Good morning! The Astros had their last off-day until [squints] Monday. They open a series against the Cardinals tonight.
*Don't forget to pick up your tickets to tomorrow's Lima Time Time Live Show at The Secret Group! Tickets are $5 and yes, we get a cut. Now is your chance to get all of your friends together and help us make a little scratch.
*Next up: You need this redesigned Air Yordan shirt. And this Michael Brantley: Professional Hitter shirt.
*Alright, on to Bidness.
*Anyone who is a Tony Kemp fan (which is limited to Any Human on Earth) has the Sad as it was announced he will be DFA'd in advance of Carlos Correa's activation from the DL.
We all know the situation:
-Tony Kemp seems like a legitimately great human being.
-Tony Kemp was out of options, so he would have to pass through waivers (he won't) in order to get sent back to Round Rock.
-Myles Straw is a little more versatile, and is definitely faster, providing more late-game options for Hinch. Ultimately the Astros went with Straw.
-Tony Kemp can now be included in any trade package put together between now and the 31st.
Kemp, 2019: .227/.308/.417, 29K:16BB
Straw, 2019: .256/.376/.321, 20K:15BB
You could make a case that the Astros did this to themselves by bringing Kemp up in 2017 for a total of 17 games - two in April, and then again as a September call-up. He made ten starts in those 17 games, burning an option year. Why was Kemp brought up in April 2017? Because Teoscar Hernandez was injured in a collision with Altuve in his first MLB game of the 2017 season (April 25). Teoscar Hernandez was playing because Jake Marisnick was on the 7-Day Concussion List, and came back five days later. That's stupid. Kemp was optioned back to Fresno after two games. It sucks for Tony Kemp, it sucks for us. Kemp will find a landing spot with a team and get an opportunity. And he still has a Ring. Best of luck to Tony Kemp in the future. Him and Evan Gattis hugging is one of the greatest things in franchise history. Better than Jeff Kent's helmet flip.
It also frees up one spot on the 40-Man Roster. Tyler White's DFA combined with Kemp's DFA makes it 38, but adding Correa from the 60-Day IL will bring it to 39. The Trade Deadline is five days away.
Let's look back at the 2013 Draft, and do a Where Are They Now?
1-1: Mark Appel. Retired.
2-40: Andrew Thurman: Traded to Atlanta in the Evan Gattis/James Hoyt deal, January 2015.
3-74: Kent Emanuel. 4.26 ERA in Round Rock in 2019.
4-107: Conrad Gregor. Last played in the Astros Org in 2016. Currently with New Jersey, of the independent Canadian-American Association.
5-137: Tony Kemp. DFA'd, July 2019.
6-167: Jacob Nottingham. Traded to Oakland in the Scott Kazmir deal, July 2015. Currently with the Brewers' organization.
7-197: James Ramsey. Last played in 2016.
8-227: Jason Martin: Traded to Pittsburgh in the Gerrit Cole deal, January 2018.
9-257: Brian Holberton: Last played in 2015.
10-287: Austin Nicely: Last played in the Astros Org in 2015. Currently pitching for Evansville in the independent Frontier League.
Only Kent Emanuel is still with the Astros (from the 1st 10 Rounds). Kemp, Nottingham, and Martin made it to the Majors from the Astros' 2013 Draft. Oh there was one more guy: 33rd Round pick Tyler White and...
*The Astros traded Tyler White to the Dodgers for 24-year old reliever Andre Scrubb. Scrubb throws in the mid-90s with a "funky delivery." A former 8th Round pick by the Dodgers, Scrubb has a 2.37 ERA / 1.21 WHIP in 57IP (66K:28BB) for Double-A Tulsa. He'll report to Corpus.
Tyler White is a sweetheart and had very nice things to say about the Astros on Instagram.
*The Mets "want to move" Noah Syndergaard and a "Rival Exec" said that the price for Noah Syndergaard is "a Top 30 prospect and a couple of other solid pieces."
*An AL scout says the Astros need a starting pitcher, but the farm system isn't as deep as you might think. In order to take care of the first thing, the Astros might have to deal Tucker or Whitley.
*Still other Unnamed Execs think the Deadline will be quiet through the weekend and then pop off on Monday.
*Marcus Stroman news:
-Joel Sherman says he's likely the biggest-named pitcher to get traded.
-Andy Martino says the Blue Jays might actually extend him.
-Jon Morosi says he has sources that say both Kyle Tucker for Stroman wouldn't be enough and that the Astros wouldn't trade Tucker for Stroman straight up."
*Madison Bumgarner news:
-Mark Feinsand says the Giants will hang on to him.
-Hank Schulman says the Giants haven't made a decision either way.
No one knows anything about anything. And anyone claiming otherwise is either lying, or is an idiot.
*Troy Tulowitzki retired, ending a 13-year career hampered by injuries. Tulo spent 10 seasons in Colorado, hitting .299/.371/.513. Then he got traded to Toronto and from mid-2015 through 2019 played in a total of 243 games, hitting .249/.313/.416. He was really good, and a really good Colorado hitter. Now he'll be an assistant coach for the University of Texas.
*Protests in Puerto Rico got their governor to resign.
*How Stan Smith went from a decent tennis player to the most popular trainer on the planet.
*A Musical Selection and damn if it's not a referendum on society right now:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
