*George Springer signed a 2yr/$24m deal that will guarantee him a paycheck in 2019, as well, but leave 2020 open as his final arbitration year. Springer was called up early in the 2014 season and made the Super Two cutoff, giving him an extra year of arbitration.
FanGraphs' Value metric says that Springer was worth $35.7m in 2017 alone, so this is a good deal for the Astros. It's also a good deal for Springer who has a guaranteed contract beyond the current season for the first time in his career. Should he get hurt (and, while I'm not going to say he's injury-prone, he has shown an ability to get randomly dinged up), it won't affect his 2019 salary as he won't be going to arbitration.
*The Chronicle's Reid Layman says that the 2yr/$24m deal Springer signed yesterday shows how patience paid off for him.
*Brian McTaggart says the Astros are in a good position to repeat. McTaggart:
But 2018 could represent the final chance for the foundation of the team, as it's currently constructed, to add another title. Lefty starter Dallas Keuchel and super-utility man Marwin Gonzalez are both free agents and are likely to test the free-agent waters.
*FanGraphs released their Top 100 Prospects list yesterday. Here's the Astros' shakedown:
-Forrest Whitley: #8
-Kyle Tucker: #10
-Yordan Alvarez: #44
So here's your Prospect Matrix (Just for math's sake, I added 101 to anyone not ranked by a list):
Forrest Whitley - Average: #9
MLB.com: 9
Baseball America: 10
FanGraphs: 8
Kyle Tucker - Average: #14
MLB.com: 17
Baseball America: 15
FanGraphs: 10
Yordan Alvarez - Average: #69
MLB.com: NR
Baseball America: 62
FanGraphs: 44
J.B. Bukauskas - Average: #80.6
MLB.com: 76
Baseball America: 76
FanGraphs: NR
*Gear up for your Fantasy Baseball season (I will not be playing fantasy baseball this season and I couldn't be happier about it) with SI's Top 300 fantasy players.
*Cumberland County (NC) commissioners approved a funding plan for the new Carolina League ballpark scheduled to open in 2019.
*The Hardball Times: The Case of the Disappearing Franchise Player.
*FanGraphs' Nathaniel Grow plots out a possible path forward for the MLBPA.
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