00:00You feel like they're going to hit and score enough runs.
00:02Jeremy Payne, you're obviously leading things off.
00:05Hopefully he can kind of continue his career season from last year.
00:09You feel like they're going to hit and score enough runs.
00:11They can pitch.
00:12But right now, the early returns on three of the guys that we think may be in the rotation.
00:18Hunter Brown, of course, Mike Burrows, and Tatsui?
00:22Tatsui?
00:22What is it, Tyler?
00:23How do you go all the way out?
00:25Tatsuyama?
00:26Yes.
00:26Tatsuyama?
00:26I believe that's how I've been rolling with it instead of trying to say that nightmare of the other name.
00:32The last name, Tatsuyama?
00:34Tatsuyama.
00:35Tatsuyama.
00:36Yeah, Tatsuyama Imai.
00:38There you go.
00:39There it is.
00:40That was good.
00:41Tatsuyama Imai.
00:41That was really good.
00:42But those three, those three look like, and I think Christian Javier, you can kind of fold in there.
00:48You got it?
00:48Just make sure we're getting this right.
00:50There actually is no M.
00:51It's Tatsuya.
00:53Tatsuya.
00:54Tatsuya.
00:55There's no M, huh?
00:57Tatsuya.
00:58Tatsuya.
00:59Tatsuya.
01:00Tatsuya.
01:00Tatsuya.
01:02Imai.
01:03But those three, if you look at their numbers in spring training, Clint, they have a combined ERA of .38,
01:13and that's over 23-plus innings.
01:17They've given up a combined seven hits, given up one earned run with 31 Ks.
01:21And we're seeing, like, Imai hitting up into the upper 90s.
01:26He threw it at 98 last week in one of his starts.
01:30We're seeing Burroughs come on.
01:32And that doesn't even get us to the space of where maybe they look at Christian Javier, who I think
01:37many people, when you look at depth charts, predict them as their number two starter.
01:42That is huge, obviously, in spring training, Clint.
01:45But if they can get any of those guys to be outside of Hunter Brown, I think we know what
01:52Hunter can do.
01:52But if they get any of those guys to be staples in this rotation, that completely changes the way this
01:58team is viewed.
01:59Yeah, look, I just think as Astros fan, look, at this time of year, I lean a lot, rely a
02:04lot on banter, reports.
02:06I mean, and reports that people admit are just kind of flippant because it is spring training and guys are
02:11working on things and what does it mean and who knows what.
02:14But so I lean into that a lot in the sense of trying to follow the going zones.
02:21But so as an Astros fan, I just know if you just said, hey, Clint, what is before spring training
02:27ever starts, what what do you hope happens with this start and rotation?
02:32I would have said I hope the newly acquired players are at the top of the rotation, obviously not above
02:40Hunter Brown, but at the top of the rotation so that you're not relying on guys that, yes, they've got
02:46really good stuff.
02:47They're electric, but they're injured all the damn time or guys that are young and they've been good through spurts,
02:52but we just don't know exactly where they sit.
02:56Are they a four or five starter?
02:57Are they a two, three starter?
02:58You really don't know.
02:59You know, obviously, when you look at McCullers, you have no clue what's in there.
03:04The guy's changed his whole personality.
03:06So what is what does it mean?
03:07Right, right, right, right.
03:08What is he?
03:09He hasn't rebuilt his throwing motion.
03:11He's rebuilt his mind.
03:12So what is he right as an Astros fan?
03:16Man, I'm just so thankful that we're not sitting here going, man, I hope Javier can be a two.
03:22Man, I hope McCullers comes along because we really need him in the top three.
03:25It looks like now, again, it's spring training, so take it for what it's worth.
03:29You laid out the numbers, but it looks like there's going to be a Hunter Brown, Mike Burrows, and Tatsuya
03:34Imai.
03:35It looks like those three guys are going to be your top three starters.
03:38And then you're looking at Spencer Ergetti and Lance McCullers, obviously.
03:43You're looking at some of those guys, Christian Javier, to fill in the 3-4-5 role if they can
03:49stay healthy.
03:50So I do think it's the Ryan Wiescat.
03:52I haven't watched it, haven't studied it hard, but apparently he's rolling as well.
03:58So got to give him some love with those top three guys outside of Hunter Brown.
04:03It's just good as an Astros fan, Ron, to feel like, hey, they went out and got some dudes that
04:09have come in
04:10and they supplanted themselves as the 2-3 starter.
04:13And until they get injured, we can't call them injury prone.
04:16Until we see them play, we don't know that there's going to be a collapse or the moment's going to
04:22be too big.
04:23And right now it looks like the guys they've acquired are at least meeting or exceeding expectations.
04:30Yeah, we'll see because that's the biggest part.
04:33Because, I mean, honestly, we've come in and we've talked about it.
04:37Outside of Hunter Brown, who do you really feel confident that you know what you're going to get from?
04:42Right.
04:43Like in that rotation, who do you know that you feel like?
04:47You've got a guy who has never pitched in this country.
04:50You've got a guy who's coming over in a trade that I don't know has ever really pitched in this
04:56kind of big game.
04:57Not big game, but at least a team that is pursuing the postseason right off the bat.
05:03And that's what their makeup is.
05:05Right.
05:05And then you have Christian Javier coming off injury.
05:09You have, as you said, Lance, who knows where he is.
05:11We have Spencer Aghetti, same thing, kind of coming off injury
05:14and seeing if he can kind of reclaim the things that he has been in the past.
05:20Someone text off, we're already not starting off right.
05:23How can Hayter's bicep not be healed from last September?
05:26What's a different injury?
05:28Yeah, I'm not worried about Hayter.
05:30It's a different injury.
05:31And, yeah, to this point, this isn't a Lance thing.
05:33He's been throwing bullpens, right?
05:35I think they're just being cautious with him.
05:38I agree that the bullpen could be something.
05:41But when you have, like, we can clearly see, at least I can,
05:45and I know maybe I'm being a little too trustworthy,
05:47but I'm trying to be fair to this training staff, this new one in here.
05:50And like you said, I wouldn't be surprised if Josh Hayter is not just dealing with
05:55his own guys too.
05:58But where he is right now is a pretty good sign that this isn't going to be
06:02some long-term thing to me.
06:04So I do get the feel like, yeah, he may start the season on the I.L.,
06:09but I don't think it's going to be for long stretches right now.
06:13Yeah, zero worries, man, zero worries.
06:15You kick things off.
06:16Obviously, other people are going to have to do things, King and whoever else.
06:19But you feel pretty good when you've got a Brayu and Hayter down there
06:23at the back end, you know, to get you there.
06:27So I don't know, man.
06:31This is a good sign.
06:32Man, obviously, they may be just working on stuff,
06:34but you'd rather see three guys doing this.
06:37You damn right.
06:38Especially the nine.
06:39You could take Hunter out.
06:40You feel like you know.
06:40But the other two, you especially feel good about seeing them have that type of success.
06:45Well, it beats the hell out of sitting here right now and just having to bite your tongue
06:49because they're getting shelled and you just go, oh, they're working on things.
06:52Yeah, telling yourself they're working on things.
06:53Oh, yeah, man.
06:53That's this squinting I talked about with the text.
06:55Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:56So, I mean, look, I'm not saying people have had bad, terrible spring trainings before
07:00and gone on a pitch well.
07:01I'm not saying it's not a reality.
07:02I'm just saying as an Astros fan, it's a lot easier for me to get excited about this
07:06team when you've got numbers like that that you laid out there from Burroughs and Emai
07:11and they're right behind Hunter Brown.
07:13It's real easy to get excited about them.
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