Latest On Astros, LeMahieu, Correa

Platoon at 1B during regular season with Gurriel starting against RH starters and DLMH moving between 2B and 3B against RH starters and possibly getting a portion of starts against RH starters with Gurriel. Perhaps 40-50% of 1B starts go to JLMH with the remainder juggled between 2B, 3B and DH. It should be noted that Gurriel has toyed around in LF before and could be used there during the regular season to balance the AB’s out in the event Brantley is not resigned. Diaz is also scheduled to get some OF starts next year. If a defensive CF is signed and Springer and Brantley get away, I could see how DLMH could factor in to going that direction if you think Gurriel can start 20-30 games in LF in 2021, though it is hard to imagine he will play any better than when he did so at 33 and 34 years old.

Eddie Rosario type signing for corner OF starts would be ideal as he could start some games in RF as Tucker can play CF and a mediocre starting CF can get 2 days off a week during regular season. Shifting AB’s around where Diaz and Gurriel get enough secondary starts in LF with DLMH starting 85-90% of games overall of which 40-50% at least will be at 1B.

All starters games played should decline as they are getting older – Altuve especially so he can use his speed game more often when playing and resting more often to allow for higher intensity in the 120-130 games he starts as he could for 150+ games in his early and mid 20’s. If Springer leaves I think Altuve needs to bring more of his consistent hit and high energy game than the increased power hitting game. .320+ hitting Altuve with 15-20 HR’s is preferable to .280 with 30 HR’s.

I know statheads are going to point to how archaic BA and HR’s are but if you watched Altuve since he came into the league as an Astros fan, you understand the difference in type of hitter he is when being more aggressive and looking to just get on base as opposed to his drive the ball mentality in the past 4+ years. The Astros are losing athleticism with age and need to find ways to increase energy and an old-school Altuve from the 2015-2017 years for 120 games and the playoffs is preferable to 150 games of the power hitting first Altuve now that Springer and the consistent hitting of Brantley may be gone. Altuve needs to be that guy that is still hitting singles, if nothing else, when the team is down 4-0 in the 6th inning with 2 outs or the team is up 5-1 in the 6th inning but hasn’t gotten a hit in 4 innings.

Yordan is going to replace the lost run driving production from moving Altuve and Bregman to the top of the order with early 2019 version of Correa and an improved Tucker providing for the rest of the difference. I expect Yuli to hit better which makes the top 6 hitters in the top 10 of the league before considering any of the options above. Adding a Jackie Bradley Jr. (prefer other options in trade market for defense and decent contact/power) in the 9 hole and either a Rosario or JLMH, or both, would provide a strong lineup with catcher representing the only offensive position below average AND getting both would provide depth and injury protection from one of the key hitters getting injured and pushing an age 37 Gurriel into the 5 hole.

All that being said, any move this offseason better be made with the idea that the money doesn’t impact the team’s ability to pay Correa now or in future seasons in order to keep him. Those who truly watch the team closely understood how important he was to all of the teams outside of 2018 team, though he still was great defensively when not injured and had some key hits that year but was really hurt. He was looking like an MVP candidate the first two months of 2019 before being injured for the vast majority of the remaining season and managed his back into the playoffs where he was reasonably productive but not where he is capable of. Those things don’t kill you when you have an all-time talented offensive team but the pressure to avoid those patches will increase in the coming years., especially if Springer is gone and Correa is paid big money. The guy was branded the franchise savior when drafted in 2012, though not the first big prospect expected to hit the majors at that time. He whizzed through the minors quicker than anyone expected and has been much more consistent than #2 pick Buxton who Luhnow was criticized for not drafting.

This guy has been the real deal and is about to hit his prime if his back issues are behind him and are not truly structural in nature. Even if they are, he should be able to manage it well in his mid-late 20’s if it is not a relatively severe condition. Correa is a guy that you simply cannot lose regardless of what the metrics say. The team loses its remaining mojo from the past 5 years that has been so special to watch. Putting all the haters aside, the level of quality baseball the Astros played from 2017-2019 in all facets of the game was some of the greatest team baseball excellence I’ve ever witnessed for an extended period of time. The 2020 team was one that underachieved and lacked pitching consistency and had hitters distracted. The playoffs was closer to the team’s potential and keeping Correa for the long-term will go a long way to keeping close to the level of excellence experienced in recent years, though the 2019 team has to be one of the greatest all-time teams to not win the WS.

Haters are going to hate. Reasonable detractors are still going to question the validity of 2017 WS while softening rhetoric as more facts come out and the reality of the inability to do it effectively in playoffs that year. Reasonable critics are not going to discount the entire run and claim there were buzzers in 2019 etc. The Astros lost the benefit of the doubt to where if credible evidence comes out about 2019 that is groundbreaking, it will be understood if there is skepticism… but only with credible evidence.

It is simply unfortunate that a team as great as those between 2017-2019 are not going to be recognized for how great they were because of the cloud the team is under due to their own actions. The competitive window has another 4-6 years if Crane will spend adequately on retaining position player stars and the farm system is managed properly as Luhnow had done. He understood where the franchise would be at in 2020 and realized he didn’t need a bunch of position player studs in the minors and needed a volume of quality arms even if only a few are ace potential. That was to create the payroll relief needed in future years to pay for position players but realizing the team was likely to lose 1 of the 4 core guys. Position player contributors are in the pipeline but big name position player prospects need to be focused on in the next 2 years of draft and signings. Cuban signee is 23 and does not fit that bill but it would be huge for the long-term success of this team if he pans out as a legit everyday CF.