00:00I said this before because it's kind of slightly changed for me.
00:07As I asked in the break, who is the Astros' most important player?
00:13Who is that guy that you feel is the most important guy on this team,
00:18the guy that they've got to have, the guy where you look at
00:21and you're like, oh, boy, they're in trouble?
00:22Because I do think, Clint, for me, the past three, four years,
00:27it has been Jordan Alvarez.
00:29But Jordan Alvarez, to me, has been their most important player.
00:33He, to me, would change the way they look, their lineup,
00:37and how you could do things when he is out of it.
00:40It just looks rough to me.
00:43They've been able to survive, Kyle.
00:45They've been able to survive.
00:46But Jordan felt like, boy, if they lose him, it looks a lot different.
00:49I've always felt that way for the past couple of years.
00:53It has shifted for me a bit.
00:55Who, for you, is it that is the most important player for the Astros now?
01:01Oh, wow.
01:02That's a – yeah, I mean, look, I would probably go Hunter Brown.
01:07Yeah, that's where it shifted to me.
01:09That's the first – Hunter Brown's the first time I've felt that way,
01:11somebody different than Jordan, I'd say, over the last three or four years.
01:14Yeah.
01:15I think Hunter Brown has taken that.
01:17Yeah, I would say Hunter Brown just simply because you don't know
01:20what you have behind him.
01:23You know, they were able to – well, I guess they really weren't.
01:27But they were able to at least put a decent lineup out there last year
01:30without Jordan Alvarez for a stretch.
01:33Well, now, I mean, now you can go with – you got Correa for the full year.
01:37You got Paredes.
01:39Like, you have other options now.
01:41Yeah, you got Batch.
01:42Yeah, and I just don't know, boy, if you don't have Hunter Brown leading the way,
01:46man, I don't know what you have from a starting rotation.
01:49There's a lot of unknown behind him, and he's the only, I would call,
01:52stabilizing factor in that rotation.
01:56And I think he is – has worked his way into kind of one of those
02:00set-to-tone leadership type guys.
02:03And so, I think he's even more – he's even more important to the Astros
02:05than being the ace and the opening day starter.
02:08So, yeah, I would go with Hunter Brown right now probably.
02:12Yeah, I mean, you look at it – I mean, what's behind him?
02:16You talked about that.
02:18It's M.I.E.?
02:19Is that what we're going with?
02:20Yeah, M.I.E.
02:21Yeah, M.I.E.
02:22M.I.E.
02:23And Christian Javier, Spencer Getty, Burroughs, who they got in the trade,
02:28Lance McCullers.
02:29Like, those are the options coming behind him in the rotation.
02:34And, see, the previous years you've had Framber there.
02:36Hell, Framber has been the opening day starter the last four years.
02:41Like, you've had him and usually it's been Framber and somebody else, right?
02:46It's been Framber and Verlander.
02:48It's been Framber and now Hunter Brown, right?
02:52Like, where you've had multiple guys where you're like, all right, man,
02:55I trust – I trust these guys.
02:57Javier before the injury.
02:59I feel like we've got enough coming behind them.
03:02Now, man, whew, it's to me, not only do they need him healthy, but, Clint,
03:09he's got to produce to a certain level.
03:11If Hunter Brown doesn't produce to a certain level, like, as of what we know
03:16right now, we'll see what happens with the rest of these guys.
03:18But, as we know right now, boy, they're in trouble.
03:21If Hunter Brown isn't one of the best – you talked about yesterday,
03:24one of the best pitchers in the American League.
03:26Like, that's the thing is they don't only need his health
03:29and need him to be there every fifth day.
03:31They need him to perform big time every fifth day.
03:34Well, yeah, I mean, the scary part of it is you mentioned those that are behind him.
03:38I mean, none of those guys are for sure studs.
03:43I mean, you've got some stuff.
03:44There's not a Framber behind that.
03:46Yeah, you've got some stuff that you really like.
03:50Truth be told, you've got some, I would say, several arms to pick from,
03:57if you will, that could be quality starters in the league.
04:00But you're either banking on a younger dude turning a corner
04:05and taking the next step.
04:07You're talking about a dude that has been injured recently taking a step,
04:12or you're talking about a guy, Lance McCullers,
04:14that's been injured long-term taking a step.
04:16You're talking about a guy making a transition from Japan to, you know, the MLB
04:21and being absolute nails when he gets here,
04:24which none of that stuff is like, none of that stuff is,
04:28boy, I just don't think it's going to happen.
04:29But when you need all of it to happen behind Hunter Brown,
04:34I think you're flirting with some issues there.
04:37And so there's just not a lot of, like, for sure behind Hunter Brown.
04:41So I just, he is, at least for the first half of the season,
04:45I think he's the guy that you've got to zero in on.
04:48Yeah, until you know more.
04:49Yeah, until you know more.
04:50Like, someone text in Hunter Brown for me.
04:52If he gets hurt, we're sunk.
04:54Someone said Jeremy Pena.
04:56Like, I think Jeremy Pena is very important.
05:01I still think Jordan may be the most important at the plate.
05:04But Jeremy Pena plays a premium position.
05:07And right now, well, you got Correa, who could slide over.
05:10But he plays a premium position.
05:11And he is your table setter and arguably was your best offensive player last year.
05:16So I don't know that I agree with it,
05:19but I think I can understand the rationale behind that answer.
05:23Well, the interesting thing about any player, you know,
05:27that ultimately swings a bat, right?
05:30I mean, a non-pitcher.
05:33The, I think the impact of that particular player in a vacuum, right,
05:41is very minimal as long as the big dog's up there,
05:45as long as Jordan Alvarez is part of the lineup.
05:47I don't think that Jeremy Pena in that leadoff spot is a deal breaker
05:54if something goes on, if he gets an injury or something.
05:57You feel like you can feel that, like, you don't want to,
06:01but you feel like you can adequately kind of fill that void.
06:04Well, yeah, I mean, it hurts.
06:05You miss him.
06:06But your lineup doesn't go to hell.
06:08Right?
06:09I mean, like, now, you take Jordan out of the mix.
06:12Yeah, I did.
06:12And that's not the center point of this lineup.
06:14Then all of a sudden, boy, you are just,
06:16you cannot afford to lose anybody whatsoever.
06:20If Jordan's there, hey, man, Altuve can lead off.
06:23No big deal.
06:24Right?
06:24I mean, you've got some pieces where, I mean, if you start the season
06:28and Jake Myers is swinging it more like he did last year before the injury
06:31than the previous seasons, then all of a sudden you've got,
06:34you're adding some length to the lineup that you don't miss Jeremy Pena much.
06:38And you talk about Yiner Diaz, if he's swinging the bat the way that you know
06:42he can swing the bat and has a little bit of a rebound year,
06:44then, again, you don't miss, you know, Pena as much
06:47as long as the big dude's in the middle.
06:50Text line coming through, champs lights, Hunter Brown only plays once a week.
06:55I get that, but I think his effect is more than that.
06:59If Hunter Brown is eating up innings and he is pitching well,
07:03you don't have to use your bullpen as much in his starts.
07:06And then with the other guys that you look at, that, hey, he saves the bullpen
07:11and he saves guys longer and you can, hey, you may have to push the bullpen
07:15a little bit more with Burrow starts or Javier starts, depending behind.
07:21That's a huge deal, the way he can set things up the rest of the week
07:25where he can eat up innings.
07:26So I think it's, I think he, yes, he only pitches once a week,
07:31but his impact can be much bigger than that.
07:33Which one of these guys that are the others, the ones that are behind Hunter Brown,
07:37which one are you most excited to see?
07:40Which one do you have the most expectation for?
07:43You know, who do you believe in?
07:44Who do you not?
07:45The person I'm most excited to see is Imani.
07:48I mean.
07:49Imani?
07:49What did I call him?
07:50You've turned him into Imani.
07:50What did I call him?
07:51What is it?
07:52Imani?
07:52Imani?
07:53Imani?
07:54Imani?
07:54I feel like that's the way we've been putting a little slant on it.
07:56I am.
07:57I'm trying to have some fun with it.
07:59Yeah, that's good.
08:00Imani?
08:00We got Tatsuya.
08:01He might eat.
08:02No, I'm excited to see him because he did have electric stuff.
08:06But the person that I'm really, like I would say,
08:09the most confident in hopefully is Christian Javier that he is now removed,
08:16a year removed from coming off Tommy John, right?
08:19When you come right back off Tommy John, it may take a little bit.
08:22Now that he's had a year and he put in a good amount of innings last year,
08:27hopefully he gets back to himself because he can be a top-of-the-rotation top guy.
08:34Yeah.
08:35Like he has two or three kind of stuff in him.
08:38He's got great stuff as well and swing and miss stuff.
08:42So he's the one that I look at and I'm like, you know what?
08:45Yeah, we could see something.
08:48He could be the one-two in the one-two punch.
08:51Spencer Eric Addy, bro, I don't know.
08:53That's the one for me, though.
08:55Is it?
08:55I don't know.
08:56Lance, I just can't believe.
08:58Spencer's the one for me.
08:59Like he obviously doesn't have Christian Javier stuff.
09:02But Spencer's the one, for whatever reason,
09:06like I'm literally sitting on the edge of my seat for damn near two years now
09:10going, okay, like arrive.
09:12Let's have that moment, right?
09:14I mean, he goes out there and he kind of looks like he's coming,
09:16but he still, for whatever reason, kind of looks like a depth guy
09:20that may or may not be on a playoff roster that you're like,
09:24oh, I'm not real sure if he's not just surviving
09:26because everybody else is blowing their elbow up or what.
09:29Like he's the one for me, though, that I'm sitting there.
09:32Like I feel like I'm anticipating his arrival this year.
09:36He can stay out of that outfield.
09:37Maybe that's the Astro.
09:39Yes, stay out of the outfield during Mariners batting practice
09:41if you don't mind in pregame.
09:42That would be good.
09:43But like I don't know.
09:43He had turned a corner that first year,
09:45and we did have higher expectations when he came back in,
09:48but he just could never find it.
09:51Well, I don't know if that's the Astro fan in me,
09:53but for whatever reason, when I've watched him,
09:55I've been like there's something there.
09:56I don't know.
09:57It's obviously not ace-level stuff,
09:59but there's something there to go, okay,
10:01this guy gives me confidence on nights
10:03that he's going to have to take the ball.
10:05I mean, that – and I don't know that that's justified yet,
10:08but I'm hoping – he's the one for me that I'm like,
10:10yeah, I need Spencer to take that next step.
10:13One, because the next step is not like, boy,
10:15solidify yourself as an all-star.
10:17The next step is just let's stay out of left field during BP
10:20and let's put some quality starts together.
10:22How about that?
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