Houston Astros


Cherry-Picking With Bud Norris

By Tim Dierkes [February 18, 2011 at 1:39pm CST]

Time to do a little cherry-picking, slicing up a player's stats to show his potential upside.  Here's Astros starter Bud Norris in 13 starts from May 13th through August 19th:

4.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings

These numbers are intriguing, as Norris' biggest wart from 2010 was his 4.5 BB/9.  Over this cherry-picked sample at least, he was able to limit the walks.  Norris averages 93.6 mph on his fastball, and is a cheap strikeout source who is currently being drafted in the 39th round (so, not at all in most mixed leagues). 

One cause for concern was bursitis and biceps tendinitis that cropped up in late May.  Norris was already on a rehab assignment by June 7th, so the Astros may have just been playing it safe.  There's also the issue of Norris' 6.1 BB/9 over his final eight starts.  But hey, that's why you can snag him for a bench spot.

Full Story |  Comments (0) | Categories: Cherry-Picking | Houston Astros | Starters

Breaking: Brocail Gets Save Opp

By Tim Dierkes [April 16, 2008 at 8:21pm CST]

Quick note, Doug Brocail is getting the save chance for the Astros tonight.  They may just characterize it as a break for Jose Valverde.  People will pick up Brocail in droves regardless.

Full Story |  Comments (8) | Categories: Closers | Houston Astros

A Little Caution On J.R. Towles

By Tim Dierkes [March 10, 2008 at 12:06pm CST]

I've been hyping Houston's J.R. Towles pretty often here on RotoAuthority as a sleeper at the catcher position.  He's intriguing in two-catcher mixed leagues or NL-only leagues.

I project Towles at .271-11-57-60-11 in 388 ABs, an $11.91 value.  That's seventh among backstops.  However, there are reasons for caution here.

  • Towles is currently dealing with a strained hamstring.  Say that instead of 11 steals, he's careful because of the hammie and his precarious rookie status and just swipes two.  35% of his value disappears.
  • Towles started last year in A ball.  He played 26 games there, 61 at Double A, 13 at Triple A, and 15 in the bigs.  So, just a half season worth of high minors seasoning.
  • He's a rookie catcher learning to handle a big league staff.  That's a tad stressful, and it could affect his hitting.
  • The Astros have loved Brad Ausmus for far too long, and if he were to split the gig evenly with Towles I would not be shocked.
  • So make sure you have a good #1 if you're going to use Towles as your #2.  And if you went a few extra bucks for more known commodities like Kenji Johjima, Bengie Molina, Carlos Ruiz, or Ryan Doumit, I would not fault you.  Hell, Jorge Posada seems to be getting no love in fantasy leagues, and he's not much worse than Martin/Martinez/Mauer/McCann (the Four Ms).

Full Story |  Comments (9) | Categories: Catchers | Houston Astros



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