Jordan Schafer hurts hand and Quintero returns on Sunday

Jordan Schafer has, so far, been a pleasant surprise this spring and has all but locked up the center field job. Which makes any injury to Jordan, at this point, pretty big and disappointing. Schafer went down on Sunday after making a fantastic catch to rob extra bases but also heard “a pop” in his hand. One thing I’ve come to know is when an athlete hears a pop, it’s almost never good. An injury right now, like I mentioned above, would put such a damper on what has been an incredibly successful spring for the young centerfielder . The good news is that Jordan’s X-Rays came back negative and he is day to day, which is better news than originally expected.

Too often during spring training, injures tend to creep up on teams and even though the Astros have options, they would miss Schafer’s speed and the spark he provides at the top of the batting order. Jason Bourgeois could fill in like he did last season after Bourn was dealt and before Schafer returned from his hand injury. Schafer has had a history of injures so another might be bad news for those who have high hopes for Jordan, like myself. One of the reasons Atlanta wanted, needed, another CF at the deadline last season was that they couldn’t count on Schafer to be their everyday center-fielder. The hope in Houston was that the ominous trend Jordan established wouldn’t continue, hopefully this is only a minor setback and not a continuation of that pattern.

Humberto Quintero needed to return to action and quickly, which he finally did on Sunday.  Quintero would catch five innings and collect a hit in his return. With Castro and Snyder playing good ball so far, “Q” has to make an impact these final two weeks of spring or it might be his last with the Astros. It would be nice to see Quintero make their choice a tough one with a strong finish and I’m pretty sure he’ll get plenty of opportunity to do just that. It might truly be up to “Q” to see if he can force his way on the roster come Opening Day.