Pena has had enough hot streaks (some very long and in important spots) that he has shown he belongs in this league and can be a good (probably never very good) hitter.
I am happy with Pena just as he is but an improvement in consistency would be welcome.
FTR I think the way he did everything with the bat last year (power, reduced Ks, better vs breaking balls, staying inside the zone) but never all at the same time is the prelude to a good, more consistent season as he puts it all together.
But it will always be his glove that makes him special and keeps him in this league.
Even if he never improves from right now as a hitter or player I think he is a very good #9 hitter and starting SS.
I can assure you that virtually every team, even one’s with bigger problems than the Astros at scoring runs, would take Dubon or his like in a heartbeat. Players like him do not come along very often and personally, I think the Astros were very lucky to get him. He is not the problem in the lineup or on the bench.
I don’t think Peña’s problem is just that he needs to be parked in the 2 hole and left alone.
We have 2 seasons and 2 postseasons worth of data. And it’s the baseball definition of a mixed bag.
He’s got a shit-ton of work to do in 2024 to avoid being sucked into the all- glove/no-bat club.
My personal uneducated assessment is that in addition to pitch recognition (admittedly an extremely tough task) he has mechanical issues that stem from him getting big with the swing when he should stay compact.
You need to learn to let your preconceived notions of players go and evaluate what they are presently. You’ve done this for a long time with Pedro Leon, and you are now doing it with Dubón. I remember in September in the series in Arlington against the Rangers you were incredulous that Dusty continued to start Dubón. It took me posting his slash line for the previous 30 games compared to Meyers and his very good slash line ( > 800 OPS) vs LHP to convince you. Even today, you would still pencil in Jake Meyers in the lineup over Dubón after what both did last season. That’s crazy.
It is also crazy that you want Grae Kessinger to be the guy called on as Peña’s backup, not Dubón. Mauricio Dubón had an elite utility player season last year and legitimately won a Gold Glove for his efforts. He should be playing ahead of Grae Kessinger to start this season. If Dubón slumps and Kessinger plays great that can change.
You are right that putting Peña in the two hole wouldn’t solve his fundamental issues at the plate. The only reason some of us suggested it here is if you sandwich him between Altuve and Alvarez, he will see more fastballs in the zone compared to hitting in front of Martin Maldonado. That way he can at least be a positive offensively. Someone like Michael Brantley can hit anywhere in a lineup and be productive. Hitting Peña in front of Maldonado only amplified his lack of plate discipline and made it more likely he would get himself out.
Being roadkill at home would be #1 for me, and nobody they acquire can meaningfully affect that (time machine-ing in Jim Edmonds to start in CF wouldn’t hurt, though)
Both the Astros struggles at home and versus right-handed pitching are things that can easily reverse themselves in 2024. Players and teams have weird seasons. Replacing Maldy’s bat with Diaz’s should help with both.
I was very hopeful of Pedro Leon for a long time because of his potential, but he simply has not figured how to overcome his K issue and raise his game to MLB level.
I just don’t see any potential in Dubon. He is a perfectly good player, and the kind that winning teams need but he is limited to a very good defender and solid baserunner who has below average power and doesn’t walk but a good BA.
If he is starting then its not a problem, but could always be an opportunity to improve that position.
Mauricio Dubón works with the Astros’ hitting coaches and has a career-best offensive season where he carried the team offensively for a stretch when they were hammered by injuries, but he still can’t improve. It doesn’t make sense.
I completely agree. Peña needs to go to work on becoming a complete hitter so he doesn’t need a certain lineup spot to be productive. That means improving his plate discipline and swing mechanics.
I think Dusty did a huge disservice to both Meyers and Diaz last year (and Chas quite a bit as well) by playing Julks, Dubon, and Maldy too much and not giving them the change to take the next step.
In Diaz I think it hurt the 2023 Astros but not him.
As for Meyers, I think he has Chas-like potential and was hoping he would be given more playing time to break thtough.
Looking at the total year he made great improvements from 2021 (I don’t look at 2022 as I don’t think he was healthy). I think he was a bit unlucky.