MLB Trade Rumors: 5 players Astros should acquire
The Houston Astros appear poised to make a World Series run, but are one or two trades away from perfecting their roster.
Heading into this weekend’s series with the defending AL pennant-winning Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros have a 29-12 record, good for a .707 winning percentage, which is the best in baseball. The Astros hold a 7.5-game lead in the American League West that is the largest lead in the AL and second biggest in baseball despite second place Texas’ nine-game winning streak and four straight wins from the third place Angels.
Simply put, the Astros have been great so far in 2017. The club has a potent lineup that has scored 211 runs this season, which is the second most in the American League, and a pitching staff that has held opponents to 150 runs – the fewest in the AL and just a single run behind the Dodgers for the best in the big leagues. Together, the Astros hold a plus-61 run differential that leads the majors, meaning the Astros aren’t just winning – they’re dominating.
However, no team is perfect. And, though the trade deadline is still more than two months away, it’s time to take stock of the Houston roster, and determine what the team needs in order to make a run at the World Series, to win the first World Championship in franchise history, and to become the first MLB team to win the pennant in both the National League and the American League.
With that in mind, we take a look at Houston’s needs, the assets available to make a trade, and five players the Astros should try to acquire this summer.
Astros’ needs and assets
Needs
Starting pitching
It’s been widely known that the Astros would like to add more starting pitching. Houston was the team most often linked to White Sox lefty Jose Quintana over the winter and through spring training. While the Astros have the best record in baseball, two members of the starting rotation, Mike Fiers and Joe Musgrove, have struggled mightily this season.
Through his first seven starts, Fiers has a 5.75 ERA with 38 hits (16 of which were home runs!) and 15 walks allowed with 33 strikeouts in 36 innings. Fiers has an 8.23 FIP. As of Friday morning, Musgrove had an 8.22 DRA (Deserved Run Average – Baseball Prospectus’ baseline pitching metric), which calculates the number of runs a player deserved to allow per nine innings. Musgrove has a 4.57 ERA with 47 hits and 14 walks allowed with 33 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.
Defense
According to FanGraphs’ Defensive Runs Above Average (Def), the Astros rank No. 27 out of 30 major league teams in defense (-12.2). Third baseman Alex Bregman (-3.0) and first baseman Yuli Gurriel (-2.7) have been the worst fielders for the Astros this season, and despite his ability to play second base, third base, left field and right field, Marwin Gonzalez has posted a negative defensive rating at each position (as well as a 0.0 at shortstop).
Left field, bench depth and power
Starting pitching and defense are well ahead on the Houston priority list, but if the Astros hope to win the first World Series title in franchise history this season, there are plenty of improvements that can be made elsewhere. Nori Aoki isn’t a terrible option in left field, but an improvement could be had. Jake Marsnick is a fine fourth or fifth outfielder, and Gonzalez is a valuable utility man with power, but in a perfect world, the ‘Stros would add another player with a similar skillset to give them even more depth.
Assets
Baseball Prospectus Organizational Talent Ranking: 11
MLB.com Top 100 Players: 6
FanGraphs Top 10 Prospects (FV)
- Francis Martes, RHP (60)
- Kyle Tucker, OF (55)
- Franklin Perez, RHP (50)
- Forrest Whitely, RHP (50)
- Ramon Laureano, OF (50)
- David Paulino, RHP (50)
- Derek Fisher, OF (45)
- Teoscar Hernandez, OF (45)
- Gilberto Celestino, OF (45)
- Daz Cameron, OF (45)
The Astros rank No. 11 in Baseball Prospectus’ current organizational talent rankings, but have six players listed in the Top 100 by MLB.com. Baseball America is also slightly higher on the Houston farm system than BP, listing Houston No. 3 before the season started.
As for the players other organizations would target, Laureano, Paulino, Fisher and Hernandez are either close to MLB ready or have already played in the big leagues. Mates is likely one year from the majors, while the rest of the list is two years or more away.