Astros general manager Dana Brown said there have been some preliminary talks about the composition of their playoff roster, but those decisions won't be made until they know they're in the playoffs and know who they're playing. Houston entered play Saturday needing one win to clinch an American League playoff spot and only one game behind the Rangers for the AL West lead, and holding the tiebreaker over Texas. "We got some discussions about the taxi squad and things like that, but we have not gotten deep into the playoff roster discussions," Brown said Friday. "At some point soon, we will. … "It's probably going to be similar to what we have now. We'll talk to [pitching coach] Josh [Miller] and see his thought process with the pitchers and the arms. At the end of the day, it will be a full discussion amongst the front office and coaching staff." Here's a look at how the Astros could configure their 26-man playoff roster, keeping in mind the roster can be changed following each playoff series: |
Starting pitchers (4): Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, J.P. France The Astros will only need three starters in a Wild Card Series and four in a Division Series. Verlander and Valdez are locks, and France has pitched better than fellow rookie Hunter Brown in the second half. Javier remains the biggest wild card, but still appears to be their third-best starter at this point. Relief pitchers (9): Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Kendall Graveman, Phil Maton, Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, Ryne Stanek, José Urquidy, Brown The Astros have a clear-cut, top-six group of relief pitchers in Pressly, Abreu, Graveman, Maton, Montero and Neris. That leaves two bullpen spots, or three if they carry 13 pitchers. Urquidy and Brown can provide length out of the bullpen, but the Astros may not need two long relievers in a short series unless they want to piggyback them with France. If Baker prefers a lefty, it comes at the expense of Stanek or Urquidy. Lefty Bennett Sousa has done a nice job in the bullpen in September, but since he was acquired after Sept. 1, he's not eligible for the playoff roster. The other lefty options are Parker Mushinski and Matt Gage. Catchers (2): Martín Maldonado, Yainer Diaz There doesn't appear to be a scenario in which the Astros would carry three catchers. Diaz could start at designated hitter on days Maldonado catches and Alvarez is in left field. |
Infielders (6): José Abreu, Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña, Alex Bregman, Mauricio Dubón, Grae Kessinger The Astros typically don't go very deep into their bench during the postseason with Abreu, Altuve, Pena and Bregman likely to play almost every inning. Dubón figures to get some starts in center field with Verlander on the mound and would be the first right-handed option off the bench. Kessinger would be a steady and versatile hand off the bench defensively, but you could make an argument for Corey Julks as the last bench player. |
Outfielders (5): Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Chas McCormick, Michael Brantley, Jake Meyers Even if Brantley doesn't start every game, his bat off the bench from the left side would be a huge weapon. Meyers would be available to pinch-run and come in as a defensive replacement late in games. |
|
|
LOPERFIDO, ARRIGHETTI HONORED |
The Astros' player development department named right-hander Spencer Arrighetti as the team's Minor League Pitcher of the Year and infielder/outfielder Joey Loperfido as the Minor League Player of the Year. Arrighetti is the team's No. 3-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, and Loperfido is No. 6. "These are two pillars of the future for us and we feel good about both," Brown said. "I'm not sure they'll make the club out of Spring Training, but they'll get a good look and get around the boys a little bit and see what kind of start they get off to and see what they show us." Arrighetti, 23, went 9-7 with a 4.40 ERA in 28 appearances, including 21 starts, between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land this season. He had 141 strikeouts, a 1.25 WHIP, a .217 opponent batting average and ranked third in strikeouts and fourth in opponent's batting average in the Astros' Minor League system this season. |
Loperfido, 24, slashed .278/.370/.510 with 79 runs, 27 doubles, three triples, 25 home runs, 78 RBIs, 65 walks and 27 stolen bases in 124 games between Single-A Asheville, Corpus Christi and Sugar Land. Loperfido was also a postseason All-Star in the Texas League. During his time in the Texas League from April 20-Aug. 12, he ranked second in total bases (172) and extra-base hits (40), third in slugging percentage (.548) and home runs (19), fourth in OPS (.940) and sixth in hits (93). |
The Astros and NBA's Houston Rockets announced Friday they are acquiring the regional sports network, AT&T SportsNet Southwest, from Warner Bros. Discovery. The network will relaunch as Space City Home Network (SCHN) on Tuesday, though Astros games won't air on the network until next year. What should Astros fans know? The new network will air on the same channels they currently utilize, and it will have no impact on the team's current television announcers. The network will be owned by the Rockets and Astros going forward and will operate as a joint venture of the two organizations. "We are excited to partner with the Rockets and launch the new home for Astros and Rockets coverage with Space City Home Network," Astros senior vice president and general counsel Giles Kibbe said in a statement. "Together with the Rockets, we've worked hard to ensure that Space City Home Network will bring you the same Astros and Rockets sports coverage from the faces and voices you know and love. We look forward to this new chapter and remain committed to delivering great broadcasts for the best fans in baseball." |
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
To subscribe to Astros Beat, visit this page and mark "Astros Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Astros or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment