Archive for Houston Astros

Mark Appel learned a lot in his four years at Stanford University. The 22-year-old right-hander graduated with a degree in management sciences and engineering. Along the way, he aced Pitching 101. This past summer, the Houston Astros selected him with the first-overall pick in the amateur draft.

Appel isn’t your typical power pitcher. He possesses an overpowering arsenal, but he goes about his craft like a technician. That doesn’t mean he’s a finished product — he has just 38 professional innings under his belt — but it does suggest his time in the minor leagues could be short.

Appel talked about his cerebral approach to pitching — including the importance of knowing who you are — late last week. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Houston Astros hired Brent Strom to be their new pitching coach, they didn’t bring on board an old dog. The 65-year-old former big-league lefthander is amenable to learning new tricks. In an organization with an analytical bent, it could be no other way.

For the past seven seasons, Strom has been a part of The Cardinal Way. As the club’s minor league pitching coordinator, he helped nurture many of young arms that helped lead St. Louis to the World Series. His player development experience will be helpful in Houston, where there is no shortage of young arms.

This is Strom’s second tenure in the Astros’ organization. He was a minor league pitching instructor from 1989-1995, and the club’s big league pitching coach in 1996. He was Kansas City’s pitching coach in 2000 and 2001.

Strom — who assumed his new position on October 22 — talked about the pitching philosophy he brings with him from St. Louis, and the importance of keeping up with the times. Read the rest of this entry »

When Bo Porter was hired to lead the Houston Astros, one of his first moves was to add Dave Trembley to his coaching staff. The hiring was more than a young, first-year manager bringing on board a mentor. It was a case of loyalty rewarded.

The 61-year-old Trembley and 41-year-old Porter go way back. And despite the difference in age and backgrounds, they share important things in common. Each is hard-nosed: Porter played football at the University of Iowa; Trembley has spent three decades in the baseball trenches. Both are good communicators, well-versed in sabermetric concepts.

They also remember where they came from. Porter, who played parts of three big-league seasons, was the Nationals third base coach before coming to Houston. Trembley, who skippered the Orioles from 2007-2010 after 20 seasons as a minor-league manager, came over from the Braves organization. Along the way, they forged a relationship that led to a late-night phone call neither will soon forget. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re a speedy 5-foot-6 second baseman with a line-drive stroke, Jose Altuve comps come with the territory. When you’re drafted by the Houston Astros, they are pretty much inevitable. The player in question is Tony Kemp.

A fifth-round pick this year out of Vanderbilt, the 21-year-old Kemp is looking to forge his own identity in pro ball. He did so as a collegian. The Nashville native was the 2013 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and a first-team selection on Baseball America’s All-America team. In his junior season with the Commodores, he hit .388/.480/.496, with 32 stolen bases. In his first month with the short-season Tri-City Valley Cats, he is hitting .314.

Kemp — who differs from Altuve in that he swings from the left side –talked about his game a week after his debut. Read the rest of this entry »

Lance Berkman has numbers worthy of the Hall of Fame. The longtime Houston Astro — and current Texas Ranger — boasts a career slash line of .295/.408/.540. His post-season rate stats — accumulated in 52 games — are even better.

Berkman isn’t the boastful type. The 37-year-old switch-hitter acknowledges his accomplishments, but in a humble and understated manner that mirrors his legacy. Had he spent his career in a large media market — and not been overshadowed by Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio — his fame would be far greater. As for a plaque in Cooperstown, he will merit serious consideration once his playing days are over.

Berkman talked about his evolution as a hitter — and the relative value of OPS and RBIs — when the Rangers visited Fenway Park earlier this month. Read the rest of this entry »

Like most in his profession, Jim Summers goes largely unnoticed. That doesn’t mean he and his brethren aren’t invaluable to the teams that employ them. When it comes to day-to-day preparation, they are the rock stars of baseball’s video age.

Summers is the video coordinator for the Houston Astros. If a player or coach needs a frame-by-frame breakdown of a pitching delivery or a swing, he’s the go-to guy. Need to know how much a slider is breaking or which pitch an opposing slugger is hammering? He has the answer.

Summers is — in his own words — “a traveling video library.”

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Summers on the responsibilities of a video coordinator: “What I do is track every pitch thrown by us and against us. I track the pitch type, pitch speed, pitch location, where the ball was hit and how hard it was hit. Everything is categorized, marked and data-based. We track between 45,000 and 60,000 pitches each year. I then help the advance scouts by loading the games from the rest of the league. Basically, I’m a traveling video library.

“We get our video from TVTI. The data comes from Inside Edge, which sends us their comma-separated vector files, or CSV files. Those are integrated into a program called BATS, which is made by Sydex Sports and owned by Mike Phillips. I think 28 of the 30 teams use it.

“Here, with the Houston Astros, we have our own group of people doing statistics. I believe we will eventually do all of our own statistical inputs and outputs. We have one of the best decision science departments around. Sig Mejdal and the guys can really break things down, and because it’s a science it’s not subject to human prejudice.”

On how the data is used:
Read the rest of this entry »

When Lucas Harrell takes the mound this weekend against the Tigers, batters can expect to see a lot of two-seam fastballs. The Houston Astros right-hander has thrown his signature pitch 61.8 percent of the time this season. In his most recent start — a shut-down effort against the Yankees — 75 of his 105 pitches were two-seamers averaging 92.4 mph.

Harrell has been specializing in shut-down efforts. In five of his six starts he has allowed two or fewer runs. The 27-year-old doesn’t get much national attention, but outside of a brutal outing against the A’s in early April, he has pitched like an ace. It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. Last year — his first full season in the big leagues — he had a 3.76 ERA in 193 innings.

Harrell lives and dies with his sinker, but he has solid command of four other pitches. He is also throwing a four-seam fastball 9.3 percent of the time, a cutter (13.9%), changeup (8.5%) and curveball (6.5%).

Harrell talked about his repertoire — including his heavy sinker — last weekend at Fenway Park. Also weighing in on his game were catcher Jason Castro, manager Bo Porter, pitching coach Doug Brocail, and Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves.

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Harrell on his two-seamer: “I throw a lot of sinkers. That’s my main pitch and my other stuff I basically just work in. It’s been my go-to pitch ever since high school. I’ve always had movement on it and I can also throw hard. The combination of those two together usually produces ground balls. I’m a ground ball guy and don’t strike a lot of people out.

“I get a little arm-side tail sometimes, but on good days I get more downward action. That’s what’s going to get me the ground balls. When I get side to side, I leave it up and it gets hit a little more.

“If you’re throwing your sinker at 88-90, or you’re throwing 90-93, that’s a big difference. The harder it is, the harder it is to hit. It rides a little bit more on the hands, which gives you a little more advantage. Even so, the more I’m out there, the sharper I am and the more action I have on the ball.”

On his two-seam grip: “I rotate the ball slightly in my hand and can really feel it come off my middle finger. Read the rest of this entry »

Sig Mejdal is part of the brave new world of Houston Astros baseball. That world — at least as it pertains to the decision-making process — revolves around statistical analysis. Along with general manager Jeff Luhnow, Mejdal helps lead what has become one of most progressive front offices in baseball.

Formerly with the St. Louis Cardinals — along with Luhnow — Mejdal has a pair of engineering degrees — as well as advanced degrees in operations research and cognitive psychology/human factors. He talked about the Astros saber-savvy approach this month during the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

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David Laurila: Your title is “director of decision sciences.” That’s unique within baseball.

Sig Mejdal: Yes, that’s one way of putting it. I believe one writer called it pretentious. To be fair, it is an unusual title, and it’s a first in the industry. Still, given exactly what we do, I think it is an appropriate title. “Decision sciences” involves identifying the attributes that lead to an understanding of the expectancies and variabilities relevant to a particular decision. In short, maximizing your output in an uncertain world. That’s our job: Creating decision aids based on the analysis in order to assist our decision makers.

DL: What has Jeff Luhnow brought to the Astros?

SM: In my opinion, it is not only Jeff, but the owner, Jim Crane, and the President, George Postolos, who have created a special culture here. It is a culture of innovation – where there is an incessant desire to explore, to improve and to do the best that we can. Read the rest of this entry »

Dave Raymond won’t be returning to the Houston Astros radio booth next season. Along with broadcast partner Brett Dolan, he was informed that his contract will not be renewed. [Milo Hamilton, who shared air time with the two, is retiring.] There is irony involved in the decision.

A member of the Astros radio team from 2006-2012, the 40-year-old Raymond was seemingly a perfect fit for the club’s analytics-driven approach. A graduate of Stanford University and former business reporter for Forbes Magazine, he is among the more saber-savvy broadcasters in the game. Unlike the old-school Hamilton, he speaks the same language as the Houston front office.

Raymond, an undervalued asset in the broadcaster free-agent market, is currently in search of his next opportunity.

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David Laurila: What are your thoughts on the Astros having adopted an analytics-based approach?

Dave Raymond: “I thought it made a lot of sense when they first started moving in that direction. Before the sale closed, it was made clear in what direction the team would be headed. They would be looking for a young, analytics-based general manager, and would shift aggressively to the new philosophy. It was a good idea, especially given the status of the franchise at that time. They were depleted in prospects, and the major-league roster was either aging rapidly or just deteriorating in terms of production. It was obvious they were going to have to do some drastic maneuvering.

“Having watched what has happened in the last 12 to 18 months, it’s been really dramatic. I’m sure anybody in the industry would echo that sentiment. I didn’t know they would be as aggressive as they’ve been, or that they would have had as much success moving guys and adding so many young bodies. They’ve pulled off several one-for-two, and one-for-three, trades. It’s simple law of averages. If they can bring in three younger options for one body — they realize all three aren’t going to make it big — but if one of them does, maybe they make some real headway.

“It was a bold move, although it’s tough for the fan base, because there is such little hope of winning in the near term. Long term, it will more than likely suit them well.”

DL: Compared to many broadcasters, you have a good understanding of analytics. Read the rest of this entry »

This past summer, Bo Porter — who then was the third-base coach for the Washington Nationals — sat down to discuss the philosophies he’d bring to a big-league managerial job. Earlier this week, he followed up on that interview, this time as manager of the Houston Astros.

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Porter on the Astros way: “Jeff [Luhnow] and the entire group we have is extremely entrenched into the analytical side of the game, which is something I’m extremely interested in. There are a lot of values that can be found when you look at the analytical side and get away from just the numbers everybody looks at every day. In doing so, you’re able to understand the true value of a player. That’s going to help us from an organizational standpoint.”

On the interview process: “We had extensive conversations about my [philosophies] and we were all on one sheet of music. I sat down with [Director of Decision Sciences] Sig Mejdal, even after the interview process. We’ve had probably three or four sit-down meetings, talking about roster construction and available players. We’ve looked at our overall needs, our overall goal and how different players fit into our system.”

On in-game decisions: “When you talk game-by-game, a lot of the analytic portion goes into the decision-making. When you get into the ebb and flow of the game, the skillsets of the players will dictate what you’re able to do. That’s whether it’s the skillset of your players or the players you’re playing against.”

On defensive shifts: “That’s something from an organizational standpoint. We will shift different players. You look at the portion of the field that needs to be defended. I’ve always been one with the Hayden Fry philosophy that you scratch where it itches. You should always defend the greater portion of the field in which the hitter has the greatest probability of hitting the ball to.”

On third base coach Dave Trembley: “Dave and I go way back. He actually was a manager of mine in the minor leagues. When I’d come into the ballpark, he’d be sitting in his office going over all the numbers. His resume speaks for itself. He’s a former major-league manager who has held pretty much every on-the-field job in Major League Baseball, so he has a tremendous knowledge of the game. It’s a great advantage for us to have a guy like Dave at third base.”

On being on the same page: “When you talk about front-office dynamic and management, you want to be on the same sheet of music. That’s one of the beautiful things in the relationship we have here in Houston. We have a great front office. Our baseball operations do a great job from the research standpoint and an advance-scouting standpoint. They’re going to arm our staff with a lot of material that will allow us to be successful, and we’re going to invite that material with open arms. We’re going to use it to our advantage to help the Houston Astros win baseball games.”