No, I'm not upset about Drew Sutton being traded.
I've heard a significant amount of outrage from the readers this week, after Sutton officially became the player traded for Jeff Keppinger. Count me as not outraged. Sutton is 25, too old really to be regarded as a true prospect, and the club didn't envision him as anything more than a utility infielder. He spent two seasons at Double-A, at the ages of 24 and 25. Yes, he had a tremendous year last year, but success at Double-A doesn't necessarily translate into big league success.
After watching close to seven weeks of Spring Training activity, there really are only three young guys down on the farm I'm keeping my eye on -- Bud Norris, whom one veteran pitcher says has one of the most ridiculous sliders [ridiculous, in a good way] he's ever seen, catcher Jason Castro, and third baseman Chris Johnson, who has been sidelined after being struck in the hand by a pitch about a week ago.
That's not to say that some of these other players won't work out, but in terms of players I don't want to see traded, for me, it's pretty much down to those three. Keppinger was a great, great deal for the Astros. One executive who knows Keppinger well cannot believe the Reds got rid of him. Meanwhile, the Astros have a versatile infielder who can hit lefties and who's under club control for a while. He's not a superstar, but he's not a rookie, either. He'll be very good for this team, and was more than worth the cost of a Sutton.
Here and there:
My money's on Felipe Paulino getting called up to start Sunday's game. He was great in his first two starts, allowing a measly one run over 12 innings, striking out five. Jose Capellan hasn't just been awful, he's also not on the 40-man roster, which pretty much eliminates him from consideration (the Astros are at capacity, so they'd have to move someone off to make room. That's not happening).
Coop could go with Jeff Fulchino or Alberto Arias, but Paulino, who's stretched out more than the other two, makes more sense.
[EDIT: Postgame, Cooper named Paulino as his Sunday starter. They'll make a corresponding move to make room for him on the roster prior to that game.]
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Brandon Backe continues to make progress in his rehab process, even though an ETA is still TBD. He's doing something Saturday, but he's not sure what. "Could be batting practice," he said before Friday's game.
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I managed to bust out the camera during batting practice today...enjoy.
Puma, signing autographs for one young fan. Many Astros made their way over to this area to sign.
I call this one "dashing and debonair": radio announcers Dave Raymond and Brett Dolan
Carlos Lee and Puma.
Kazuo Matsui, stretching out his achy breaky back
Jason Michaels -- his teammates call him J.Mike -- chats it up with Sean Berry.
Hunter Pence would do well in Hollywood. You can have entire conversations with him while snapping pictures and he's not bothered by the camera. As I was taking this shot, we were discussing how the team, despite the slow start, looks pretty good.
Here is a peek into the raucous, wild times on an Astros charter. That's crazy Dave Raymond. (Photo courtesy of Wave Robinson)
Alyson Footer is on Facebook and Twitter
I thought Drew Sutton was a fair trade if not a better deal for us for the reasons you mentioned plus he knows how to take a walk.
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*he being Keppinger
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I for one, after watching Kep the first week and a half, had to laugh at the thought of the Reds getting Sutton. HAHA, oops, I laughed again.
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Glad you're back to work. Any thoughts on Bogusevic, or is it just too early?
And has Arias or Fulchino come and gone now?
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It's a weak farm system, with very little upper-end talent, and Sutton was ranked the #8 prospect within it by Baseball America. I don't think it's fair to hold it against him that the Astros are terrified of promoting from within, and he went .269/.351/.388 at Corpus Christi in 2007, which is not exactly world-beating, but no one would have clucked had he been promoted. He wasn't, and he turned around and burned the Texas League in 2008.
I loved the addition of Keppinger then and now, and I respect your opinion, but I think there are five guys you protect in our system (Norris, Manzella, Sutton, Johnson, and Bogusevic,) with the possible addition of Castro, but I'm as impressed by Clemens as I am by Castro. Seems a night doesn't go by when Clemens doesn't draw a couple of walks.
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I prefer to have Keppinger myself - he's got a few good years ahead of him yet and is proven in the big leagues. However, I don't understand why he wasn't sent up to pinch hit last night with the game on the line. Was he not able to because of injury? Or was this another example of bad decision making by the manager? These guys aren't going to win many games scoring only one run...hopefully tonight will go better....
Welcome back, Alyson. Hope you enjoyed your time away from the "baseball zoo"..
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roundrock15, I agree with you on Bogusevic...I probably should have included him in my original list, although if he can bring some pitching into the organization I would not be opposed to trading him. I don't agree with your take on Clemens, however. He's doing OK, but I don't think anyone in the organization views him as the future catcher of this team. I like Manzella, too, and if they can field a solid offensive team around him, I'd have no problem with him taking over at shortstop next year. But he's not going to hit much -- he's very much like Adam Everett -- so they need to make sure they're not short on offense at key positions, like third base.
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Hey Alyson,
Glad to have you back. Do you know what management's thinking was behind picking Coop's option?
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Alyson, I don't think Clemens is the catcher of the future, either. Just that I love the patience he's shown at the plate in Lancaster so far. I was never a big Castro guy to begin with; I wanted us to draft Smoak then, and I probably hold it against Jason more than I should even now.
But remember, too, that Clemens started out as a third baseman, and could conceivably be moved back there (I think...?) Once Matsui is gone, I have absolutely no idea what the Astros plan to do at second base.
Now, usually I hate when people poo-poo ideas without offering any alternatives, and I don't have another "Column A" player in mind that we could have sent the Reds for Kepp (though waiting a few weeks could have gotten us McPherson, Lamb, or probably Keppinger). I just don't like the move.
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One more question, do you think the Red Sox would be interested in Miguel Tejada since they just lost their SS for the season? I think it would be a good opportunity to help replenish the farms system a little and free up some salary for other moves.
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Let's Play a game
Here are some 2008 stats from the Astro's projected roster for this year, you fill in the name.
232 AB's, .299 OBP, .683 OPS, 36 yrs old
459 AB's, .310 OBP, .656 OPS, 29 yrs old
325 AB's, .287 OBP, .705 OPS, 36 yrs old
Bonus Question:
This man was an available free agent at the start of the season and posted the following minor league totals last year.
448 AB's, .379 OBP, .997 OPS, 28 yrs old
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Just for comparison sake take a look at drew Sutton's last year in the minors (at age 25 in AA) and Ryan Ludwicks last year in the minors (at age 27 in AAA)
Sutton 520 AB's, 20 HR's, .317 AVG, .408 OBP, .931 OPS
Ludwick 508 AB's, 28 HR's, .266 AVG, .342 OBP, .848 OPS
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