Corey Julks gives me that Teoscar vibe. All he does is rake and somehow Astro management doesn’t see it.
I’m fairly certain that Astro management knows all and sees all about Corey Julks.
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Only you see things like that, which makes you great.
They do see it, and he has been transferred to groundskeeping.
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Jugador of the dos herramientas?
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I know he’d played a little 2B towards the end of last season and thought he (along with Hensley) would get some consideration to hold down the fort there after Altuve’s injury. That said, I don’t think he’s played one spring game there since the injury happened so not surprisingly, my speculation was unfounded.
Side note: I was pretty surprised he was not taken in the Rule 5 Draft.
I like Julks too, and I don’t think the prospect rankings reflect the growth he’s had since he spent a few weeks at the development complex in the middle of his 2021 AA season re-tooling his swing for more power. I think he’s got a decent shot at making an impact on a major-league roster.
But I also think it’s rational to not expect to see him on the Astros roster this year. His AAA numbers look great in a vacuum (.270/.351/.503), but this ends up being only a bit above average for the PCL (a 108 wRC+). Given historic concerns about his power, once could reasonably be hesitant to buy into that SLG, unless you can tease out how much of that is legit power and how much is due to playing games in some high-altitude ballparks.
Practically speaking, there’s not a ton of room in the corner outfield positions on the major league roster (he’s not going to be displacing Alvarez, Tucker, or Brantley). He’s also not on the 40-man. And Justin Dirden is likely ahead of him on the call-up sheet, since he’s been absolutely on fire lately, is a lefty bat, and can play a better center field.
So while I could see Julks getting a cup of coffee toward the end of the season, if he continues playing well, I could easily see him being a key part of a mid-season trade package instead.
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Julks got some PT at 3B and not quite terrible there, but I do not expect him at 2B except as a (failed) experiment.
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The Astros really could use some infield-outfield balance in the upper minors.
With Julkes, and Dirden looking like guys who are ready to step in if needed short term, Leon possibly 1/2 a season away, and Gilbert and Melton expected to move up quickly it would be nice to trade away one or two of those guys for equivalent level infielders.
It would be nice, but straight prospect for prospect trades are pretty rare.
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I know you really like him, but I highly doubt that Leon is possibly half a season away.
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A guy can hope.
Truth is, he has lost about 3 years of development due to defection, pandemic, and injury.
He is a 25 year old with 22 year old level of experience.
He already has MLB level speed, glove, and arm. His K rate is the only thing holding him back besides experience.
Last year in AAA he dropped his K rate from 30.6% down to 28.8%.
If he plays every day in AAA till the all star break and drops his K rate the same 1.8% (down to 27%) then he has 1 1/2 full seasons in AAA under his belt and could easily be on the roster the 2nd half.
Now due to roster construction there may not be a spot for him.
Afterall, Meyers was a team darling the second half of 2021 with a 30.7% K rate and Leon has much higher ceiling (although admittedly a much lower floor)
We may need Julks at 3B when the next payroll purge happens to remaining members of the 2017 crew.
I’ve missed having a Marisnick/Siri on the roster. I hope he turns out better, but that floor would be absolutely ok with me.
Please tell me my sarc-o-meter is broken and this is a joke.
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I think Siri and Marisnick are very good comps for him.
Marisnick had 30.0% K yet still was able to average 3.2 bWAR per 500 PA.
Siri had 35.9% K rate as an Astro and still had 1.0 bWAR in 196 PA or 2.55 bWAR per 500 PA.
If Leon can keep his K rate under 30% he should still average 2.5 bWAR per 500 PA just because of his defense, baserunning, and power.
That is a very good player on a team with Alvarez, Tucker, Abreu, Altuve, Bregman, and Pena. Especially if he can be passable at 6 positions.
Of course McCormick and ( healthy) Meyers project to 2.5 bWAR also.
I don’t know. That sounds like a huge if from a guy who’s struck out a metric shit ton throughout his minor league career while also showing a maddening inability to make consistent contact.
(Which also sounds a hell of a lot like Marisnick.)
At this point, I view him as behind Dirden and in serious danger of losing ground to Melton and Gilbert this season.
As always, my proverbial two cents - a.k.a. an opinion that means sweet fuck all.
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Don’t forget Barber. And even Barefoot, who I think is a breakout candidate this year.
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I disagree.
He has K’d too much. That is not in doubt. But his rate is not too far off from being viable and he is still young and improving.
2021: 30.6% K
2022: 28.8% K
George Springer’s final full minor league season: 27.3% K.
Giancarlo Stanton had 28.3% his next to last full minor league season and dropped it to 26.1% his last.
If Leon can just cut 8 strikeouts ( in the same number of PA) he is at 27.2%.
His BB% is 14.1% which already matches Springer’s.
Furthermore the scouting reports I have read say that his Ks are not as much from swinging and missing, but from choosing not to swing at pitcher’s pitches.
If just 8 of his looking strikeouts last year were called balls and he walked we would be talking about how he is the next George Springer but with a better glove and arm
I agree that Leon needs to improve his strikeout percentage. I do not agree that the amount he needs to improve should be difficult.
He should send you a check monthly for PR. I want him to make it too, but other OF candidates seem to be better right now. He needs to show marked improvement immediately, imo.
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