Astros Crawfish Boil: November 28, 2022

Nov 28, 2022 - 2:00 PM

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It’s (another) that time of year.

This is the part where we start to see the Hall of Fame ballots start to trickle in. The first one came back yesterday courtesy of Sadiel Lebron (see story below). Of particular note is not who Lebron voted for, but who he left off.

You’ve already been hearing about trashcan-gate for...forever it seems. Well, prepare for another volley as pundits and professionals decry the inclusion or exclusion of the “ringmaster,” Mr. Carlos Beltrán. Lebron declined to include Beltran, even though he has the most Hall-worthy stack of statistics from amongst this years’ candidates.

I won’t cry for Beltrán if he doesn’t make it. He, along with Álex Cora, truly were the driving force behind the entire deal. What does interest me, however, are the hints we’ll see regarding future players and the votes they do (or don’t) get. Namely, I’m concerned for Jose Altuve, and to a slightly lesser degree, Alex Bregman.

Houston Astros News

Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly to host fan meet and greet Monday in Sugar Land

From honors to money, what a November for the Houston Astros (calltothepen.com)

EDITORIAL: Why We Love Jeremy Peña - He Is the American Dream (golocalprov.com)

Roberto Osuna To Re-Sign With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines (mlbtraderumors.com)

MLB News

MLB fans react to the Hall of Fame ballot turned in by Sadiel Lebron (sportskeeda.com)

The Absurdly Preliminary 2023 ZiPS Projected Standings (fangraphs.com)

Sunday Notes: David Forst Looks Back at the Frankie Montas Deadline Deal (fangraphs.com)

Nobody Actually Hits Good Pitching (fangraphs.com)

Mike Clevinger, White Sox Reportedly Agree to Contract in 2022 MLB Free Agency (bleacherreport.com)

Ex-Mets pitcher, free-agent Trevor Williams, attempts to woo MLB teams with ‘Black Friday’ advertisement (foxnews.com)

Oops! All Astros: Luis Baez

Luis Baez is a six-foot-one, 205 lb. outfielder from Bani, DR. Born on January 11, 2004, he signed with the Astros to his first professional deal just a couple of days after turning 18. He was assigned to the DSL Astros Orange in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League.

Baez started 0-for-14, which makes the rest of the season just a little more impressive. He led the team by appearing in 58 games, and also led the team in nearly all offensive counting stats, including 112 total bases (also second in the DSL), 62 hits, 19 doubles (second in the DSL), nine home runs (fourth in the DSL), and 43 RBI (second in the DSL). He posted a .305/.351/.552 slashline with a .903 OPS. He had 16 multi-hit games and three three-hit games.

On June 16, Baez hit a single, a double, and a solo home run in a raucous 15-13 win over the DSL CLE Red. Two days later, he hit a single with two doubles and an RBI in a 6-3 loss to the DSL KC Glass. On August 15, in a 14-8 win against the DSL CLE Blue, he hit two homers with four RBI. Defensively, he played 247 innings in right field (.951 fielding percentage, five assists) and 108 ¹⁄₃ innings in centerfield (zero errors, two assists).

Baez proved beyond his years in most offensive categories. At his age, I think it’s likely he has earned at least a lateral promotion to one of the FCL Rookie teams, and maybe even a ticket to the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers.