clearly has the stuff to stick the landing in the pros. A strained right quad injury shortened his Spring Training, which time and again has proved complicating for pitchers trying to find their sea legs, so to speak, early in a new campaign.
- On a similar note, A’s top prospect Jesus Luzardo will need to essentially go through an entire Spring Training period of his own if/when he starts throwing, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser. Luzardo was shut down on March 21st because of a sore left shoulder, and he has yet to resume throwing, though he could do so any day now. A’s manager Bob Melvin reports that Luzardo “feels absolutely fantastic” and “wants to throw,” but it’s unlikely he sees the major leagues before at least mid-season. Given his youth and potential, Oakland will no doubt track him carefully as he builds back shoulder strength for the stretch run.
Straw, he’s so fast! I think he’s the logical replacement for Marisnick next year. If he can play SS too, ok.
He has good on base skills and speed. If he develops some power to go with them he will be a dangerous player.
Can’t hit will limit him. They are grooming him for a trade.
No one will replace Marisnick. He is the finest fielding CF in the game, including Kiermaier. Straw will replace Kemp
But his offensive is so bad it negates his great defense.
no, it’s really not. His production is actually pretty good, and in 2017 he was actually close to their most productive offensive piece.
Lol. No he wasn’t. Had a decent year at the plate, but wasn’t close to their best player on offense. He was only better than Aokie, McCann, and a 40 year old Beltran.
Dude is terrible on offense. He’s great on defense and the base paths, but not at the plate. He got benched for Carlos Gomez. He has a career OPS+ of 81. His career OBP is below .200. WRC+ of 80….
He scored a run or drove one in every 3 plate appearances in 2017.
In 2018, Astros winning % when he was ON the team, vs when he was OFF (sent to minors, or DL) is astronomically better. They were barely 500 without him.
Trout !!!
Bradley?
Who do you all think is the best center fielder of all time? I pick Andruw Jones.
Mickey Mantle for me, with DiMaggio in 2nd
Ramon Laureano makes Marisnick look like Rhys Hoskins out there.
Byron Buxton is the best defensive center fielder in baseball, and it’s probably not even close. (He’s also, for what it’s worth, the fastest runner in baseball). If his bat hadn’t been so bad last year it would have been quite apparent how good he is.
Buxton’s probably the best, but it’s a lot closer than you’re giving credence. Laureano, KK, JBJ, Trout all have their claims. There’s very little impact landscape between those guys.
Laureano is probably the closest, or JBJ. Hamilton is great too. Trout’s arm just doesn’t measure up to these other guys. But good point. There’s these six or 7 guys, and then everyone else.
dc, do you know that’s a 5 year old news? trout’s arm is very strong. not as strong as kole calhoun’s is or vladdy’s was but for a center he has a canon now.
Laureano is so much better than everyone else its utterly ridiculous. Go look at his dWAR on fangraphs and come back in here and tell everyone you’re wrong. Laureano is the best defensive CF in years, just like Chapman is the best defensive 3B and Olson is the best defensive 1B in MLB. A’s are locks for the postseason based on defense alone.
Buxton is very good but “Byron Buxton is the best defensive center fielder in baseball, and it’s probably not even close.” is a factually incorrect statement. Buxton’s getting housed on dWAR right now too, but it is early…he might not catch Laureano tho, Laureano’s lead is so massive right now…
My eyes tell me laureano is the best CF. I haven’t seen any of those other CF’s gun runners down like him. Kiermaier is pretty great too. Buxton is right up there but it’s certainly no runaway competition. I’d put him behind those 2 guys right now.
Not even close? There are a ton of outstanding CF in baseball. Cain, Plllar, Buxton, Kiermaier, Lagares, Inciarte… Hard to say it’s not even close.
Not a fan of the team, but I think Houston may have the smartest scouting/player development system anywhere. Quality player after quality player. Hell, Round Rock is probably better than 3-4 major league teams.
I’d say Dodgers 1, Houston 2. I hate them both, but good at scouting, drafting, and developing.
Agreed…I hate the Astros with a passion, but they’re absolutely incredible at developing players. I’d actually argue that they’re the best in the game at it, even better than the Dodgers (I think the Rays can be in that conversation too, and also the Indians since they’re so good with young pitchers).
Houston is also arguably the best at incorporating analytics (spin rate, etc.) and using that to maximize the strengths of their guys. They bring in pitchers with certain skills and use the data to really emphasize those strengths, and I think they’re responsible for getting guys like Gerrit Cole to really hit that next gear.
It’s so wild they passed on Kris Bryant for Mark Appel, they could easily been more ridiculously good than they are. They had Hader & Laureano too. They’ve given away a LOT of elite talent, simply because they’ve had it to spare.
For the most part, Astros are the model organization. They maintained their ability to draft, sign and develop (the three cornerstones) even as they’ve dropped in the draft order and bonus amounts. And they’ve made the hard decisions when needed; letting go of Kuechel and Morton and Marwin were not easy things to do.
The Dodgers are in there, but they have a lot more sheckles to play with. And the Rays, now that they’ve solved their obvious drafting issues, appear to be headed in that direction.
Rays have pretty much been run perfectly over the last bunch of years, they also win seemingly every trade they make too.
Rays brain trust came from the Astros so did the Brewers. Expect the Orioles to get better quick.