Interestingly, coincides with Connor Huff’s promotion to AGM (replacing Andrew Ball):
Have a question for those of you that have played before. I read this in The Athletic:
Most of Diaz’s defensive metrics declined last season while his free-swinging approach became a microcosm of the Astros’ offensive shortcomings. Diaz had the highest swing rate of any qualified American League hitter and chased 44.3 percent of the time. If Brown is intent on remaking the Astros’ lineup this winter, Diaz has the sort of profile that seems expendable.
…which got me thinking. From watching him, he appears to have good, MLB-caliber bat speed. No big holes in his swing. And, his misses appear to be from pitchers taking advantage of an over aggressive approach vs. a bad eye. Wouldn’t it make sense to work with him all winter to tweak his swing rather than just get rid of him via a trade?
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Maybe they already tried that (he’s had this profile for a while) and have decided it can’t be changed. But if he can’t improve his discipline, he’s not going to keep his job solely because of his remarkable (in)ability to block pitches.
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My uninformed guess is Buffa’s departure and Huff’s promotion are unrelated. Huff’s background makes it look like he’s on the business-operational side (contracts, payroll, roster management) but I don’t think much has been reported on his role. Buffa was pure baseball.
I haven’t played, but I’ve been around a lot of coaches and hitting coaches over the years with my son making his way up into high school ball.
Most of the coaches that I respect have told my son to ask himself the following questions regarding various ABs before he even thinks about looking at his swing mechanics. They are as follows:
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did I swing at a good pitch?
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was I on time?
I’m guessing that Yainer would answer “no” to question number one most of the time.
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My comment, and I could’ve made it more clearly, was that the timing of the two unrelated moves coinciding with one another is interesting. Reckon that’s bound to happen with so much expected upheaval in the organization this offseason.
Full agreement that losing Buffa is huge. By itself, the institutional knowledge he accumulated over the last eight years is massive. Really keen to see who takes his place.
Some guys, no matter who is coaching or what is being coached, are just going to be super aggressive hitters. Yainer seems like one of those to me. He can still be productive even his current state but I think he probably is what he is at this point.
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I’m sure in a better lineup Yainer would get more pitches in the zone.
But for now any pitcher who delivers an offering in the same area code hasn’t been paying attention.
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I would have said the same about Pena last offseason
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Is it possible Yainer figures it out? Of course!
Am I personally confident he will? No.
Should you listen to me? No.
I wouldn’t have felt the same about JP last offseason. Everything I’ve witnessed from watching JP is that he wants to learn and is willing to put aside whatever parts of his ego that he needs to in order to become what he obviously has visualized in his head.
When I watch Yainer I get very little of that.
I do teach for a living and most of my students fall in a similar age range. So it’s entirely possible I’m lumping him with similar students and their demeanor that I’ve had in the past.
I really hope Yainer can figure it out though. I would love nothing more than to be wrong about him.
If he’s traded this offseason I will shed zero tears and happily move along. (ETA: as long as the return is great otherwise keep him)
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They will desperately need to add a reliable starter to go along with Hunter Brown, say what you will about Framber, he gave you a tom of innings. They can do that by signing somebody like Ranger Suarez or Cease, or they can trade a Diaz to bring one in. I wouldn’t particularly want them to do a prospect trade with Yainer but if the return is a high end one then fine. You can find okish catchers for cheap, or bring back Caratini as the main backstop
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One of the club’s best prospects is Walker Janek, a catcher, 1st round pick '24. He seems to be progressing nicely but I think best case is that he be ready by 2027.
Sign Caratini to another 2 year deal. He starts in 26 and if Janek is ready they share time in 27. Caratini is 32, perfect age to be a stopgap, even though he’s been better than that in Houston
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Janek started off smoking hot at the plate in the AFL, then has cooled off. Surprisingly, given his m.o, he’s struggled a bit behind the plate. I’m assuming he’ll start in AA next year, but I dunno. Jacob Sullivan, OF, has been pretty good too.
Our pitchers (Brito and Hicks, especially) have been turning some heads as well.
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We all love Caratini probably in no small part that his workload is appropriate.
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Dubon wins the utility GG
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Hunter Brown named a finalist for Cy Young (with Chrochet and Skubal), ensuring the Astros will get a supplemental pick following the first round.
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Very cool for Hunter, and well deserved.
The pick is huge for the Astros. A chance to take a big swing on future talent or a way to soften the blow of adding another big free agent.
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Depending on what happens with Framber, Stros could have up to 5? picks in the top 100 next draft
If you rebuild it they will come.
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