Changes the Slumping Houston Astros Have to Make to Win Games
The Houston Astros' season this year has been an absolute mess. Save a couple of bright spots in Hunter Pence, Mark Melancon, Michael Bourn and Brett Wallace, nobody has been playing to the level they're supposed to.
Players such as expected staff ace Brett Myers, terrible closer Brandon Lyon, and sluggish slugger Carlos Lee are performing way below their potential.
The team made a couple steps in the right direction by selling the team to Jim Crane, and releasing under performing second baseman Bill Hall. However, there are a lot more moves that the front office needs to make if they wish to get the Astros back on track in the near future.
Aneury Rodriguez
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Aneury Rodriguez was selected in the Rule V Draft this year by the Astros. He had been putting up some quality numbers in the Rays' farm system for a number of years, so the Astros wanted to give him shot.
He came into spring training in the battle for the fifth rotation spot, but was quickly beat out by Nelson Figueroa. However, instead of kicking him off of the roster entirely and sending him back to the Rays, the Astros decided to give him a slot in the bullpen.
But then, after Nelson Figueroa struggled in his starting rotation spot, and Aneury struggling in the bullpen, manager Brad Mills decided to switch the two, giving Rodriguez a chance to start for the first time in his career.
Aneury has gone on to prove that decision wasn't a very good one. This season Aneury Rodriguez has gone 0-4, with a 1.469 WHIP and a terrible 5.96 ERA.
However, there may be immediate hope for this situation. When ace Wandy Rodriguez got hurt, top prospect pitcher Jordan Lyles was called up to fill his place in the rotation.
Lyles has pitched two better than quality starts in his first three games. So, if Mills is smart, he'll get rid of Aneury Rodriguez and keep Lyles in his stead when Wandy returns.
Brett Myers
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Brett Myers was signed last year to a one-year deal just to fill in a rotation spot. However, after Roy Oswalt was lost due to trade, he became the staff ace, eating up innings and winning ball games.
He finished 2010 with a great 3.14 ERA, 14 wins, and a 10th place finish in the Cy Young voting. He was rewarded with a three-year extension and was expected to anchor the staff for years to come.
This season, he has been terrible. After a respectable start with some quality outings, including an Opening Day pitching duel with reigning Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, Myers has compiled a 2-5 record, a 5.02 ERA and has given up a league leading 16 home runs.
There are a good number of solutions for this problem since almost every playoff contending team is looking for a bottom of the rotation starter.
Since everybody knows Myers's potential, he might gather more trade interest.
The Yankees were looking into him in the beginning of the year and some other teams may follow suit. He would probably bring back one or two mid-level prospects.
His immediate free-agent replacements could be Jeremy Bonderman or veteran Kevin Millwood. Having a veteran presence such as Millwood would help guide the young staff, and Bonderman has shown some success in the past despite his consistent struggles.
Also, the Astros could try bringing up Ryan Rowland-Smith, who was signed this past offseason but missed out on the fifth starting rotation spot and has been struggling in Triple-A Oklahoma.
J.A. Happ
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J.A. Happ was the centerpiece in the trade that sent legendary Astros icon Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia. Oswalt is now part of possibly the greatest starting rotation ever, but Happ on the other hand is struggling.
He currently leads the league with eight losses and has a 5.04 ERA. The problem is that Happ is supposed to be one of the pitchers that the team is going to build around. He obviously needs some extra help or assistance from the pitching coach.
He could be sent down to Triple-A where he could be retaught, and in return, the minors could send up pitching prospects Dallas Kuechel or Xavier Cedeno. He could be traded for another young arm, but he probably wouldn't get anything much in return.
It doesn't seem like management wants to part with him just yet, and I don't blame them. He has shown great promise and I don't think any major changes have to take place, I just think he needs to work out a few kinks and he'll get back on track.
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Brandon Lyon
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If there is one person on earth that I can't stand right now, it would be Brandon Lyon. The man is obviously not built to be a closer.
He cracks when he gets in pressure and can't get out of jams—he has already blown four saves in eight opportunities this year. He's averaging 4.4 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.2 home runs per nine innings, an atrocious 2.351 WHIP, not to mention an absolutely terrible 10.22 ERA.
The Astros had a lucky break when Lyon got hurt and was moved to the DL. The Astros were then able to move fantastic rookie reliever Mark Melancon in, who nailed down the job, saving four games, recording a 1.67 ERA and having a 4-1 record.
However, Lyon was just recently activated from the disabled list and manager Brad Mills commented with this statement:
"Mark's done a good job for us all year and is going to continue to do a good job, he's got the stuff, and is a good pitcher. We want to be able to do things the right way, and doing them the right way is being able to have veteran guys at the end of the game that have success in doing that in the past, like Brandon has. But to put him back in that role right now ... I think we need to ease him back in."
Well obviously he doesn't have the stuff and isn't a good pitcher.
An immediate and long term solution to this problem would be to call up David Carpenter from Triple-A Oklahoma City, who hasn't given up a run in 11 games, and has four saves. Lyon then could be released, and the Astros would be free of his atrocious pitching.
Jeff Fulchino
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I'm very sad to say that Jeff Fulchino is actually one of the better Houston relievers. This year, he has posted a 4.88 ERA along with a 1.590 WHIP. The fact that this is one of their best relievers is absolutely pitiful. Fulchino might be a fine last-man in the bullpen, but not one of the top three.
Astros management should bring up Sammy Gervacio, who has had previous major league success, Pat Urckfitz, who is doing well in the farm system, or Fernando Abad, who has also had a little bit of success on the major league level.
Or, if the front office wants to give its prospects some more time to develop, they could sign Jeremy Bonderman to join a middle relieving role, which he might be able to do better than starting games, which is what he used to struggle with back in Detroit.
Brad Ansberg
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I'm not sure if you've noticed, but so far, this entire list has been pitchers, and for a good reason. The pitching was supposed the strong point for the team this season, not its greatest weakness.
Their pitching ranks 29th in the majors in ERA with 4.72, they rank 27th in quality starts, with 31, 28th in WHIP with 1.45, and 29th in opposing batting average with .272.
Of course the pitchers are partly to blame, but how could so much talent be blown to bits like this? One man that may be responsible may be Astros pitching coach Brad Arnsberg.
The coach is obviously not helping the pitchers get any better—a lot of the pitchers on their roster actually have had quality careers until being rocked by Arnsberg's teachings. If he's not teaching anything, then he better start, or if he's trying too hard, he has to stop.
The Astros really need to dump him if they want to continue their rebuilding project. The front office has to bring in a new, fresh face that can help develop and teach young arms how to pitch well, and keep the team in ball games. Brad Arnsberg is not that fresh, new face.
Chris Johnson
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Last season, Chris Johnson burst onto the scene, easily surpassing slumping third baseman Pedro Feliz for the starting job. He ended up having a torrid second half and finished with a good .308 batting average, 11 home runs, 52 RBI, and something for the Astros fan base to look forward to for years to come.
After his great finish to his rookie season, a lot of bloated expectations arose around him, expecting him to hit around or above 20 home runs, and consistently hit around .300.
Those people are probably very disappointed right now. This year, Chris Johnson is hitting a measley .225 with 28 RBI and six homers. He is projected currently to hit around 17 home runs and finish with 70 RBI and 130 strikeouts.
There is really no immediate in-organization solution that could help them here. The Astros need to either reconstruct him on the major league level or find someone else on the market or trading block that's available.
Or, they could try switching power-hitting first baseman Koby Clemens from first base to third and give him a shot, but he doesn't seem to be completely refined yet and doesn't seem to be ready for the majors.
There is no viable free agent option at third base and the Astros have no real trade bait, so the best course of action is to reconstruct him and wait it out. If this is the future of third base for the team, it is not going to be a bright future.
J.R. Towles
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The Astros started spring training off with terrible news: Star prospect catcher, Jason Castro, would be out all year with an injury.
That meant that the Astros would have to rely on defensive phenom Humberto Quintero and underperforming J.R. Towles.
Quintero had been a consistent back-up since 2007, but J.R. Towles had been consistently sent back down to the minors due to terrible hitting. Quintero then got hurt to start off the year, which left the job to Towles.
Towles has not responded and is currently hitting .197 with three home runs and nine RBI. Astros management has actually responded to this need by trying to bring up minor leaguer Carlos Cancel, who hasn't played enough to see if he will be able to fill the need, which he most likely won't.
The Astros need a one or two-year player that can fill in the catcher slot until Jason Castro is fully healed and ready to go.
The best solution would be to sign Benjie Molina to a one or two-year deal. Molina is 36 and at the tail end of his career, however, he can still play great defense, and his offense is a little bit better than Towles and Cancel's, hitting .249 last year with five home runs.
Until Castro comes back, this position is really going to be a mess.
Clint Barmes and Angel Sanchez
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I figured since both of these guys are underperforming shortstops, then I might as well put them on the same slide.
Clint Bares started the year on the DL, so I'll start with Sanchez. Angel Sanchez started the year as the shortstop and exploded given the chance to start. He was hitting well over .300 when Barmes was activated and Brad Mills felt the need to quiet his hot bat and use him as a pinch-hitter and backup shortstop. He is now currently hitting .253 with only 19 RBI.
Clint Barmes was signed as a free agent this past offseason and was supposed to bring the Astros power in the infield. However, he broke his hand in spring training and wasn't able to play for the first month.
When he came back, he was way below average, hitting with barely any power at all. He has only three homers this season along with .216 batting average and a miniscule .318 on-base percentage.
There really is no quick solution to this problem with limited trade opportunities, no good shortstops in the free agent pool, and the only good shortstop in the farm system, Johnathan Villar, being years away from being a fully developed and refined player.
Until that happens, the Astros have to stick with the platoon of Barmes and Sanchez.
Carlos Lee
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Up until the last two seasons, Carlos Lee had been putting together a very nice career, averaging a .291 batting average, 100 RBI and 28 home runs. However, the last couple of years have been a completely different story.
Last year he finished with only a .246 batting average and 25 home runs. This season is at least a little bit better batting average-wise. He is hitting .275 and has five homers.
But still, it's obvious that his best days are behind him and he has to move on. The problem is that he has a no-trade clause in his contract and doesn't look like he is going to waive it, even if some team was stupid enough to want to trade for him. He would really only fit as a part-time DH in the American League or a power-bat off the bench.
If the Astros were somehow able to get rid of this monstrous contract and sluggish player, they would have numerous options to go with.
They could try to sign free agent David DeJesus next winter, who has been a quality player for years, or they could seek their farm system for a temporary answer.
J.D. Martinez has quietly been putting up good numbers. He won the MVP award for the South Atlantic League last year, and is currently putting up great numbers in Corpus Christi. He could be a permanent solution for the Astros if they were able to move Carlos Lee away from left field.
Brad Mills
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If I were able to blame one man for this mess we now call the Astros, it would be current owner Drayton McLane. He has consistently made bad decisions and has never really been able to build up the farm system or bring in great free agents that make a lasting impact.
However, since he is already on his way out, the next person I'm going to lay a ton of blame on is manager Brad Mills. I never liked Brad Mills. When I heard that he was going to manage the team I was very unhappy.
I had already been very upset with the job Cecil Cooper was doing with the team, but I knew, and I was right, that Brad Mills would do a worse job. Mills has plenty of talent to work with but has done barely anything with it.
He continues to make poor decisions, including putting in Brandon Lyon day after day and taking Melancon out of the closer role. He doesn't seem to know what he's doing.
I don't really know who should or could replace him. If it were up to me I would pick Phil Garner. Maybe I'm dreaming and my thoughts are too wild, but Phil did an excellent job in bringing the Astros their first National League pennant. He had one bad year and was promptly fired because of it.
Either way, Phil Garner or not, the Astros need a new man at the helm, and I'm almost positive Jim Crane will do it, but probably not soon enough.
Conclusion
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By now, I'm sure you know that I am very down on of the Astros, as I'm sure pretty much every fan is. They have performed much worse than even the incredibly low expectations placed them, and almost nobody is playing well, except for the few bright spots in Hunter Pence, Mark Melancon, Brett Wallace and Michael Bourn.
The Astros are in an obvious rebuilding phase and need all the help they can get, and have to start by making smart draft picks and supporting a strong farm system.
However, before those new players come up, the Astros have to bring in new faces and players to set themselves up for a good run into the playoffs in a couple of years.
I think that the Astros have the talent and the money to bring up some good players and sign a couple of good ones as well, but they need to put a plan in motion, and they need to do it now.
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