I was just curious - Astros record for the first 30 games since 2017. 2017: 20 - 10 2018: 21 - 9 2019: 19 - 11 2021: 16 - 14 2022: 19 - 11 2023: 15 - 15 2024: 10 - 20 2025: 14 - 16
My opinion is that a losing record after 30 g this year means Houston will be deadline sellers. When they’re good they start better than 16-14.
Cam having a launch angle that is even lower than last year's has me a little worried that this isn't sustainable.
I haven't liked anything I've seen from Cam approach wise so far this season. Don't like any of it. I'm starting to lose hope that he might be a stud and starting to think he really needs to go down to AAA and play CF for 3 months b/c his bat isn't going to be good enough to play at a high level at an OF corner spot. Hope I'm wrong.
No one is ever successful if they aren't already polished at 23 years old with basically no minor league experience. They should consider trading him for a 17 year old and start building for 2035.
At this point given their excellent start the position players project to post full season production on par with the very best Astros teams over the last 10 years. They now project for 30.2 fwar. Cam Smith (1.9) and Christian Walker (1.9) are the only regulars who project to be below average overall, and both of those guys have already raised their projection from the start of the season. If they just meet their projections going forward they will likely have fielded a top 5 offense in the league. On the pitching side, they’ve had much more of a mixed bag, and project to put up production closer to an also-ran at 15.1 fwar. Imai has raised his projection along with McCullers, but Burrows, Javier, and most of the bullpen arms have disappointed. For me, Burrows and Imai have to be ToR SP for Houston to be real contenders. There is no way Houston can count on McCullers or Javier as playoff starters given their injury histories and inconsistent track record. I feel confident the bullpen will find itself. Obviously the Astros hopes will be destroyed if Hunter Brown is out for more than 6-8 weeks. Any significant injury to Yordan Alvarez would also tank the season. For now I think this is a 91-95 win team as-is, with some flexibility to add a win or two to that projection at the deadline.
He has been given one heck of a chance by the club. There must be a reason. I think we all can see that he’s a really good athlete. Can he start mashing though? I’m hoping he has it figured out by the second half. If he’s below .700 ops in July, then he should probably go down to AAA. my gut is saying that he improves this year.
Well - Munoz is gone now. We need Hader back so Abreu can go back to being a set up man. Javier is just throwing the ball up there…. Maybe he and Luis Garcia can open an ice cream shop and see who gets the fattest.
People said Cam struggled in the Spring. He had 6 extra base hits in 10 games and an OPS above .800. Cam has an OPS north of .800 to start this season. He is on pace for like a 6 WAR season so far. He may never hit for huge power, but he has a quick bat, knows the zone and has a lot of talent. He reminds me of Bobby Abreu some.
100th percentile defensive value 94th percentile baserunning value 89th percentile batting value 78th percentile xwOBA 98th percentile bat speed So far, Smith chases, whiffs, and doesn’t square up the ball. But he has elite speed and power and doesn’t often swing at terrible pitches. To me that seems like his flaws could very well be related to youth and inexperience and once he improves pitch recognition he could be a superstar. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/cam-smith-701358?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb His 2 HR in the early going has me pretty stoked about his future. Dude is only 23.
Sure. I was responding to the launch angle which I hate about him. Also, he swings at a lot of **** that reminds me of late career Biggio that isn’t even particularly close to the zone down and away. Like he’s guessing or hunting. Which I’m fine with if he’s hunting HR’s to the pull side, but he’s not. like I said- hope I’m wrong. I’m also an idiot. I loved what I saw from him last spring and early. Feel like he’s regressed since (from a process standpoint) and I’m aware of the numbers.
