***Official Houston Astros 2025-26 Offseason Thread***

26,797 Views | 536 Replies | Last: 16 min ago by RED AG 98
Mathguy64
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2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.
Beat40
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Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.
Mathguy64
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Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.
iBrad
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AG
Walker needs to figure out Daikin Park. I don't know if it's the batter's eye or if he tries to be a pull hitter at home, which he's not, but he strikes out a lot more often at home.

Plate appearances per K (2025)
Home: 3.09
Away: 4.22
Faustus
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txags92 said:

Faustus said:

Ag_07 said:

But he's been a high K guy his entire career. That's nothing new. Yeah there have been an uptick but high K rate is nothing new with CW.

Also I wouldn't say he wasn't accustomed to hitting where did. He's always been a #4 hitter. He may have not expected to hit there when he signed but it's certainly not anything new to him.


If he has a similar uptick next season he'd be over 200ks and within hailing distance of the league record.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkech02.shtml

He combined that with a career low walk rate as a starter, which aided his career high in strikeouts.

Looking at it a little further, it was more than an "uptick". He went from 133 in 2024 (highest in his previous 5 seasons) to 177 in 2025 (14% higher than his previous worst in 2019, 1st season playing full time), a 33% year over year increase.

His PA/K rates look like this:

2019 3.89
2020 4.86
2021 4.20
2022 5.09
2023 5.20
2024 4.15
2025 3.62

As you said, if he has a similar increase next season (33% increase to 235), he is going to blow past the MLB record for Ks in a season (223).

I feel a little badly picking on the strikeouts because it's low hanging fruit.

However many of the league's best bats strikeout in prodigious amounts:
No. 1 - Wood 221
No. 2 - Greene 201
No. 3 - Schwarber 197
No. 4 - Suarez 196
No. 5 - Devers 192
No. 6 - Arozarena 191
No. 9 - Ohtani - 187

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB-leaders.shtml

The difference is that they all slug and are superlative hitters.

Wood - OPS+ 132
Green - OPS+ 120
Schwarber - OPS+ 150
Suarez - OPS+ 126
Devers - OPS+ 140
Arozarena - OPS+ 119
Ohtani - OPS+ 179

Walker's biggest sin isn't the strikeouts (although how uncompetitive many are aren't great), it's that he was a below average hitter (OPS+ 97) while flailing away. At first base. As our splash everyday player FA signing to erase the bad taste of Abreu away.

Which doesn't even get into Walker (-1.5 dWAR) being close to Altuve (-2.2 dWAR) inept in the field, which doesn't bode well. Altuve at least is still an above average bat at OPS+ 112 and has all kinds of good will built up.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/altuvjo01.shtml
txags92
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If he were hitting 40 bombs a year with an .850+ OPS, nobody would care how often he strikes out. But he isn't so it is a stat that stands out.
gambochaman
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Mathguy64 said:

Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.


THIS
Beat40
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txags92 said:

If he were hitting 40 bombs a year with an .850+ OPS, nobody would care how often he strikes out. But he isn't so it is a stat that stands out.


.799 OPS and 118+ OPS after the ASB. Maybe he figured it out.
txags92
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Beat40 said:

txags92 said:

If he were hitting 40 bombs a year with an .850+ OPS, nobody would care how often he strikes out. But he isn't so it is a stat that stands out.


.799 OPS and 118+ OPS after the ASB. Maybe he figured it out.

.503 OPS after the ASB at home. Seems like he only figured it out away from Daikin.
EastCoastAgNc
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AG

Ahem... Hey Jim... Do it. Now.
Dr. Doctor
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gambochaman said:

Mathguy64 said:

Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.


THIS



This has been my position. You appeal and win? You keep it.
EastCoastAgNc
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AG
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46477680/rangers-focusing-manager-search-skip-schumaker
I was hoping we'd go after him... Is Jim awake?
txags92
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AG
Dr. Doctor said:

gambochaman said:

Mathguy64 said:

Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.


THIS



This has been my position. You appeal and win? You keep it.

Why would they not do it this way?
BadAggie
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AG
Jim is figuring out if he wants to keep Dana
Mathguy64
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txags92 said:

Dr. Doctor said:

gambochaman said:

Mathguy64 said:

Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.


THIS



This has been my position. You appeal and win? You keep it.

Why would they not do it this way?


Officially? They don't want to slow the game down is I think the reason.

Unofficially? The umpires Union would be vehemently opposed to anything that shows they miss calls regularly. Can you imagine CB missing 20 strikes a game?
txags92
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Mathguy64 said:

txags92 said:

Dr. Doctor said:

gambochaman said:

Mathguy64 said:

Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.


THIS



This has been my position. You appeal and win? You keep it.

Why would they not do it this way?


Officially? They don't want to slow the game down is I think the reason.

Unofficially? The umpires Union would be vehemently opposed to anything that shows they miss calls regularly. Can you imagine CB missing 20 strikes a game?

If I am the players union, in the next CBA, I insist on each player getting 2 per game with a you win it you keep it policy. MiLB has shown that it doesn't slow the games down, and ump scorecards has proven that the umps do a relatively terrible job getting the calls right. Certainly it is obvious that they miss more than 2 calls per team per game.
linkdude
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AG
it's been my understanding that the challenges are 'use them until you lose them', that it is two failed challenges, basically
Mathguy64
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linkdude said:

it's been my understanding that the challenges are 'use them until you lose them', that it is two failed challenges, basically


But it's limited I believe to 2 a team.
EastCoastAgNc
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EastCoastAgNc said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46477680/rangers-focusing-manager-search-skip-schumaker
I was hoping we'd go after him... Is Jim awake?

They have officially hired Schumacher. That's not good for us. He can manage circles around Joe
Iambob
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100000% he can. Time to crap or get off the pot jim
txags92
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AG
Jim is going to wait until a few weeks before spring training to fire Joe and hire from the scraps that don't get picked up by anybody else, isn't he?
EastCoastAgNc
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txags92 said:

Jim is going to wait until a few weeks before spring training to fire Joe and hire from the scraps that don't get picked up by anybody else, isn't he?

Brad Ausmus, come on down
linkdude
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Mathguy64 said:

linkdude said:

it's been my understanding that the challenges are 'use them until you lose them', that it is two failed challenges, basically


But it's limited I believe to 2 a team.
agdaddy04
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After a team loses their challenges, do calls get worse? They'll have to be careful as some guys are much better with the zone than others. I'd have trusted Bregman to challenge anything. Diaz or Dubon - probably not.
superaggie73
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EastCoastAgNc said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46477680/rangers-focusing-manager-search-skip-schumaker
I was hoping we'd go after him... Is Jim awake?


As much as I want to fault Jim for this, this was a done deal over a year ago. It's why he went into their front office last year and not a head coaching job.
EastCoastAgNc
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AlwaysNextYear89
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Booma94 said:

I haven't seen anyone that has discussed the clubhouse issues mention the possibility that the Correa trade might have had something to do with the disfunction.

The team had a leadership void and some guys were starting to step up in the absences of Correa and Bregman. The entire dynamic changed when they brought Correa back in. I'm a huge Correa fan, but him coming in shifted the entire clubhouse balance. Young guys who were starting to step up as leaders had the rug pulled out from them.

I think a spring together will give things a chance to find equilibrium, but bringing in a lead dog changed a lot of the chemistry.

Just a thought.

Late to the reply, but I was close to posting something similar on Monday. I don't think it's that far fetched to think that it could have been a mild disruption. Wouldn't it be human nature to think, "wait a minute...you chose to walk away after '21, and now you want to come in and pick up where you left off?" I have nothing to base that on except what we all observed, and that was a directionless team. And before you say that's on Espada, I think if any fans should grasp this concept, it's us...the team leaders hold more sway than the manager (Hint: 2017!).

I told my son last Friday that Bregman was this season's missing link. I think he did far more than any of us might realize. He would have led us through that ugly second half.
B-Rabbit
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AG
Good hire for Arlington.
An L of an Ag
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txags92 said:

Jim is going to wait until a few weeks before spring training to fire Joe and hire from the scraps that don't get picked up by anybody else, isn't he?


THIS is EXACTLY what I'm worried about!! Someone or someones need to whop him upside the head and say "MOTHER****ER!!! DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN AS THE JERRY JONES OF BASEBALL?!?!?".
agdaddy04
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AG
B-Rabbit said:

Good hire for Arlington.
they already hired him?
Faustus
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Mathguy64 said:

txags92 said:

Dr. Doctor said:

gambochaman said:

Mathguy64 said:

Beat40 said:

Mathguy64 said:

2 appeals with ABS won't be enough.

How did those coaches and players avoid suspensions? Int e regular season those are big suspensions.


That was Wednesday night. I'm sure now that video has gone viral, there might be some league investigation.

Honestly, each batter should get one review a game. Starting pitchers 2. Relief pitchers 1.


I would give each batter one unsuccessful review a game. If they keep getting it right keep punishing the umpire. I would give starters 2 unsuccessful ones.

If the umpires keep missing, keep appealing.


THIS



This has been my position. You appeal and win? You keep it.

Why would they not do it this way?


Officially? They don't want to slow the game down is I think the reason.

Unofficially? The umpires Union would be vehemently opposed to anything that shows they miss calls regularly. Can you imagine CB missing 20 strikes a game?


It's easy if you try.
Iambob
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Skip? Yes as of yesterday
JYDog90
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AG
texasaggie2015 said:

Before anyone says "fire the medical staff"… this is almost solely on Luis for not rehabbing and conditioning properly


I guess I always assumed that rehabbing something like this was 100% under team review.
Formerly Willy Wonka
EastCoastAgNc
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AG

Yankees catching all the breaks
Ag4life80
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An L of an Ag said:

txags92 said:

Jim is going to wait until a few weeks before spring training to fire Joe and hire from the scraps that don't get picked up by anybody else, isn't he?


THIS is EXACTLY what I'm worried about!! Someone or someones need to whop him upside the head and say "MOTHER****ER!!! DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN AS THE JERRY JONES OF BASEBALL?!?!?".

Way too much drama in regards to a guy who owns a team that , over the last 10 years, has been on a run that puts it in the top 5 in the history of baseball.
 
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