Climbing Tal's Hill » Marc Krauss http://climbingtalshill.com A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Reviewing the Chris Johnson Trade http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/10/11/reviewing-the-chris-johnson-trade/ http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/10/11/reviewing-the-chris-johnson-trade/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:13:59 +0000 Brian Hamilton http://climbingtalshill.com/?p=4770 On July 29, just two days before the non waiver trade deadline, Jeff Luhnow sent 3B Chris Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 3B/OF Bobby Borchering and OF Marc Krauss. The move came as a surprise to some, but to others, it represented more of Luhnow’s plan of re-stocking the farm system. We’ll take a [...]

Reviewing the Chris Johnson Trade - Climbing Tal's Hill - Climbing Tal's Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> On July 29, just two days before the non waiver trade deadline, Jeff Luhnow sent 3B Chris Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 3B/OF Bobby Borchering and OF Marc Krauss. The move came as a surprise to some, but to others, it represented more of Luhnow’s plan of re-stocking the farm system. We’ll take a look at the players involved in the trade and see how they did after the jump.

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]]> http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/10/11/reviewing-the-chris-johnson-trade/feed/ 0 George Springer Promoted to AA http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/08/09/george-springer-promoted-to-aa/ http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/08/09/george-springer-promoted-to-aa/#comments Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:26:19 +0000 Brian Hamilton http://climbingtalshill.com/?p=4356 Twitter exploded with news from Astros writers and fans that the Astros had promoted 2011 first round pick (11th overall) , George Springer to AA Corpus Christi. The news was well received among fans and comes with just over a month to play in the minor league season. It was also a bit odd given the timing since just [...]

George Springer Promoted to AA - Climbing Tal's Hill - Climbing Tal's Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> Twitter exploded with news from Astros writers and fans that the Astros had promoted 2011 first round pick (11th overall) , George Springer to AA Corpus Christi. The news was well received among fans and comes with just over a month to play in the minor league season. It was also a bit odd given the timing since just last night he went 0-5 with five strikeouts. Nevertheless, he will be in uniform tonight and playing CF (with newly acquired Robbie Grossman shifting over to LF) for the Hooks. He will take the roster spot left empty by Marc Krauss when he was promoted to AAA Oklahoma City earlier in the week.

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]]> http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/08/09/george-springer-promoted-to-aa/feed/ 0 Chris Johnson deal looking very good for everyone http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/08/06/chris-johnson-deal-looking-very-good-for-everyone/ http://climbingtalshill.com/2012/08/06/chris-johnson-deal-looking-very-good-for-everyone/#comments Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:17:55 +0000 Alex Sandoval http://climbingtalshill.com/?p=4343 I’d been pretty darn hard on Chris Johnson for a long time and up until he was dealt to Arizona last Sunday, I still wasn’t a believer. That said, I thought he had value and considering he was playing good ball coming up to the trade deadline, a trade was a possibility. So it took [...]

Chris Johnson deal looking very good for everyone - Climbing Tal's Hill - Climbing Tal's Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

]]> I’d been pretty darn hard on Chris Johnson for a long time and up until he was dealt to Arizona last Sunday, I still wasn’t a believer. That said, I thought he had value and considering he was playing good ball coming up to the trade deadline, a trade was a possibility. So it took me by no surprise to see a move happen – but what did surprise me was what was given back for Johnson. See, while I saw value, I wasn’t sure he had the value to bring back significant prospects in return. Jeff Luhnow would prove me wrong and once I saw the prospects coming back to Houston, I was left speechless and left even more impressed than I already was with the young general manager.

Bobby Borchering: Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

Luhnow made move after move, revamping an improving farm system with each move. The beauty of his new toys was that not one of them was the top of the line merchandise that shoppers are willing to embarrass themselves over come Christmas. However, each acquisition had a purpose and kept the new found momentum going. The last move may have been the best. Exchanging a mediocre third baseman, having a decent season, for two prospects that have something that isn’t found so easily, power. Marc Krauss and Bobby Borchering may not be huge names but both have promise. Since the trade both have shown that promise and then some. Both are torturing AA pitching for Corpus Christi and are making Jeff Luhnow look like a genius.

Now let’s talk about Chris Johnson and what he left behind. Was Chris ever an all-star, heck no but he did provide offense at times. He was never meant to be the next great Astros’ 3rd baseman. His defense was mediocre at best but often below average and at times a magnet of criticism. I can admit to judging him unfairly and often expecting way too much from him. I wanted Ken Caminiti in his prime but got a league average player at his best. I partly blame Chris himself because after he came up in 2010 and tore through NL pitching, it created a certain level of expectation that probably couldn’t be met. Looking at his stats right now and they’re not bad, not bad at all. He is hitting .285 with a respectable .783 OPS combined this season and has now shown life in his power bat. I thought he had value but would bring back very little, I was wrong and happy to be wrong because not only did the Astros seem to make out pretty good but Chris Johnson is going to contribute to a playoff contender.

 

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