I know the stats don't show it but I thought Ethan Frey had some good at bats. At 6'6" he could be the Astros version of Aaron Judge.
Chronicle Spring Training prospects to watch. Ethan Frey, OF Hudson Leach, RHP Lucas Spence, OF Listened to the radio broadcasts some over the weekend (I see you judging me, and I don't care ), and they were pretty high on Sam Carlson (RHP). He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft by the Mariners, didn't pitch a lot because of arm injuries and the covid year, but ended up in the Dodgers organization and now with the Astros. Fun to see who might surprise during Spring Training and make a surprise run for the roster at some point this season.
Nice read on Imai and fitting in with the clubhouse despite the language barrier: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7056429/2026/02/19/houston-astros-tatsuya-imai-teammate-dinner/
Forgot that Michelle Margaux worked in the NY market. Never did like her all that much. Also Cosgrove needs more PFP.
ETA: Breaking camp, 7 RPs are: Bryan Abreu Steven Okert Bryan King Bennett Sousa AJ Blubaugh Kai-Wei Teng Ryan Weiss
Will be very interested to see how he looks. Despite the completely uncompetitive appearances he had last year, his curve spin was still elite and he was still getting good movement on his pitches. I am not good at analyzing pitchers but from what I could read, his struggles really are from just lost velo on his fastball; he could dominate when he sat 95, be ok when he sat 93, but at 91 he’s toast. I am not optimistic, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he was able to carve out a late career as an effective RP. If he can’t get his fastball back to 93 avg in 1 inning appearances he could be really good.
I am not serious - but it is halfway believable that Hader is starting the season on the IL so Espada doesn't overuse him.
His fastball in HS was 99-100 It was 97-98 in the minors It was 95 early with the Astros It was 93-94 after injuries. It was 89-91 last year and even lower when he was laboring. His fastball velocity does need to go up 2-3 MPH, but based on what I saw with my eyes last year, he was also over throwing it - and it looked flat. I haven't looked at the advanced data though. I think he has like a 15-20% chance to salvage his career and become a late game, one inning reliever. If he wanted to keep playing, and tinker in the minors for another year - he could likely develop another pitch, but at his age and injury risk, I don't think he wants to.
I would rather see Blubaugh take his rotation spot breaking camp, then have Lance pitch relief with a heavy dose of curveballs.
