Then what does Singleton look like?
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AAAA player
I suspect that that will be the most polite and restrained answer to that question that we will see here.
I was stuck last night when Singleton was up with the bases loaded and they mentioned his history with the bases loaded that included one grand slam - hit in 2014. I thought how cool it would be if he had Grand Slams a decade apart. Alas, it didnāt happen.
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If Loperfido keeps hitting in AAA, I canāt imagine him not getting the call to replace Singleton in the near future. Singleton was a nice story last year, but heās just not good enough to be on an MLB roster.
Heās not good enough to be a backup for the Aās, much less a playoff contender.
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Itās a small sample size, but as Duman pointed out in the Bus Ride Loperfido had 10 strikeouts in his first 21 ABās (admittedly, six of them came in one game).
Heās definitely an intriguing prospect, though, and I will be ecstatic if/when he replaces Singleton.
Thatās why I said Singleton should not be on a MLB roster.
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Loperfido certainly has development to do, but the Astros need decent options behind Jose Abreu unless Abreu finds his form from the end of last season and the postseason. If Loperfido keeps hitting in AAA, and Abreu doesnāt dramatically improve, I canāt imagine Loperfido not getting the call in the near future.
I am very excited about Loperfidoās future.
But even in his āgreatā spring, he Kād 32% of his PAs.
last year his K rate jumped from 22% in AA to 33% in AAA.
He needs more time in AAA and then probably some adjustment time in MLB also.
Remember that Singleton KILLED AAA last year (1.138 OPS for Sugar Land) and only had a 23% K rate.
AAA numbers donāt always translate
And even great players sometimes need adjustment time and MLB PAs before they are good (Kyle Tucker, anyone)
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I really think the front office was hoping for Cabbage to push Singleton. That didnāt happen this spring. So far in SL, he is 2 for 16 with no extra base hits. He has walked 6 times and stolen 4 basesā¦ but has Kād 10 times.
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IMO Loperfido needs to play every day. I donāt see that happening in Houston at this time.
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Did Coleman go down for Diaz?
Yes
Brandon Belt is sitting out there unsignedā¦
Would he have any interest in Houston on a 1-year deal as a Singleton replacement & quasi-platoon with Abreu?
Would the Astros have any interest? Does this idea make any sense?
The thing I donāt like about Belt is heās a strikeout machine. He struck out 41% of the time last year. So heās not an option for me.
One player I like, whom I mentioned here in the offseason and heās still unsigned, is Donovan Solano. No real power. Just 5 home runs last year for the Twins, but he plays first and third and is a strong bat to ball guy. Hit .282 last year for Minnesota and is a career .279 hitter with a 20% strikeout rate. Heās a much better bench option than Singleton and has the ability to play third.
I donāt understand why heās sitting at home, but there must be a reason?? He is older at age 36 but his numbers last year were more than respectable. The Twins didnāt resign him because they were reducing payroll.
But the 26th guy on the bench isnāt the problem with this team. The star players do not hit when needed and the bullpen is a dumpster fire.
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The problem isnāt the 26th guy, itās the cleanup hitter. If he doesnāt produce, waive 80 wins goodbye. Iām tired of the arguments that āPlayer X is just a slow starterā. I really donāt want to have to watch this team be 15-43 on June 1st.
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āPlayer Xā is not making much of a case for an extension.
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No, heās not. I think it was on the Apple broadcast during the Yankees series where Rosenthal said he didnāt think there was any way he doesnāt make it to free agency. I canāt remember now if it was WAR or another stat, but Rosenthal pointed out that he is one of the top 10 players in the game over whatever period he was referring. The implication being he thinks heās in line for a big pay day.
Heās great defensively. No one can dispute that. If heās not over there, itās going to be darn near impossible to replicate what he does there. And we donāt have a major league ready player at that position. But at the plate, heās an enigma for me, and overall, just not worth what I think heās gonna want. On paper his AAV is $20M and I wouldnāt go a penny over that with the next offer. Anything more than 5 @ $100M is an overpay for me because I think Iād rather pay Tucker. I advocated trading him before last season on here and wasnāt well received. Heās loved here and I get it. But if this appears to still be a middling or worse team by mid May and heās performing better, Iād move him for at least one if not two major league ready piecesā¦.if I could get that.
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