Houston Astros: We’re Waiting For You, Carlos
By Yoni Pollak
We’re finally in the month of June. No one expected the Astros to be where they currently sit in the AL West but that’s why we love baseball.
The Astros offense has the potential for big innings. Jose Altuve, George Springer and the rest of the top of the order have done a fine job this season, and they should only get better from here on out. Evan Gattis has been playing better as of late, as has Jason Castro.
Some around Houston aren’t too happy with Chris Carter, but he’s capable of mashing a long home run every time he steps into the batter’s box. Jake Marisnick had a splendid April and he’s been great on defense.
But then we look at the shortstop position. What looked like a huge plus in April, thanks to the bat of Jed Lowrie, took a turn for the worse when Lowrie went down with a thumb injury that will keep him out another month or more. The Astros had a decision to make then; super prospect Correa or MarGo/Villar?
The Astros made the decision most expected, by saving the money and going with MarGo/Villar for a month.
Astros fans loved Marwin Gonzalez off the bench. He’s a capable defender, as shown last night, and a pretty solid hitter. The problem is that we love him as a utility player, not as a starter. Villar had a great spring and has all the tools but has yet to consistently put them together. Both Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar haven’t played well as starters.
Yes, both have had good moments in May, but Villar has had particularly terrible moments on the base-paths and with his glove. They’ve struggled for the most part and Villar is likely headed back to AAA Fresno shortly.
The Astros have seemingly decided that saving millions of dollars way down the road from now is more important than about a month’s worth of Carlos Correa on this team. Had he been in Houston when Lowrie went down would our record look different? Yea, probably. Potentially even worse, though I doubt it. Correa seemingly would have provided the Astros with at least another win or two over the last month.
That may not make a difference come October but that was GM Jeff Luhnow’s (tough) choice. A few wins in May could play a huge factor but that’s something we’ll find out about in a few months.
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We all know Carlos Correa is ready and will be here shortly. We’re waiting for him. Jeff Luhnow is waiting for him, A.J. Hinch is waiting for him, and I’m sure his future teammates can’t wait to have him.
The important thing is that the month of May is over and June has arrived. The super-two cutoff, which is likely the day Correa will be called up, is sure to come any day now. The super-two cutoff is usually in the first week or second week of June, though teams like to buy themselves a few days just in case.
The day could be today, tomorrow, or in another week, but know Astros fans, Carlos Correa is coming soon. It could any minute.
We’re waiting for you, Carlos.
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