SB Nation - Jason Smith

Is Spring Training Enough?

davoag — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:25 -0000

Richard Justice recently opined on his blog that the Houston Astros are going to take a 'wait-and-see' approach to top prospects Jason Castro and Chris Johnson. Neither will have a job locked up going into spring training and will need solid performances there in order to make the Opening Day rosters.

I like Castro quite a bit and there's been talk around here about whether the Astros should save some money and go with a youth movement in 2010. Castro, Johnson, Tommy Manzella and company would probably struggle at first, but if they're big league material, they will find their way eventually. That's not the point of Justice's blog post, though. The Astros are apparently basing that decision on spring training performance.

My question is this: why do teams base such crucial decision on such a small sample size? Do you really get a good enough look at a player in spring training to determine whether they'd make such an important decision with a player? I'm not talking about just prospects here, but with non-roster invitees and other players. How do you evaluate a player on such a small subset of play?

In the 2009 Grapefruit League, Michael Bourn led the Astros with 103 plate appearances. The rest of the regulars had around 60-70 plate appearances each, including guys like Jason Smith and Chris Johnson. Obviously, Bourn was the Astros' most improved player in the regular season, but had a .685 OPS in Spring Training. Smith had an .885 OPS in 65 plate appearances, which basically locked up a position for him on the opening day roster. Smith, of course, got no hits in 25 at-bats in the majors before being designated to Round Rock.

Of the regulars in the Houston lineup last season, only two had higher OPS numbers in Kissimmee than during the regular season (Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada). The rest performed much better once the games started counting for something. The question then becomes, why do we use such a small sample size to determine if a player will break camp with the big league team?

I realize the team probably evaluates other things, like preparation, handling of the pitching staff, defense, and lots more off-the-field stuff that can't be quantified. Still, time and time again we see a guy have a huge spring numbers-wise and it changes how the club looks at him. It's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy. If the organization likes a player, they'll use his numbers as a justification for breaking camp with him. If they don't, the numbers are a way to make the cut, even though they don't tell us anything useful.

Houston hasn't always been run this way. Under Gerry Hunsicker, the team cut ties with Shane Reynolds, even though he was healthy enough to pitch 167 innings for Atlanta that season. Reynolds had won 103 games as an Astro and been the Opening Day starter. Yet, the team still made an objective evaluation of his talent level at the time and made the cut during spring training. I'm not convinced that this front office can do that yet, since I don't think they have the decision-making autonomy from owner Drayton McLane that Hunsicker did, but they could surprise me.

Astros Roster Breakdown: The Relievers

davoag — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Reliever Sammy Gervacio

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Your Tuesday morning special is a look at the 2009 Astros bullpen. First, though, I thought we could consider a question:

Can a minor league reliever be considered a prospect?

Almost all the Astros homegrown bullpen additions this decade have been starters in the minors before making the major leauge club. Guys like Billy Wagner, Brad Lidge and Chris Sampson made a successful transition into relievers, but started almost all of their games on the farm. Lately, though, the Astros have been moving prospects into the bullpen earlier in their minor league career and still giving them a shot to make the club.

As a comparison, only three players in the past 13 years have made their major league debut for the Astros after not starting more than 10 games in the minors. They were:

Wayne Franklin, came over from Dodgers, but was a minor league reliever before being called up in 2000. Franklin started just seven games in the minors before coming up during the first year at Enron, which was a wasteland of relievers. Remember the best pitcher in the 2000 bullpen, Joe Slusarsky? Yeah, it was bad. Franklin was sent back to the minors in 2001 and put into the starting rotation, much like the Astros are talking about doing with Wesley Wright (more on that later).
Brandon Puffer, went through three organizations before being called up in 2002, but only started six games in minors. Puffer doesn't show this as much, because he bounced around so much early in his career. Plus, his funky sidearm delivery was probably not though of as something that would hold up in a starter's role, forcing him into the 'pen.
Alvin Morman was called up in 1996, but only started 19 games in the minors. Even then, he was only used as a starter for part of one season (1994), when he started all 19 games at Double-A Jackson. Morman was a relatively high pick (6th round, 1991), but stayed in the pen for most of his career, as some leftys do.

That all changed this season when Sammy Gervacio made his big league debut. The 24-year old never started a game in the minors before appearing in 29 games this season over two stints in Houston. Another reliever, Chia-Jen Lo, is doing well in the Arizona Fall League after signing out of Taiwan last season. Lo also has been used mainly as a reliever along with a couple other mid-level prospects, like Danny Meszaros. Still, there is not a good history of guys with this profile succeeding. It will be interesting to track whether this is a trend that is changing or if these prospects will flame out once they get to the show. With that, let's get on with a look at the bullpen...

Tim Byrdak, LHP

2009 Season Stats: 1-2, 61 1/3 IP, 3.23 ERA, 76 games, 58 strikeouts, 36 walks, 10 HR, 1.22 WHIP, 129 ERA+

FIP: 5.29

Leverage: 24 High, 13 Medium, 36 Low

BABiP: .188

GB/FB: 0.71

Pitching Runs Created: 30

Notes: For a lefty specialist, Byrdak sure developed into a solid pitcher for the Astros. It really surprised me that he pitched in so many high leverage situations. His peripheral stats are worrying, as he was EXTREMELY lucky to give up so few hits and without a good defense, Byrdak would not have done nearly this well. The two things that jump out (other than his FIP and BABiP) were his homer rate (1.5 HR/9) and his walk rate (5.3 BB/9). Both were right in line with his career numbers, but are not great, especially the walk rate. At the same time, Byrdak has put up three straight seasons with ERAs of 3.00, so he's doing something right. Hopefully, he'll still be effective in 2010.

Chris Sampson, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 4-2, 3 saves, 55 1/3 IP, 5.04 ERA, 49 games, 33 strikeouts, 21 walks, 2 HR, 1.57 WHIP, 82 ERA+

FIP: 3.24

Leverage: 25 high, 10 medium, 14 low

BABiP: .335

GB/FB:1.17

Pitching Runs Created: 15

Notes: Talk about a hard luck season. Sampson suffered muscle spasms in his shoulder and was put on the DL in July. He came back but was ineffective and was finally optioned to Round Rock on August 13. Sampson pitched in some very tough situations and was somewhat unlucky before the injury, but his shoulder may still not be right. His FIP was much lower than his ERA, but his strikeout rate plummeted. Basically, Sampson was very hittable and that needs to change if he's going to be successful in 2010.

LaTroy Hawkins, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 1-4, 11 saves, 63 1/3 IP, 65 games, 2.13 ERA, 45 strikeouts, 16 walks, 7 HR, 1.20 WHIP, 195 ERA+

FIP: 3.92

Leverage: 35 high, 10 medium, 17 low

BABiP: .283

GB/FB: 0.86

Pitching Runs Created: 39

Notes: Hawkins put up great numbers, especially considering he pitched in more high leverage situations this season than any other Astros reliever. He'll be 37 next season in his 16th big league season. Fun fact: Hawkins actually started 129 games in the minors and was used as a starter by Minnesota for three seasons in the majors before beginning his very lucrative career in the bullpen. Hawkins was probably a little lucky this past season and his strikeout rate isn't anything to write home about. Still, with the rest of the bullpen being as solid as it is, I could see Hawkins closing next season and filling in the rest of the 'pen with Arias, Fulchino and Gervacio.

Jeff Fulchino, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 6-4, 82 IP, 61 games, 3.40 ERA, 71 strikeouts, 27 walks, 7 HR, 1.18 WHIP, 122 ERA+

FIP: 3.52

Leverage: 18 high, 14 medium, 28 low

BABiP: .281

GB/FB: 0.93

Pitching Runs Created: 37

Notes: Thank you Kansas City Royals. The Astros plucked Fulchino off waivers last December and were rewarded with a great season out of the bullpen. In face, Fulchino's season almost makes up for how bad the other Royal imports (Jason Smith, Tyler Lumsden) were. While his strikeout rate doesn't strike fear in the hearts of other teams, Fulchino did avoid giving up home runs for the most part. He also wasn't used in a ton of high leverage situations, so his stats were perfect for middle relief.

Jose Valverde, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 4-2, 25 saves, 54 IP, 52 games, 2.33 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 21 walks, 5 HR, 1.13 WHIP, 178 ERA+

FIP: 3.50

Leverage: 26 high, 13 medium, 10 low

BABiP: .261

GB/FB: 0.66

Pitching Runs Created: 34

Notes: Valverde was exactly what the Astros needed. He brought a swagger to the mound that this team lacked. Injuries robbed him of time this season and the fact that the Astros weren't very good down the stretch held his save total down. You can't ask for much more out of a closer, though, as he managed to strike out one an inning and his home run rate was the lowest since 2005. He has enough concerning factors to his season that I worry about giving him a long term deal. For one, his strikeout rate was the lowest of his career and his BABiP meant his season was more lucky than you'd like. With a couple more hits landing, his numbers could easily have skewed upwards more. Since he's already suffered through an injury-riddled season, what will happen if the Astros give him a 4-to-5 year deal and he's hurt for half of it?

Alberto Arias, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 2-1, 45 2/3 innings, 3.35 ERA, 42 games, 39 strikeouts, 19 walks, 1 HR, 1.49 WHIP, 124 ERA+

FIP: 3.11

Leverage: 12 high, 8 medium, 22 low

BABiP: .340

GB/FB: 1.68

Pitching Runs Created: 18

Notes: When discussing Ed Wade's best moves, Arias has to be among them. While not a home run-type move, Arias was gotten for nothing and has turned into a very effective reliever. Arias had a higher-than-normal BABiP, meaning he was a little unlucky in posting a higher-than-league average ERA. The only thing that's a little concerning about Arias going forward is his strikeout rate is a bit low. Without missing a few more bats, Arias is going to have a hard time giving up just one home run again next season.

Wesley Wright, LHP

2009 Season Stats: 3-4, 44 2/3 IP, 5.44 ERA, 49 games, 47 strikeouts, 25 walks, 9 HR, 1.75 WHIP, 76 ERA+

FIP: 5.14

Leverage: 7 high, 18 medium, 24 low

BABiP: .358

GB/FB: 0.82

Pitching Runs Created: 14

Notes: The word is the Astros would like to make Wright into a starter. With his age (25) and relative lack of innings to this point, it may take an entire season at Triple-A for Wright to make the transition. Having more left-handed starters, though, can't be a bad thing. Wright has been effective and used in semi-big situations. While Cooper didn't have as much confidence in him as Byrdak (judging by leverage situations), Wright did an adequate job and still strikes out a ton of batters. Even if he loses 2 strikeouts per nine innings off his rate by moving into the starting rotation, he'll still be very effective.

Sammy Gervacio, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 1-1, 21 IP, 2.14 ERA, 29 games, 25 strikeouts, 8 walks, 1 HR, 1.14 WHIP, 194 ERA+

FIP: 2.25

Leverage: 7 high, 7 medium, 15 low

BABiP: .319

GB/FB: 1.24

Pitching Runs Created: 15

Notes: As I mentioned above, Gervacio was one of the few Astros prospects to make the big league without starting a game in the minors. Gervacio was the only Astro with a double-digit K/9 rate, and had a smaller walk rate than in the minors. Still, Gervacio didn't pitch many innings, but showed enough to be a big contributor next season. He was used in a few high leverage situations and didn't embarrass himself. In fact, his usage pattern was somewhat surprising for a rookie. His FIP and BABiP all showed that his performance was not a fluke, though with his innings, the sample size wasn't big enough to draw huge conclusions. I would be happy to use him in the 'pen in 2010, though, instead of a more expensive option (see: Valverde, Jose).

Geoff Geary, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 1-3, 20 IP, 8.10 ERA, 16 games, 12 strikeouts, 10 walks, 4 HR, 2.00 WHIP, 51 ERA+

FIP: 6.05

Leverage: 6 high, 4 medium, 6 low

BABiP:.382

GB/FB: 0.54

Pitching Runs Created: 3

Notes: Geary is a good example of why teams shouldn't spend a ton of money on non-closers. Relievers are so fungible, it's hard to justify spending the money for a multi-year contract when their performance can vary so greatly. Take Geary; in 2008, he was a good addition to the 'pen and one of the better throw-ins to the Brad Lidge trade. In 2009? Geary finished the season in the minors and was granted free agency. The righty never could get locked in this season, even though he was used about the same in leveraged situations. His BABiP was high, which means he was probably unlucky. I could see Geary having a productive year for someone in 2010, though it probably won't be the Astros.

Doug Brocail, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 1-0, 17 2/3 IP, 4.58 ERA, 20 games, 9 strikeouts, 13 walks, 4 HR, 1.95 WHIP, 91 ERA+

FIP: 7.28

Leverage: 4 high, 2 medium, 12 low

BABiP: .298

GB/FB: 0.94

Pitching Runs Created: 6

Notes: It's safe to say the Doug Brocail experiment didn't work out as the Astros had planned. It's not that Brocail did poorly. In fact, you could argue that he was Houston's most effective reliever in 2008. However, his age may have caught up to him this season, as Brocail only played 20 games before suffering an arm injury (?). What's interesting is looking at what leveraged situations Brocail was used in this season. For someone who was so good a season before, Cooper obviously didn't want to use him in pressure situations in 2009, as he was used in twice as many low pressure situations as anything else.

Chad Paronto, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 0-0, 6 2/3 IP, 12.15 ERA, 6 games, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk, 4 HR, 2.40 WHIP, 34 ERA+

FIP: 10.50

Leverage: 0 high, 0 medium, 6 low

BABiP: .407

GB/FB: 0.50

Pitching Runs Created: 1

Notes: Paronto has been great for Round Rock the past two seasons, but battled injuries in 2009. He was called up in September and gave up a ton of home runs, but was a tad unlucky. Paronto is exactly the kind of arm the Astros have collected at Triple-A the past few years. He's serviceable but probably only needed in spot duty in the majors, if there is an injury.

Billy Sadler, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 0-0, 1 1/3 IP, 13.50 ERA, 1 game, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk, 0 HR, 2.25 WHIP, 31 ERA+

FIP: 2.40

Leverage: 0 high, 0 medium, 1 low

BABiP: .500

GB/FB: 1.00

Pitching Runs Created: 0

Notes: The only Astros pitcher to not get at least one Pitching Run Created, the story was that Wade promised Sadler he'd be added to the big league team before the end of the season. That's why he got the call-up at the end of September, though Sadler didn't pitch much at all. Fun moments in small sample size: Sadler's FIP was 11 runs lower than his ERA, but only because he struck out two in his 1 1/3 innings. Of course, now Sadler's a free agent and probably won't come back. But we'll always have that 1 1/3 innings.

Roster Breakdown: The Infield

davoag — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:40:35 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

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This process took a little longer than I expected. In part two of my review of the roster, I looked at every infielders' (including catchers) statistics and make some notes about last season and their future. Not necessarily scientific, but there is some interesting information in here. Friday should see part three, a look at the outfield. Till then, let's see what happened with the first half of the roster...

Lance Berkman, 1B

2009 Season Stats: 562 PA, .274/.399/.509, 31 doubles, 1 triple, 25 HR, 73 runs, 80 RBIs, 7 of 11 stolen bases, 98 strikeouts, 140 OPS+

WAR: 3.0

UZR: -4.5

VORP: 34.9

Notes: Two points to consider about Berkman's season. First, his April and August splits were horrible. His slow start and power vacuum in August led to the perception that his season was a disappointment. Still, though he managed just 12 hits in April, he also walked 17 times and hit five home runs. In August, he hit zero home runs but had an OBP over .400. This also leads into the second point: Berkman is aging, but his power drop over the past three seasons is in part due to an overall power outage in the National League. The Big Puma saw his home run total fall 26 percent over the past three seasons while his extra-base hits have fallen 5 percent. That's almost exactly the same percentage that the NL extra-base hit total dropped over the same time period (5.6%). The NL home run total dropped 8.2 percent, but I'm guessing Berkman's drop in homers is beginning to be due to age. Still, if he hits 30 home runs in the next year or two with 50+ XBH, I'm guessing the Astros will be happy.

Kazuo Matsui, 2B

2009 Season Stats: 533 PA, .250/.302/.357, 20 doubles, 2 triples, 9 HR, 56 runs, 46 RBIs, 19 of 22 stolen bases, 85 strikeouts, 75 OPS+

WAR: 0.5

UZR: -1.0

VORP: 0.4

Notes: I'll be up front: I don't care for Matsui. He's overpaid, he's injured too often and he doesn't get on base enough to bat high in the order. That's just my personal preference, but I wanted to get that out in the open in the interests of being objective. Matsui's line is down quite a bit from 2008 but combine the past two seasons and its almost exactly in line with his career line of .271/.325/.387. His Runs Created totals of 64 in 2007, 61 in 2008 and 56 in 2009 have been very consistent, but his BABiP was 40 points lower in 2009 at .285 than the previous season. Add to that a good stolen base rate of 85% over his career and Matsui does have his uses. The problem is, he's a No. 7 hitter, not a leadoff guy. Matsui's numbers should bounce back some in 2010, but don't bet on another .350 OBP.

Miguel Tejada, SS

2009 Season Stats: 673 PA, .313/.340/.455, 46 doubles, 1 triple, 14 HR, 83 runs, 86 RBIs, 5 of 7 stolen bases, 48 strikeouts, 110 OPS+

WAR: 2.6

UZR: -8.3

VORP: 43.7

Notes: Tejada had the highest VORP of any player on the Astros roster last season, for good reason. Though his OBP wasn't terribly high, he did hit a ton of doubles and actually had more extra-base hits than Berkman. In fact, Tejada led the National League in doubles in 2009. Tejada also struck out just 48 times, which was his lowest total since his 104 plate appearances in 1997. Of course, the flip side of that is it was also his lowest walk total since 1997, too. Tejada's high batting average was due in part because he had his highest BABiP since 2006, 20 points higher than his career BABiP of .298. Tejada once again led the National League in grounding into double plays and put up his highest season totals since 2006 in plate appearances, RBIs, hits and sacrifice flies. I'm not sure if this was the most successful contract push for a 35-year old in the post-steroids era, but it's got to be up there on the list, right?

Geoff Blum, 3B/Util

2009 Season Stats: 427 PA, .247/.314/.367, 14 doubles, 1 triple, 10 HR, 34 runs, 49 RBIs, 0 for 1 stolen bases, 61 strikeouts, 81 OPS+

WAR: 0.6

UZR: 0.3

VORP: -0.5

Notes: Blum was the only regular Astros infielder (besides the catchers) who posted a negative VORP. His crazy hair styles and home runs off the bench were fun and zany in 2004 when the Astros were making their run to the postseason. Now? Blum's a steady defender but doesn't have great range and is aging quickly. His OPS+ of 81 is not good for any position, much less a corner infield spot. Surprisingly, Blum's numbers last season were right in line with his career line of .250/.310/.367, but moving into his age 37 season, he's probably not going to equal those numbers in 2010. Blum started 94 games at third and seven at first, but is probably better suited as being the Astros number one pinch hitter next year.

Ivan Rodriguez, C

2009 Season Stats: 344 PA, .251/.280/.382, 15 doubles, 2 triples, 8 HR, 41 runs, 34 RBIs, 0 for 2 stolen bases, 74 strikeouts, 75 OPS+

WAR:0.7

VORP: -1.1

Notes: Ahh, Pudge. Has there been a more controversial free agent signing by the Astros in recent memory? Can someone split a room between stat guys and traditional scouting guys more than Pudge? The 37-year old couldn't walk if he were given two balls at the beginning of every at-bat. He would sometimes throw out baserunners, but was never talked about as a good handler of the pitching staff. Where do we go from there? Pudge started out strong for the Astros but faded late, and did the same thing after being traded to the Rangers. Starting him and Matsui together proved dangerous for the Astros offense, as they both posted sub-80 OPS+. When 1/4 of the starting lineup can't get on base or hit for power, something's not right.

Humberto Quintero, C

2009 Season Stats: 168 PA, .236/.286/.376, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 11 runs, 14 RBIs, 0 of 0 stolen bases, 41 strikeouts, 75 OPS+

WAR: 0.5

VORP: -0.4

Notes: Q suffered through a bad concussion this season, but still managed to get into 60 games this season. He started some after Pudge was traded away, but didn't impress offensively. In fact, he's never hit much in the majors, with a career line of .232/.275/.325. Quintero has a strong arm and handles the pitching staff well, but will be 30 next season in his last non-arbitration year. He makes sense as a backup to someone like Towles or Jason Castro, but putting him in the starting lineup is a stretch.

J.R. Towles, C

2009 Season Stats (Houston): 53 PA, .188/.250/.354, 2 doubles, 0 triples, 2 HR, 7 runs, 3 RBIs, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 16 strikeouts, 59 OPS+

WAR: 0.0

VORP: -1.7

Notes: What to do with Towles? The 25-year old couldn't stay healthy at Round Rock this season, getting only 56 games with the Express. When he did play, Towles hit the ball well and got on base at a good clip, sporting an OPS of .842 in Triple-A. That didn't translate to the pros in either of his two stints with the team, but it should. All Towles needs is a little time and opportunity.

Jeff Keppinger, Util

2009 Season Stats: 344 PA, .256/.320/.387, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 7 HR, 35 runs, 29 RBIs, 0 for 2 stolen bases, 33 strikeouts, 88 OPS+

WAR: 0.4

UZR: 5.7

VORP: 2.8

Notes: Keppinger was a late-spring addition, something former GM Gerry Hunsicker made into somewhat of an art form. Unfortunately, Keppinger didn't work out quite as well as guys like Mike Lamb and Billy Spiers did. That's not to say Keppinger was bad, as his batting was okay for a shortstop. Again, unfortunately, Keppinger played 59 games at third base. His range and glove made him an asset defensively there, but his bat is not good enough to hold up there for long periods of time. Still, Keppinger is a useful player who makes more sense on the bench than most of the Astros' reserves.

Darin Erstad, 1B

2009 Season Stats: 150 PA, .194/.268/.328, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR, 13 runs, 11 RBIs, 0 for 2 stolen bases, 31 strikeouts, 58 OPS+

WAR: -0.9

UZR: 7.9

VORP: -8.2

Notes: Erstad was a surpringly resurgent part of the 2008 team. Of course, in that campaign, Erstad played 40 games in center field. This season? Just one appearance in center field. Erstad could be a useful player, but he doesn't have the bat to be a first baseman, even as a backup, and doesn't have the arm to play in right field. That leaves him as the caddy for Carlos Lee. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the next manager should not view Erstad as the first bat off the bench to pinch hit.

Edwin Maysonet, 2B

2009 Season Stats: 79 PA, .290/.333/.362, 2 doubles, 0 triples, 1 HR, 9 runs, 7 RBIs, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 19 strikeouts, 86 OPS+

WAR: 0.3

UZR: 8.3

VORP: 1.1

Notes: Maysonet wasn't one of the best prospects in the Astros system, but made the best debut of any Astros rookie position player in 2009. His average was high, but his OBP was not impressive. Add to that his complete lack of power and it's not like we have the next Chase Utley here. Still, Maysonet probably deserved more playing time than he got. He'd been known in the minors as a great defensive player and flashed good range in his time with the big league club. The only downside is his minor league track batting record was not very good. Maysonet had a decent season in 2008 at Corpus Christi, but was pretty terrible at Round Rock last season. That could be him reacting to shuttling back and forth from Triple-A to the majors. That could be because he's not ready to hit high-level pitching. Only time will tell.

Tommy Manzella, SS

2009 Season Stats: 5 PA, .200/.200/.200, 0 doubles, 0 triples, 0 HR, 0 runs, 0 RBIs, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 4 strikeouts, 7 OPS+

WAR: 0.0

UZR: -11.6

VORP: -0.5

Notes: The Great Shortstop Hope will be 27 next season and hasn't made a dent in the big leagues yet. There were a couple stories in September about how Manzella was learning from Tejada and soaking it all in, but he still needs to play. Manzella was a very consistent hitter for Round Rock in 2009, batting .289/.339/.417 in 133 games. The one good thing? Manzella is a horse, playing 521 games over the past five seasons in the minors. His defense is good, but it's hard to quantify how good it will be in the majors. In all likelihood, Manzella will be given every chance to be the everyday shortstop next season.

Chris Johnson, 3B

2009 Season Stats: 23 PA, .091/.130/.091, 0 doubles, 0 triples, 0 HR, 1 run, 1 RBI, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 6 strikeouts, -39 OPS+

WAR:-0.4

UZR: -34.9

VORP: -4.2

Notes: Johnson is one of the few Astros prospects I'm not that high on. He gets a lot of credit for being a power hitter, but only hit 13 home runs last season and averaged 10 homers per year in his minor league career. His defense at third is just passable, but probably could be as good as Blum, given time. The question is: is this Astros team ready to take a chance on a young player going through growing pains at the big league level? It's going to take an adjustment for Johnson to be a productive big league hitter, and I'm not sure the Astros can be patient enough for that to happen.

Chris Coste, Util

2009 Season Stats: 112 PA, .204/.259/.252, 5 doubles, 0 triples, 0 HR, 3 runs, 10 RBIs, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 28 strikeouts, 37 OPS+

WAR: -0.5

UZR: -10.9

VORP: -8.1

Notes: After being picked up off waivers on July 10, Coste started a bunch of games when Lance Berkman was injured and then Ivan Rodriguez was traded to the Rangers. The problem is Coste just wasn't that good, either offensively or defensively. Coste didn't hit for much power in his brief stint with the team, but did manage to strike out a ton. So he's got that going for him, which is nice. Seriously, though, by whichever metric you look at, Coste is the prototypical replacement-level player. He's only on the roster because there aren't better options. Hopefully that will change in the off-season.

Matt Kata, Util

2009 Season Stats: 52 PA, .200/.212/.220, 1 double, 0 triple, 0 HR, 2 runs, 5 RBIs, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 5 strikeouts, 16 OPS+

WAR: -0.1

UZR: 8.7

VORP: -4.8

Notes: Kata was more useful for his versatility off the bench than his play. As I mentioned at the top, I don't account much for UZR as the ONLY defensive metric to analyze things, especially when we have to extrapolate it out based on small sample sizes. Still, it appears Kata was at least a decent defensive asset on the bench this season. He's now a free agent.

Jason Smith, Util

2009 Season Stats: 27 PA, .000/.000/.000, 0 doubles, 0 triples, 0 HR, 1 run, 1 RBI, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 9 strikeouts, -100 OPS+

WAR: -0.6

UZR: 21.6

VORP: -7.4

Notes: Smith didn't get much of a chance to show anything at the big league level. What he did show wasn't good. Smith did better with Round Rock, but is probably best suited as a utility guy on the end of a bench. Smith is a free agent and probably won't be back with Round Rock.

Aaron Boone, 3B

2009 Season Stats: 14 PA, .000/.071/.000, 0 doubles, 0 triples, 0 HR, 0 runs, 0 RBIs, 0 for 0 stolen bases, 2 strikeouts, -79 OPS+

WAR: -0.3

UZR: 15.9

VORP: -3.4

Notes: Not much to say here, other than for a guy to go through what Boone did in spring training and still get 14 plate appearances in the same season...well, that's just impressive.

Monday Morning Astros, etc Round Up

HighLeveragePerformer — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:32:59 -0000

Darin Erstad is most likely headed to the DL after injuring his hamstring on Saturday night. He joins Chris Sampson as a recent addition to that undesirable group. It's not like Erstad is a dependable bat off the bench, but with Lance Berkman still a little gimpy, now it seems like the Astros will be forced to call up a player like Matt Kata or even Jason Smith. Hopefully not, but old-ness is key when making personnel decisions for this club.

Sort of a statistical oddity eminating from yesterday's game against LA: Matt Kemp became the first player in almost forty years to score all four of his team's runs in a game.

ESPN Insider keeps most of us from reading more, but Buster Olney tells us that children will most likely not lead the Astros into October. As Roy Oswalt tells him:

Young guys don't know how long the season is. They might figure there's no way to catch up. But older guys know that all it takes is a good run, winning 10 out of 14, and you're right back in it.

As soon as the Astros' veteran laden crew doesn't have a strong second half, I'll call Roy out on his reasoning. For now, it's a tough point to argue as far as the Astros are concerned.

Richard Justice has the right idea, methinks. We may all be on the bandwagon of a team that, failng to make the playoffs, is heading off a cliff into a canyon of hefty contracts that seem to stretch into perpituity and precious few minor leaguers to take the place of exiting veterans. As for now though, we can enjoy the ride while all four wheels still work.

The Brewers traded for Arizona secondbaseman Felipe Lopez yesterday, and Fangraphs analyzes the deal for us. A month ago, I wouldn't have cared too much about any move Milwaukee made. As long as we're in the hunt though, I'm verryyyy interested.

Speaking of the NL Central, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made token contract offers to Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, but have been rebuffed by both players. Pretty savvy move there, Neal Huntington and co.- show the fans in Pittsburgh that you care just enough to offer less than market contracts to your two veterans, so that when you ultimately trade them, you can say "At least we tried!" Say what you will about Drayton McLane, but at least he's given us winners more often than not.

Lazy Saturday Comparisons

TheJay — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:28:52 -0000

Have you ever read a baseball story about a pitcher that says something along the lines of when he's on the mound, he turns opposing hitters into [MLB hitter]? It's a fun way to bring up the pitcher's opposing batting average, OBP, and so on in an easily understandable context. Of course, that does not mean those comparisons are problem free. After all, major league hitters are not the same. Some are more patient than others, some drive the ball a long way, some slap hits all over the field, and some are in the majors for their gloves. No matter what you do, you can't turn Jason Kendall or Craig Counsell into Adam Dunn.

But even though that's the case, there's nothing stopping us from using our Saturday to make those sorts of comparisons. I thought it would be fun to look at the Brewers pitching staff and see who they turn opposing hitters into from the mound. In order to keep things recent and not penalize/reward guys like Jeff Suppan for what he did ten years ago, I have used major league stats from 2006-present both for pitchers and hitters (sorry, Mr. Kendall). In the case of Braden Looper, I used his numbers as a starter. For Seth McClung, I used his time in Milwaukee. Feel free to disagree, but I think that's fair. I've given a couple options for each pitcher so you can take your pick.

Brewers Pitcher	Opposing Hitter
Yovani Gallardo (.226/.298/.364)	Jeremy Reed (.253/.294/.369) Brian Anderson (.227/.289/.370)
Jeff Suppan (.292/.355/.461)	James Loney (.300/.353/.461) Miguel Tejada (.309/.353/.459) Fernando Tatis (.282/.354/.461)
Manny Parra (.281/.361/.425)	Fred Lewis (.279/.356/.424) Michael Young (.306/.354/.435)
Braden Looper (.274/.324/.440)	Garret Anderson (.286/.324/.442) Chad Tracy (.267/.328/.435)
Dave Bush (.259/.312/.447)	Jay Bruce (.240/.309/.457) Eric Byrnes (.261/.318/.446)
Seth McClung (.234/.337/.363)	Juan Pierre (.296/.337/.370) Scott Podsednik (.264/.328/.360)
Todd Coffey (.294/.355/.448)	Mike Fontenot (.279/.356/.446) Lyle Overbay (.278/.355/.453)
Carlos Villanueva (.241/.310/.417)	Kevin Mench (.265/.312/.418) Ivan Rodriguez (.283/.312/.418) Tony Clark (.226/.315/.415)
Mark DiFelice (.202/.244/.350)	Jason Smith (.205/.244/.352)
Mitch Stetter (.155/.308/.270)	Abraham Nunez (.220/.309/.276)
Trevor Hoffman (.210/.252/.332)	Jason Smith (.205/.244/.352) Adam Melhuse (.210/.267/.321)

If you want to take Carlos Villanueva's time as a starter out of the equation, his comparisons are akin to Yovani Gallardo's. I realize Kevin Mench isn't currently in the majors, but a) it's Kevin Mench and b) I didn't know Ivan Rodriguez hits like Kevin Mench these days.

Jason Smith shows up twice, mainly because it's really hard to stay in the majors for even 250 plate appearances if you make that many outs. I had to use Abraham Nunez, who last had more than a cup of coffee in the majors in 2007, for much the same reason. He played in the Brewers system last year, though, and he's kind of a modern standard for light-hitting infielders so I think it works.

Oh, and today's White Sox pitcher, Jose Contreras? His .277/.335/.424 since 2006 lines up nicely with Billy Butler (.282/.335/.423) and Gary Matthews Jr. (.271/.337/.425).

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:49:18 -0000

More photos » by Bob Levey - AP

Jody Gerut gets congratulations after his teammates learn he's going to be a Brewer.

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Some things to read while making golf more interesting.

The big news of the day today is yesterday's trade sending Tony Gwynn Jr. to San Diego for Jody Gerut. Here's a sampling of response from all over the web:

Doug Melvin said the Brewers were trying to upgrade their left-handed bench options.
Adam McCalvy says Melvin had interest in trading for Gerut for a while, and finally found the opportunity.
The BBTF Transaction Oracle predicts Gerut will hit .278/.335/.472 as a Brewer, which would be pretty good for a fourth outfielder.
Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases says Gerut is "a big upgrade in a reserve role for the Brewers," and calls the Brewers a big winner in this trade.
FanGraphs calls the move a salary dump for the Padres. Gerut is still owed about $1.3 million this season.
Meanwhile, Tony Gwynn found out about the trade from his dad, who's pretty excited to have him as a Padre.
Elias says Gwynn will become just the third player ever to play for the same team his father played in over 2000 games for, joining Pete Rose Jr. and Dale Berra. (Thanks to TheJay)
Gwynn made it to San Diego in time to draw a walk in the ninth inning as the Padres scored two in the ninth to beat the Giants last night.
Adam McCalvy has Trevor Hoffman, Mat Gamel and Prince Fielder's reactions to the trade.
At The Old Ball Game has been covering Gwynn in Nashville and called him "the most consistent player on the Sound’s team in 2009."
Brewers Bar compared the trade to Doug Melvin trading candy for water.
MLB Notebook criticized the Brewers for unloading young talent.
Big League Stew says the Padres must have made this move for PR reasons.
Tyler Maas of Bugs and Cranks says Tony Gwynn will get many more opportunities to ruin the Padres' playoff chances.
Quevedo at the Buffet is patting themselves on the back for helping get Gwynn on his way.
Chuckie Hacks says none of us would care if Gwynn's name was Jim Smith.

Gerut is expected to join the Brewers today. While no official announcement has been made, it's expected he'll take the place of Chris Duffy, who will be designated for assignment. He'll join the team along with R.J. Swindle, who was called up yesterday when Hernan Iribarren was sent back down. Having the DH for this weekend's series in Minnesota eliminated some of the need for bench flexibility, but the Twins' lefty-heavy lineup created the need for another situational lefty.

Interleague play will mean an increase in playing time for Mat Gamel, who is expected to DH all three games in Minnesota. Gamel doesn't doesn't seem to know what the team has in store for him once interleague play is over, but is keeping a good attitude about it.

It's possible Gamel will be seeing more time at third base. Bill Hall went 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts and grounded into a double play against Roy Oswalt last night in what might have been his last chance to prove he can hit right-handed pitching.

There appears to be a good sized community (or at least a loud community) of people in baseball who think Ryan Braun should be hit by pitches, but what about Corey Hart? Plunk Everyone lists Hart among the most likely targets with 0 HBP in 2009.

We have good news on the farm today as Taylor Green, ranked #8 in our Community Prospect Rankings, has finished his rehab assignment in Wisconsin and is headed to Huntsville. Green hit .400/.538/.600 in 20 ABs for the Rattlers.

Speaking of rehab assignments, David Riske is expected to head to Arizona to start his, according to Gord Ash's Twitter. Ash also reports Rickie Weeks is returning to Milwaukee to work with Brewer trainers. (Thanks to Aaron for the heads up.)

The Brewers continue to gain ground in power rankings: Yahoo has them at #6, up from 10 last week.

Around the league:

Astros: Designated infielder Jason Smith for assignment.
Rangers: Placed Vicente Padilla on the DL with a strained deltoid muscle. (h/t Baseball Musings)

The Brewers may not be interested in trading MLB ready pitching for Mark DeRosa, but it appears someone will be: MLB Trade rumors suggests both the Mets and A's as potential fits.

Someone could write a book about Brooks Kieschnick entitled "Anatomy of a Fan Favorite." Brooks sat down for an interview with Brewerfan.net, where topics discussed included his love for Milwaukee and dislike of the Cubs.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Randall Simon. If you're passing through Fargo today, you might see Simon playing for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and you might hear him talk about getting blackballed for clubbing a sausage.

Do baseballs really fly out of Minute Maid Park, or can we blame Jeff Suppan? Balking Traditionalism has the answer.

The blackout issue isn't getting resolved after all. A vote on the matter was tabled at the owners' meetings again this week, meaning the issue likely won't be resolved this season.

Oh, and apparently San Diego is the place to go if you want to get devirginized to fresh squeezed tangerine juice.

Drink up.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:50:57 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Reds' SS Paul Janish prepares to throw much harder than Jeff Suppan.

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Some things to read while programming a robot to carry pineapple.

Karma or coincidence? Before last night's game, Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer was one of many to mention the fact that the Reds were leading the NL in team ERA. A few short hours later, both of the following were true:

Bronson Arroyo was the first pitcher since 1900 to allow nine runs while recording three or fewer outs twice in his career. (Thanks to TheJay for the tip.)
Shortstop Paul Janish, the Reds' starting shortstop, pitched the ninth.

Janish, though, hit 92 on the gun and struck out two Brewers while allowing five runs in the inning.

J.J. Hardy was last night's MVP, going 2-for-4 with a three run home run and a walk. He's raised his batting average from .156 to .209 in the four games since he returned from his break over the weekend. FakeTeams says he's due for a correction after posting a .172 BABIP in April.

Last night's blowout gave the Brewers an opportunity to give Jason Kendall a few innings off and let Carlos Corporan make his major league debut. Corporan responded by picking up his first MLB hit and run. Cute Sports has the congratulatory post. Chuckie Hacks says Brad Nelson is next. Tyler Maas of Bugs and Cranks is trying to figure out why he's still behind Nelson, who grounded into a double play last night to extend his hitless streak to 19 at bats.

Bill Hall was the only Brewer position player who did not appear in last night's game. Hall was scheduled to start but was held out due to rainy conditions. It's supposed to rain again today and tonight, but Hall wants to play anyway.

After Braden Looper takes on the Reds tonight, the Brewers will open a three game series with the Cubs, with Randy Wells officially announced as the starting pitcher for game one. He'll face Dave Bush, who hits batters more often than all but eleven pitchers in baseball.

Today's minor league notes are both Timber Rattler related: Baseball America has a story on Brett Lawrie, who is playing very well in the Midwest League despite being the youngest player on the Rattlers. If seeing Lawrie isn't enough to get you to go to Fox Cities Stadium, perhaps Jim Gantner and Ken Sanders can change your mind.

If you don't Twitter, this paragraph is irrelevant. But if you do Twitter, you may be interested in the Twitter pages of Gord Ash, Tom H. and The Official Site. And, of course, you should also be following Brew Crew Ball, but you knew that, right?

MLB FanHouse is starting to see the light and has moved the Brewers up from 25 to 15 in their most recent power rankings.

Around the league:

Astros: Designated infielder Jason Smith for assignment.
D-Backs: Placed Tony Clark on the DL with a wrist injury.
Mets: Placed Oliver Perez on the DL with patella tendinitis in his right knee.

Former Brewer and Astro Sean Berry, now working as hitting coach for the Astros, has been diagnosed with kidney cancer. (h/t FanShot). Thankfully, the cancer is in his kidney and was detected early, meaning doctors may be able to remove it with relatively minor procedures. Best wishes to Sean for a speedy recovery.

Oh, and the Nationals might be the worst team ever to have every position player above average.

Drink up.

Former Royals on Opening Day

royalsreview — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:41:33 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

To Live and Die in LA. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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Royals fans may have had to wait an extra twenty four hours for the first pitch of the season, but that didn't mean a few of our old favorites weren't involved in the pageantry of Opening Day.

Carlos Beltran went 1-4 (single) and was charged with an error. It seems like he was never a Royal...
Glendon Rusch pitched two innings for the Rockies and played a large role in their loss to Arizona.
Billy Buckner pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings for Arizona. Why couldn't Dayton have realized he was from Georgia before it was too late?
Dougie had a pinch-hit strikeout for the Dodgers. Joe Torre's class and grace was unaffected.
Joey Gathright played some late game defense for the Cubs, although Pinella's handling of the move was a little weird.
Jason Smith -- love his pop off the bench -- grounded out to end the Cubs-Astros game, killing a minor rally.
Mike Sweeney went 0-4 for the Mariners in their Minnesotan triumph. He did give Ken Griffey one heckuva high-five though.
Mark Ellis (partial credit) went 0-3 against the Angels.
Information on Ken Harvey, Terrence Long, Michael Tucker, Calvin Pickering, David Howard and Joe Vitiello was not available at press time.

So, your pitching totals are 3.1 innings (2 runs allowed) and 1-13 at the plate, with a single and no walks.

The legacy continues.

No No-No, But Zambrano Aces Houston: Cubs 4, Astros 2

Al — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:08:27 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

At last, Carlos Zambrano has arrived as an Opening Day pitcher. Could this be the portent to a banner year for Z? (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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Carlos Zambrano, you done growed up.

And as a Cubs fan, I couldn't be prouder to think that maybe, just maybe, Z has, at nearly age 28, matured enough to be that #1 starter that we've been wanting him to be ever since he burst onto the major league scene in 2003.

The Cubs are already a game ahead of last year's pace; last year they lost their first two, but they're 1-0 after a convincing 4-2 win over the Astros in front of a Juice Box record crowd of 43,827, many of whom were loudly audible on the ESPN2 telecast rooting for the boys in blue.

Everything worked right today. Z threw six-plus innings, 97 pitches (59 strikes) before running out of gas in the seventh. Aaron Heilman, Neal Cotts and Carlos Marmol did their jobs setting up Kevin Gregg, who posted his first Cubs save. Granted, he allowed a run, but also, that run wasn't really his fault. After Milton Bradley gave Cub Nation heart failure by appearing to give himself an ankle sprain running across first base in the top of the 8th, I was surprised to see him still out there in the 9th inning. Joey Gathright moved into CF to replace Kosuke Fukudome -- but Fukudome, despite his offensive struggles, is still a plus right fielder. Why wouldn't you move Fukudome to RF and pull Bradley, especially when there might be an injury concern?

Bradley made a valiant effort on Geoff Blum's sinking line drive but couldn't come up with it. That put runners on first and third with nobody out, and a run scored on a sac fly, but Gregg bore down and retired Michael Bourn and ex-Cub Jason Smith (yes, ex-Cub, two games in 2001 before being shipped to Tampa Bay as the PTBNL in the Fred McGriff deal) to end it.

Everything worked right: Alfonso Soriano hit his 50th career leadoff homer... and was on pace for an infinite number of homers before he made an out in his second at-bat. Aramis Ramirez also homered and in so doing, reached two milestones: it was the 250th homer of his career (putting him alone in 192nd place on the all-time list), and 174th as a Cub, which ties him with Andre Dawson for 10th place on the all-time Cub list. If Aramis hits 33 or more homers this year -- and he's averaged 32 in his five full years as a Cub -- he will have 206, which would put him past Bill Nicholson and into 7th place on the list. That would trail only Sammy Sosa, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg and Gabby Hartnett. Pretty good company for A-Ram.

The Cubs also manufactured a run in the 4th on a Little Babe Ruth double, a groundout and a sacrifice fly and -- wait for it -- Micah Hoffpauir had a really nice pinch-hit AB in the 9th and drove in a run. If he can produce like that all year, I'll be happy to say I was wrong about him.

This isn't the first time I have watched a road opener from Arizona -- I saw the 2004 opener against the Reds on TV from here (via WGN), and was at the 2005 opener here against the Diamondbacks, the one where Z had a meltdown on the mound and had to be yanked one out short of qualifying for a win (the Cubs were leading 9-3 at the time). So it was strange to share in that out-of-town experience that a lot of you have, watching the game via ESPN. Dave O'Brien and Rick Sutcliffe did their usual good job; I like Sutcliffe and since he's a former Cub, he knows a lot about our team. But I have a few words for ESPN's producers:

Hey. Guys. PSST. The 100-year thing? We know. WE KNOW. WE FREAKING KNOW. Can you guys knock it off now?

At least they waited till the sixth inning today.

But the story of the game was Z. It was his first Opening Day victory in five tries (though he threw well in the 2008 opener and got no decision). Here's hoping he keep his head on straight, his shoulder healthy, and his pitches down all year... and maybe we have that ace we've been dreaming of.

Site notes: normally, I'll post recaps for night games the morning after, but since I'm still on Arizona time and today's game ended fairly early, thought I'd post this one tonight and let you get an early start on it. Also, I was remiss in not posting the MLB.com Gameday link on the pregame thread, which I have been doing since last year. It'll return tomorrow.

Astros' 25 Man Roster: Who's going up, who's sliding down

HighLeveragePerformer — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:00:12 -0000

Going into the spring, we knew that a majority of this team was set in stone:

the bullpen
the front four starters in the rotation
the five outfielders
starting infield

In the past few weeks some things have changed that have caused the Astros to re-evaluate their roster heading into their April 6th opening day game against Chicago. Pudge Rodriguez was signed to a one year contract, most likely sliding JR Towles down to AAA. Luckily, Lou Palmisano was not taken back by Milwaukee, which allowed the Astros to keep keep him as a minor leaguer. Catcher depth is never a bad thing.

Aaron Boone had to have heart surgery, opening up a roster spot for a platoon partner with Geoff Blum. Chris Johnson is an option, but he would not be an ideal platoonmate with Blum, since both hit best against right handed pitchers. Jeff Baker, Juan Uribe and Jeff Keppinger are but a few names that have been tossed around as potential options at the hot corner. Internally, Chris Johnson seems to be our best, and only real option. Again, although he may be on the opening day roster, it doesn't mean that he will be successful immediately.

The fifth starter's slot was Brandon Backe's to lose, and as a result of injury and poor performance, Backe slides out. Going up is most likely Russ Ortiz. A non roster invitee, Ortiz has been impressive, no more so than in his last start against the Reds, a six inning, one hit, no run performance. Jose Capellan is another NRI, but after a shaky start against the Blue Jays, I'd expect him to be on the Express roster when Spring Training breaks.

As for our back up middle infielder, the Astros brought in a plethora of guys with plenty of warts. Whether it be age (David Newhan, Matt Kata, Jason Smith) or lack of a solid bat (Tommy Manzella and Edwin Maysonet), or lack of defensive skills (Drew Sutton).

It all depends on what Cecil Cooper is looking for. If he wants someone who can come in and hit well, I'd argue that Sutton is his best bet. Jason Smith has hit well in the spring, but he is a journey man and has never shown the ability to perform on this level. Sutton's pedigree is above average, and if given the opportunity to get ABs on a consistent basis, he could become a very serviceable major league hitter. This won't happen right off the bat, as he has been sent back to AAA. Smith's defense is suspect, and Kata, Newhan and Manzella have not performed well enough to earn a spot on the ML roster.

That leaves Edwin Maysonet, who has played well defensively and recently contributed to the offensive cause by knocking two home runs off of Toronto ace Roy Halladay.

Ortiz looks like a winner, Towles goes back down...for now

So where does that leave us? Here's what I think our 25 man roster will be heading into the regular season:

Catchers (2): Ivan Rodriguez, Humberto Quintero

Infielders (6): Lance Berkman, Kazuo Matsui, Miguel Tejada, Geoff Blum, Edwin Maysonet, Third Baseman- my vote goes to Jeff Baker if Colorado releases him

Outfielders (5): Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Jason Michaels, Darin Erstad

Starting Pitching Rotation (5): Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Mike Hampton, Brian Moehler, Russ Ortiz

Relief Pitchers (7): Tim Byrdak, Chris Sampson, Doug Brocail, Jose Valverde, LaTroy Hawkins, Wesley Wright, Geoff Geary

This leaves us with nice depth in AAA. Players such as Alberto Arias, Jose Capellan, Bud Norris, Drew Sutton, Brian Bogusevic and Chris Johnson will gain valuable experience while giving the Astros options should injuries/poor performance occur.

Edwin Maysonet