There are only three teams in baseball at the moment with a losing record across every level, from the parent club all the way down to Single-A: The Royals, Tigers, and Astros. And which organization has the lowest overall winning percentage?
Yeah, the Astros. That’s rather suboptimal.
You can’t base an organizational analysis solely on a winning percentage, particularly for a farm system. Winning across every Minor League level is always preferred, but a quality player development system is more crucial. That said, a higher winning percentage, even at those levels, can at least indicate that a healthier system is in place. More talent typically leads to more wins.
For Dana Brown, though, time will tell if his first three drafts bear quality fruit and a fourth, if he gets the opportunity. There is some quality talent in this system, though it is currently concentrated at the lower levels. The next six to seven weeks of results at the Major League level could determine whether Brown or an interim general manager oversees what may be the most consequential draft this organization has had in ten years. In any case, this year’s upcoming draft will go a long way in determining how soon this farm system turns around in the next few years.
Athletics @ Astros Game Information and Gamethread Details
We’ll get a chance to see today if Tatsuya Imai’s recent performances (12 IP, 2 ER, 6 BB, 7 SO) can continue. With Hunter Brown’s return looming, the starting rotation looks stronger than it did a month ago, at least on paper. If the Astros can field a rotation featuring some combination of Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, Peter Lambert, Mike Burrows, Kai-Wei Teng, and Imai, then you begin to feel a bit more optimistic about their chances. Even Brown by himself warrants that additional optimism. But as long as this group is even moving closer to average overall, I’d be fine with that. I mean, it could be worse, as we found out in April. Much worse.
Oh, the A’s starting pitcher, Kade Morris, is making his Major League debut today. This game will probably go one of two ways for the Astros’ bats: Feast or famine. But this lineup might be the closest thing to full health that we could see from Houston for the remainder of the season. With LaMonte Wade Jr. on the roster and Taylor Trammell healthy, I’m curious to see how Joe Espada utilizes Cam Smith moving forward. Smith had been showing signs of heating up at the plate again, and he handles right field incredibly well, so the playing time distribution in the outfield will be something to watch.
The game will be broadcast at 3:10 p.m. CT on SCHN with radio coverage on KBME 790 AM.
We hope you will join us and the rest of the Launch Angle community for the game! The turnout has been amazing on the TLA Discord Server for the game threads.
Join us again for today’s game. Just join the Discord server using this link: https://launch-angle.com/discord .
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Feature photo from Astros on X
Kade Morris, who has his rookie debut, does not look scary (at least on paper). ERA in the mid-4’s and x-ERA in the 5’s in AAA. Meh K-BB rates. He is a sinker/slider pitcher who keeps the ball on the ground. 94 velocity. Of course, those ground ball pitchers can be frustrating to the Astros, particularly if they get too swing happy.