Kuzul

It is being reported in the Houston media that the Houston Astros have officially named right-handed pitcher Brett Myers as their Opening Day starter against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Myers came to the Astros via a one-year deal on January 8, 2010. After the 2009 World Series, he filed for free agency after the Phillies informed him that they would not be pursuing a new contract with him.

He agreed to a two-year extension on his contract on August 1, 2010, with a club option for the 2013 season.

During the 2010 season, Myers was 14-8 (.636) with a 3.14 ERA. He appeared in 33 games while striking out 180 batters and walking 66.

In 2011 Grapefruit League action, he has appeared in four games with a 0-1 record and a 9.00 ERA. He has pitched 13 innings, giving up 13 runs on 21 hits and one home run. He has walked three and struck out seven.

In his Opening Day appearance in Philadelphia, he will be facing his former team and defending Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay.

The question all spring training has been who would start for the Astros on Opening Day. The majority of those “in-the-know” or those “with opinions” say that it would be either Myers or Wandy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez most likely will be the Astros’ No. 2 starter with J.A. Harp and Bud Norris vying for the No. 3 and No. 4 spots.

Myers has had controversy in the past, with the 2006 wife-punching incident in Boston, which ended with the case being dismissed.

There have been no further incidents involving Myers, but it would not be surprising to see hostility toward him on Opening Day.

He will surely face an unfriendly crowd in Philadelphia, and as anyone who follows baseball knows, Philadelphia fans can be tough on former players.

Hopefully, he can get past that and come on strong for the Astros. Heaven knows the Astros need all the help they can get this season. Myers can either be part of the solution or part of the problem.

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If spring training is any indication how the season will go, the Astros will most likely be sellers come trade deadline time.

The Astros have given up 108 runs in 17 games, 20 more runs than the next closest team in the Grapefruit League. They are sitting currently in last place with a record of 5-12.

Even though they have struggled, they do have some players who could be attractive to teams and could help them make a push for the playoffs in 2011. Now, I don’t expect all these players to be traded, but I think the Astros would be willing to move them if the price is right.

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The Astros are about two weeks into spring training and played their first game yesterday. I am sure no one wanted to start off the 2011 season like they did, falling to the Atlanta Braves 13-3.

However, after only nine innings of real baseball and a handful of practices, here are 10 things that we have already learned about this team.

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The New York Yankees were probably very disappointed this week to hear that Andy Pettitte has decided to retire instead of return for another season with the Bronx Bombers. Now heading into spring training this leaves two big holes in their starting rotation that will most likely be filled by either Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia.

As the season progresses, the Yankees may start looking outside the organization to fill these pitcher spots if the pitchers struggle. One pitcher they may consider is Brett Myers of the Houston Astros. Myers had a strong year in 2010 for the Astros and was the best pitcher on that staff after Oswalt was traded. If the Astros start off slow and fall out of the race early, Brett Myers may be a player that they look to move in 2011 and the Yankees make sense to be a team that Myers ends up with.

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This upcoming season for Astros pitchers will be an interesting one for fantasy owners. With Brett Myers’ 2010 success, a strong second half from Wandy Rodriguez, and J.A. Happ’s potential, Houston has a chance to showcase three top-100 starters this year.

In his first season with Houston, Brett Myers had one of the best years of his career. He successfully took over the role as ace of the rotation, especially with Oswalt’s move to Philly.

Myers (2010: 14-8, 223.2 IP, 3.14 ERA, 180 K) was able to stay healthy and even went 8-0 with a 2.01 ERA at home. Last season may be considered a fluke to some, but I am a Myers believer.

Entering 2011 he should be ranked in the mid to high twenties. His ERA may go up a little, but the strikeouts, wins, and fantastic home field benefit will be there as long as he can remain healthy.

I’d like to find out how many fantasy owners dropped Wandy Rodriguez half way through the 2010 season. As a Rodriguez owner myself, there were a few times of yelling at my computer while glaring up and cursing Wandy to the heavens above… but I digress.

Wandy was able to turn his season around. After the All Star break, he went 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 93.2 innings pitched. The second half of last season was the Rodriguez we are all used to seeing. Rodriguez’s post-All Star stats to continue into 2011, and he can be your team’s solid third starter. Expect him to get around 14 wins while posting a mid-3.00 ERA.

Houston’s third starter, J.A. Happ, made 16 starts in 2010 and seemed to fit nicely in his new role with the Astros. His 2010 totals (Philadelphia and Houston) include a 5-4 record with a 3.40 ERA.

Looking forward to 2011, Happ needs to pitch further into games to be a solid fantasy play. Only going seven innings or more in two of his 16 starts proved to be detrimental to his fantasy value. Happ does has the Minute Maid home field advantage, going 4-1 with 38 strikeouts in 44.1 innings with a 3.22 ERA, so fantasy owners can use this to their benefit.

Expect Happ to be a fourth or fifth starter in most mixed leagues, and possibly see 13 wins, a 7.0 K/9 ratio, and an ERA between 3.20 and 3.50.

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The Houston Astros decided about halfway through last season that it was time to enter that period that no fan wants to hear, and that is rebuilding. The Astros decided to trade away the only remaining players from that 2005 team that made the World Series.

They decided to finish out the season with a lot of rookies and young players, but if the way the Astros finished last year is any indication of things to come, this team is ready to grow up quick and make some noise in 2011.

Within three days, the Astros traded Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and two other players. One of those other players was OF Anthony Gose who they quickly turned around and traded to Toronto for first basemen Brett Wallace.

Two days later, Lance Berkman was traded for two minor league players.  Then players like Chris Johnson, Tommy Manzella, Angel Sanchez and Jason Castro were called up to the big time. Before Astros fans knew what happened, they had almost an entirely different team.

At the start of August last year the Astros had a record of 45-59 and many people thought it would only get worse with the fact they basically had a minor league team wearing a major league uniform.

However, this team showed some talent and grit down the stretch and actually finished the season 32-27 from that point, including a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. The way the season ended gives Astros fans hope for this coming season.

Now at this point they will not be competing for a World Series, but a third place finish in the NL Central with a record above .500 is not out of the question and this a brighter outlook than what many fans thought back at the end of July. It looks like the Astros have found a player that will secure the hot corner for years to come in Chris Johnson, who hit .308 last season with 11 HRs and 52 RBIs in 94 games.

They also have two players with great potential in Brett Wallace and Jason Castro who benefited from the playing time in the majors last season. Add in Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee with Michael Bourn leading off and wreaking havoc on the bath paths and the Astros have the potential for a solid batting lineup

The Astros have also been able to build a solid pitching rotation by adding a couple of young pitchers. They were able to trade for J.A. Happ and called up Bud Norris last year who will be paired in a rotation with veterans Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers.

Bud Norris finished strong last season going 6-3 since August, Wandy was consistent throughout finishing 11-12 with a 3.60 ERA and 178 strikeouts. The real surprise last year was Brett Myers who finished the year 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA and 180 strikeouts. Myers pitched well enough that the Astros rewarded him with a two-year extension.

Now this team has a lot of questions surrounding them.

Will the young players be able to continue to improve and develop while playing at a high level? Will Brett Myers be able to step up and be the ace of this rotation? Will Clint Barmes and Bill Hall be able to be able to hold down that middle of the infield? Can Carlos Lee still play in the outfield?

It is hard to say at this point, however, I think manager Brad Mills has a team that will play hard and compete. I also believe that the future looks much brighter than it did back at the end of July and the dreaded “rebuilding period” may be shorter than first thought for Astros fans.

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It happens every year. One team has unreasonably high expectations for their team, signs a couple of free agents, and when they fail to meet their goals, they become sellers at the trade deadline.

Need an example? How about last year’s Seattle Mariners. In theory, Cliff Lee would have been great if they had an offense. However, their lack of success forced them to trade Lee to the Rangers, a team better suited for Lee.

On the other side, there are always buyers at the trade deadline. Maybe a team doesn’t expect to be in playoff contention in July, however now that they are, they need one more player to piece together the puzzle and put them over the edge.

A good example is the Milwaukee Brewers of 2008. It was their acquisition of CC Sabathia that helped them reach the playoffs through the wild card. 

Another common way for players to switch teams midseason is by under performing. By August, if a team is not content with the way one of their players is playing, they have to option to put him on waivers. 

An example of this is the Alex Rios scenario of 2009. The Blue Jays, unhappy with Rios, placed Rios on waivers, where the White Sox picked him up. His .199 batting average in 2009 with the White Sox probably made the Blue Jays happy they let him go.

There are many other reasons that a player is moved during the season—  these are just the main ones. In this article, I will speculate as to which players I believe will be moved in 2011.

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Entering his final year of salary arbitration, Jonathan Papelbon will likely cash in on a big pay day following the 2011 season. 

However, with a declining skill set and Daniel Bard as the closer of the future, there is next to no chance he signs a long term deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Papelbon is due to make roughly $11 million for the coming season.

The presence of Bard and the acquisition of Bobby Jenks makes the possibility that Papelbon does not finish the year with the Red Sox all the more likely.

Without further delay here are 10 Jonathan Papelbon trades that make sense for the Boston Red Sox.

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For years and years, and it seems like decades that we’ve been playing a 6 inning game in a 9 inning battle (take out SS, C, & Pitcher –all batting below .230). First all, for those following the Astros, in between Miguel Tejada and Ricky Guiterrez, we’ve had a disaster at SS. Do you want a 300 +20hr guy at SS? No need to answer that. We’re all tired of a slick fielding SS that can’t hit; you can pick them up on any waiver wire or minor league systems, including your own. Manzella, trial is still out on him, looks like he maybe a grade above of Everette in batting or maybe not. I’m not taking my chances. I will take Sanchez’s batting average any day. As long as the guy can hit 270+ avg & plays good defense, I’m good. Wait..wait..’that SS defense can save you runs!’ True, Tim Bogar.Would you take a number 7 / 8 slot hitter with great defense or a 2 slot hitter with average and good defense? Especially for a team have been notoriously known to not provide runs for their pitchers. Should we flip a coin?..It’s a two-way street for production, to help out your team in every aspect of the game as much as you can.

Same lack of offensive production with the catcher situation. Humberto Quintero, who has proven to be an active defensive catcher that brings his value up..but don’t stick and settle for a Brad Ausmus clone. Don’t give the ‘he’s good at calling games!?!’ Really? We’re in the majors and we want someone that will put up batting average; not asking for G. Soto (Cubs) power. As if we haven’t notice in this era, it’s a plus to have a 8 position players that can get on base. Just get on base with a 270’s avg or so. J. Castro….sure strikes-out a lot! He’s on trial for potential, we are all waiting for him just to hit for average. Castro potentially can bring us to another lever if he can hit. Can’t ask too much of him right now, but we want to from a 1st rounder. Who wouldn’t right?

Who’s dogging J.Mike? Age is an easy excuse for not understanding. So what’s he’s having not so great 2nd half, tons of star players have that dilemma year in and year out. But Age..age..give me a break. He can hit with power with some clutch and not be in the 220s, be grateful for a pinch hitter.

Bourn is a true defensive miracle that we really really like…need…like him to hit at least 270-280. I’m going to start counting how many super fast center fielders that we’ve had that can steal bases at will and track down fly balls like a hawk, but can seem to get on base for the life of them. Start with Gerald Young, if you like.

Biggest upgrade problem goes to Espn’s LVP, Carlos Lee. The Manny Ramirez jog to 1st, right? Is he truely a Least Value Player? Hands down for the first half, but not the second half. He’s got clutch, more than I can say about Berkman (super streaky & liability with southpaws). Put him at first and get an OF or get a 1B? Will Lee go cloak and dagger next season with the 1st half again & carry that to the 2nd half too? Will B.Wallace develop soon? There you have it, offensive upgrade tweeking indeed needed.

Remember Pence and L.Scott was tearing up the league in their first full extensive season? Then they came down because they’re not the Tony Gwyn batting average type of player. Chris Johnson is having that type of season. Finally, a 3B that can start and can hit for power with some average. Sophomore stinkers coming up? I just don’t know, but I’m enjoying his production right now. Can he hit 280 or 290 with +20 hrs and maybe sneak up in +100 RBIs? Depends on adjustments of the league and him improving.

Even without the Great O (he deserves where’s he’s going to this year, Amen), This is the best I’ve felt of the pitching staff coming somewhere near the consistency of the ’05 season (Roger, Andy, Roy & scraps).

Paulino looks promising breaking out of the 5 inning barrier of last year where he complete implodes. At least TBD right now after injury. Norris finally putting his zips into keeping the game to winnable situations. We all know he can strikeout the side. Paulino and Norris can easily put up back to back 10k days. Myer’s..getting in age right??? He’s been a miracle man striking out lots and lots of folks; finally living up to the potential? Up in age right? Who cares! Keep it up Myers, I was wrong about you at the beginning. Wandy‘s got the second half magic…wait we have potentially 4 guys that can maybe average a strikeout an inning? Impressive! Wait, did we forget JA Happ, he’s no Roy, but we’re expecting him to be, can he be?…I don’t know, but he looks good enough to be excited over.

Figga who? Figga what? Figueroa, a pleasant upgrade from the inconsistent Moehler. Good to know that we’re not a rehab center for a needle in a haystack for next year’s ‘what might he do next year with his pitching?’ Bullpen may need more work…hmmm. Who knows how these rookies are going to do or how long they are going to last next year..looks a little over worked to me. Lindstrom and Lyons are doing an exceptional job in the close out department. No, Valverde or Wagner, yet if we do get a superstar closer, our bullpen will look lock-down ready. Can we get that superstar closer to show up or drop in? Or should we concentrate on the Lee/contract/true prototype Josh Hamilton / Joey Votto / Pujols type of a cleanup hitter addition or replacement? Overall, we have great potential at pitching front end and back end.

Hunter’s lodge. Pence is really coming to his own in becoming a clutch hitter, but to ask him to be SF’s Will Clark & Keith Mitchell and/or Matt Williams that brings chills down a starting pitcher? Nope. Can he be? We like to and want him to…as of right now? No way. We can’t ask that of him or expect him to be. As of right now, he looks like an ideal guy that can be a great asset to lineup with true & consistent 4 and 5 hitters. This again leads to the Lee 1B experiment.

Question is, if somehow you get rid of Lee’s contract, who can hands down replace that power and clutch? Can we add some else with him? Can a realistic deal be done to replace him and his contract? If so, are we ready for a two or three year of searching, testing, and finding that elusive elite clean up hitter? Can it be Wallace? C. Johnson? Pence?

Can we survive off of the 2nd half power surge of Pence, Lee, and Johnson? Maybe, but don’t rely on power alone to win games.

2011 looks like we’re able to compete. To put on paper as a postseason threat to win? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That remains to be seen with trades and development of maybe players.

Remember, going into last year and this year, we had the seventh highest payroll with $107 mil and ++$90 mil or so. Now, we’re looking at $70 mil payroll including the eating up Berkman’s and Oswalt’s contract. If we play it cheap, then we wait til after the 2012 season assuming their contract does get picked up by their current team. Or should we get up into the $100 mil to get that TRUE Elite Superstar? Whatever you do, don’t trade half of our farm system again for picking up declining stars such as Lee &Tejada or junk quick fixes as Matzsui & Feliz. Let’s not make that same mistake, please don’t. We’re not in the mood to hear..’making the team more competitive’, Cecil Cooper. We want the later, TRUE Elite Superstar now..but is Drayton going to sit & play with… ‘A bunch of these guys are eligible for arbitration and new contracts’. Isn’t that what the GM is for? Wheel and deal this time again…Mr-I-Have-My-Own-Award, GM (google Ed Wade Award).

Simple formula, not solution to winning it all, yet effective.

Elite Superstar Hitter = Higher Percentage of Clutch Game Deciding Hits = Higher Fan Expectation & Interest = Higher Ticket Sales + Higher Jersey/Product Sales = Higher Revenue.

Was that so hard to figure out? We’re in a position to financially make that commitment with our strong push..it won’t guarantee a World Series, but give a boost in the attendance bubble where Drayton has been hurting all season long. AKA, it shows the owner is really listening to the fans’ demand for excellence, oh…we’re also speaking for whole team too. We know what happens when non superstar speak up.

Will Ed push that confidence into Drayton and can he pull it off? It’s not just a team effort, it’s an organization effort.

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Stats as of July 24th ,2010 courtesy of ESPN.

1st Basemen

Gaby Sanchez   

41.9% owned in ESPN Leagues

Sanchez can be a good backup 1st baseman in most leagues, putting up respectable numbers, .302/.366/.470. After a hot June where he batted .375, Sanchez has cooled down in July.

I would recommend to start Sanchez when the Marlins are playing against a lefty. Sanchez bats .361 vs. lefties as opposed to .283 vs. righties. Sanchez doesn’t put up the power numbers you would want from a first basemen, but if your team lacks hitters, I would pick him up.

2nd Basemen 

Neil Walker  

7.1% owned in ESPN Leagues

The youngster doesn’t get much attention because he plays for the lonely Pirates, but lately he has put up good numbers (.314/.353/.463). He has been hot since the All-Star Break. In 33 at bats he has 16 hits, 5 doubles, and 9 RBI.

The thing about Walker is that he is a very situational hitter. He bats .336 at home vs. .241 on the road, not to mention Walker is a righty killer. In 130 at bats against righties, Walker has 44 hits (.338 average). Walker is also a Brewers/Astros killer, combining for 20 hits in 53 at bats against those teams. In a weak year at 2nd base, Walker can be a good pickup.

Shortstop  

Starlin Castro   

36.3% owned in ESPN Leagues

The 20 year old is starting to adapt to major league hitting. After batting .310 in May, his first month in the majors, Castro had a mediocre June where he hit .227. Castro has been able to turn things around, batting .388 in July with seven doubles, three triples, a homer, and three stolen bases.

What even more impressive, is the fact he is batting .500 after the break. He should cool down, but his batting average shouldn’t dip below .290. His .308 season batting average is impressive for a 20 year old and his power numbers are going up, but don’t expect much there. If you’re in a keeper league, I would recommend picking him up.

Outfield  

Tyler Colvin   

6.4% owned in ESPN Leagues

Colvin has been a home run machine the past two months. He only hit five home runs in the first 2 months of the season, but has launched 10 homers in June and July, bringing his total to 15. However, his batting average (.264) has dipped since June, thus keeping some fantasy owners away. Big Lou has recently put Colvin in the leadoff spot, so expect batting average to increase.

Pitcher  

Brett Myers  

21.8% owned in ESPN Leagues

Myers won’t win you a lot of games, mostly because he plays on the abysmal Houston Astros. Despite that, he is still having a great year, posting a 3.24 ERA. He had a decent June with a 4.24 ERA, but he is having a great July so far, 1.88 ERA.

If you’re going to pick up Meyers, I would try and avoid using him in away starts. His ERA on the road is a respectable 3.87, but no way near his microscopic home ERA of 2.48. Meyers could be traded to a contender at the break, which will immediately increase his value. If you need a spot start, I would recommend Myers.

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