April 9, 2025 • 16 mins
Coming out of a series against the Minnesota Twins recently in which the Astros were victorious following a 2-1 series win, the Astros seem to roll on despite an early series setback against the Giants resulting in a 0-3 series final. Moving along, the Astros now take on the Seattle Mariners tipping off their three game series Monday in which Spencer Arrighetti was set to start. Sadly breaking his right thumb during pregame, the Astros fall behind 4-3 late in Game 1 setting the series at 0-1. Setting the series even yesterday now 1-1 thanks to Ryan Gusto, Astros GM Dana Brown joins the show along with a few updates regarding Arrighetti's status, the teams current struggles, and what to particularly look for as we're still a bit early-on here in the 2025 season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're va for the Sean Salisbury Show continued. I know
we can break it up and you know, forty game increments,
fifty game increments, however we want to do that. But
eleven games in just kind of sitting back, even if
it's just a fan, but you're you're immersed into this
thing overall evaluation. Eleven games in about your team right now?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, look, I think that you know, the team is
holding on strong. You know, we've had a couple, you know,
times where we didn't get that good of a start.
Bullpen's been pretty good, the bats still hasn't gotten on
all cylinders yet, you know, and we've been playing pretty
good defense. So look, overall, you know, we're right there,
(00:46):
just one game under five hundred, eleven games in two
and a half out, and you know, good things are coming.
So we feel really good about this club.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hey, Dana, we've talked about defining rules and then obviously
the the p word ofduction from those guys that you've
defined roles for. You mentioned the bullpen has been pretty good.
When do you know during a season, is it a
feeld thing? Is it looking at the numbers alone analytics part,
do you say this is the guy whose long release.
These are the three guys who take care of this
(01:14):
is our seven, eight to nine. We know who eight
and nine is. But when do you know that seven solidified?
Is it a game to game thing or is it
a that's our guy? And how long does it take
before that trust in that in the bullpen and there's
certain roles defined, how long does it take before it
hits Yeah, So you look.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
At you look throughout the entire industry. You know, teams
are always clubs are always evaluating at players. And when
you look at our pen, you know you're finding out
guys are developing, you know, like Gusta's really stepped it
up for us. You know, King has been really good,
Oakert's been really good. And so you continue to let
(01:54):
these guys compete and you find spots for them where
they can have some success, whether you match and lefty lefty,
righty righty. You know that's that's what you continue to do.
As you mentioned, the two back end guys are pillars
back there, and as we continue to go through this,
we're seeing guys develop right before our eyes. And so look,
(02:17):
we feel like we've got a good group. The pen
has been pretty much locked down, and look, when we
get on all cylinders with the bat and the rotation,
I think that's when we're going to run off, you know,
seven in a row, ten in a row, that kind
of thing.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Dana Brown astros GM for his weekly nine thirty visit
here on Wednesday, joins us here on the Seawan Salsby
showing Sports Talk seven to ninety speaking of Taylor Scott specifically,
was really good for you guys last year. Did some
great things at a time when you need him, kind
of like we've mentioned Ronel Blanco in the starting rotation
doing stuff that, like man was really good for us well,
eleven games in a little over three innings and has
(02:53):
not had his best stuff. Dana, how is important? How
important is it for you and Joe and the team
to trust what you see eleven games into a season
that he is going to turn it around, not only
for your team but for his psyche. How important is
it to trust early and let him pitch in high
leverage situations, to pitch through the trouble.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah. Look, so when you talk about a guy like Scott,
you know he's got really good stuff. You know, he's competitive.
He gave you a good year last year, and sometimes
guys lose confidence, but you know, you you stick with
them and you try to put him in spots where
they could succeed. And so I think we'll continue to
build him up and build his confidence. And you know,
(03:36):
the stuff still looks pretty good from a scouting eye,
you know, and from data wise, he still looks pretty good.
You know. It's just you've got to make pitch certain
pitches at certain times, and you have to trust your stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Pitchers go through this all the time, you know, where
they lose, lose some confidence and then you know they
just have to restore it a little bit. But make
no mistake, we think he's going to be one of
our are you know pillars down down the stretch in
the middle of our bullpit?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
To you, has he lost confidence? Danny? You're in We
talk about you being around hanging when you feel like
a guy's done that, you kind of go around and
rub shoulders with him and tell him to stick with it.
We've had this conversation about other players. Where is he
when you look into his eye and when you when
you see him, where's his confidence level right now?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah? I just think it's the confidence and trusting your stuff,
not so much the mental confidence. Just trust your stuff.
Remember that your stuff can play at the major league level.
Don't try to nibble, you know, don't try to pitch
on the edges all the time. You know, oftentimes you
got a challenge the hitter. You got to get in
the zone early, and you have to avoid those walks
and avoid falling behind. And you fall behind. Look, this
(04:45):
is the big leagues. If you fall behind, these major
league hitters will make you pay. And so I think
it's more, Hey, trust your stuff, you know, regain your
confidence in your stuff, and remember that your stuff is
the same. Just go in his zone and you're going
to be fine. And I think he's starting to understand that.
And you know, look he's seeing some of his you know,
(05:05):
other teammates that are really having some success right now,
and he could help build off that.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Danny, you've been one of Baseball's before you came here Atlanta,
in here, one of the you know, cut your teeth,
but being a great talent evaluator and seeing it and
now's a GM role doing all the things you have
to do there plus seeing talent. So let's get to
Yan Das you told us, on this show that he
was the future at catcher when Maldy was here and
you were spot on, which allowed you guys to move
Corey Lee. All right, So here we are now in
(05:32):
a wonderful year last year, a guy that's reeling a
little bit. Take yourself out of the GM role. You
and I are sitting in the ballpark and we've watched
eleven games. What's your swing evaluation for Yaner Das right now,
not counting last year, what you're seeing eleven games in
this year?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, I think you put your arms around them and
you sit and talk to them. You pull them to
the side and you say, look, you know you can
hit at the big league level. We already know that.
What you have to do is just get a good pitch,
be patient, don't try to do too much. Oftentimes the
players will try to do too much and they'll come
out of themselves and they'll come out of their wing,
and you know, and I think it's one of those
(06:12):
cases where he's trying to do too much. And I think,
right now, if we could just get him to look
be disciplined, don't chase make the picture, come into the
strike zone, don't try to do too much. I think
that's the speech we would give him because he's trying
to do too much. Look the kid to ninety nine
last year with a bunch of home runs, and he
(06:33):
knows he's got a good ops and all those good
things when you talk about the numbers. But you know,
sometimes it's as simple as simplifying it and saying, look,
look for a strike and do damage. Lay off the
off speed, lay off the stuff that's out of the zone,
don't get the picture to get you to expand his
(06:53):
own And I think that's that's where our speech is
right now for him. And that's kind of like how
I see it. I think he's gonna heat up, no
doubt about it. This guy's way too talented of a
hitter and so uh. You know, frustration grows when guys
start off slow and they struggle, but you just have
to keep them mentally mentally strong.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Dana, what kind of guy numbers wise, Like, let's just
play pay it forward a decade from now. What kind
of consistent numbers guys at the plate average RBI? Who
is he home runs? What kind of guy when you
said here's the numbers I expect from yiner, what do
they look like.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yeah, I mean I expect Jiner to you know, hit
somewhere near two eighty to three hundred, you know, twenty
plus home runs with an over an eight hundred ops
at the catcher spot. Right, He's done that and people
will doing that. Did it in twenty three, did it
in twenty four, and we feel like he'll do it
in twenty five. You know, it's not you know, look,
(07:51):
those are attainable numbers, and he's already you know, shown
that he could do that, and so you know, that's
pretty much who he is. You know, he's a guy
I can hit, you know, somewhere in that sixth sixth
slot and you know, do some damage. And so we
know that it will come. You know, Oftentimes, as I
mentioned before, the hitters are a little bit of head
of the pitchers are a little bit ahead of the hitters,
(08:14):
and so you know, guys are still getting a timing right,
they're still locking in on the zone. And so I
would expect good things coming from yer.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Danny. You've watched young talent flourish Ronald Acun you you've
seen it happen here as well, guys, Jiner being one
of them when he got the job, full time. So
let's talk cam Smith and just from you know, we
get questions on this show and I always break one
to you about Okay, help us with this because you're
more expert than we are. Can Cam Smith be? And
(08:43):
I know that Joe puts the lineup and you've always
deferred to that saying Joe makes the lineup decisions. But
from your from your evaluation standpoint, can a guy get
better on the major league level at his age playing
once every three days or once every other day? Should
do we need five hundred at bats as a rookie
for us to see who camp Smith is.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah, they answered the first question. Guys do get better
at the major league level. It happens every year every
time guys developed, you know, they get up there when
they're young. I think camp Smith's gonna be all right.
He's still controlling the zone, you know, pictures that they've
been pitching him pretty tough. I think last last night's
triple was a, you know, a big stepping stone for
(09:24):
him because he was going through a down period. I mean,
sometimes we have to realize these guys, they struggle when
they come up to the big leagues. You know, I
remember when Bregman first came up, he struggled a little bit.
Tucker first came up, He struggled a little bit. They
were right in the same area. Uh. You know, in fact,
I think Bregman was like one for twenty eight or
something like that. I mean, yeah, yeah, he's dig to
(09:48):
young players. And you know, make no mistake, this guy
competed at a high level in college. He got some
minor they get back. He came into camp. You know,
he made this team because he played hard and played well.
He's really developing in right field and you know, getting
him in there with the action and is Look, understand
that you have the talent to play at the major
(10:09):
league level. We've seen a lot of young players come
up and do well, and you know, we think that
this guy can really turn the corner. And at some point,
you know, you guys will see that, oh wow, he's back.
So he's getting there and he's buying in, you know,
to what he needs to buy into to get to
hit at the big league level. But make no mistake,
(10:29):
we feel really good about cam Smith in the future here.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah, I love him. I think his energy's off the
charts and he adds something that that did, and I
think there's a mental toughness from my vantage point, but
you know, better than I. Okay, eleven games in, has
there been somebody that say, wow, this is a pleasant
surprise for us already that you're saying, damn, we're getting
more out of him than I actually even expected. Who
is that body?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Well, look, we rogers got off to a pretty good start.
You know, he you know, he took a last night,
but you know he's he's been swinging the back pretty well.
And and so with us needing some you know, some
offense at second base by one once we put two
Vay and left, you know, we really feel like this
guy could turn the corner and get back to you
(11:17):
know what he was. You know a few years ago,
you know when he hit over to eighty one a
gold glove, he was a you know, he was within
the top five picks in the draft. I think it
was like third in the in the country. So this
is a talented player that kind of lost his way
a little bit, and he's you know, he's headed in
the right direction. And you know, he got off to
a pretty good start with us. As I mentioned, he
(11:38):
went oh for last night. But this guy's got a
chance to turn the corner and be a nice piece
for us, you know at the second base position.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Data and I talked last year about you know, small
ball can be a really good thing when you're not
driving it and getting slugging everybody. Now that's what we're
looking for. But back to back nights, even though one
got you got beat by a bunch good moving him
over and then you execute the bunt, and then last
night the same way. I mean, well, I know we're
not getting caught up in the butt thing. Small ball
matters and moving runners over. That had to be a
(12:07):
pleasant for you to see that you can win that
way as well.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah, small ball was big. I thought it was a
great win last night. It was a team win. We
pretty much had to use our entire bench. That's what
it's all about. You know, you go deep into these games,
especially when you go in the extra innings, you know
somebody's gonna have to come out and be the hero.
And last night, you know, Tartini came up with a
big hit. You know, we got cam they had to
(12:32):
triple those two guys provided the RBIs. It was a
total team effort. The bullpen was really good. They came
in and shut the door, and so look, that's a
big team win, a big confidence builder. You know, we
got a good one to night this afternoon, and hopefully,
you know, we'll get to five hundred today and go
home at five hundred and get a chance to come
(12:53):
in there and win some games at Dyking Park.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Should there be a soul in Houston worried about Jordon's
power or is that going to just come in bunches
like we usually expect to see it.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yeah, we know home runs coming bunches all the time.
I wouldn't worry about Jurdon's power. Look, if you're worried
about Euranon's power, I think you probably sport. This guy
got as much power as anybody in this game. I
mean this guy can power, light, power, power. I mean
this guy hits balls really far. I'm not worried about
(13:27):
his power. I think he's he's going to be fine. Uh.
You know, he got off to somewhat of a slow start,
got a big home run the other day, you know,
and you know they've been pitching him tough. I've been
running from him and he's taking his walks. You know,
It's just it just goes to show like, Look, it's
a long season for a reason. You know, you guys
have heard me say multiple times on the show. It's
(13:50):
a it's a marathime, not a sprint, you know. And
this is not for the faint at heart. You know,
you have to continue to grind, continue to do things right,
continue to do things right that helps you win ball games.
And you know, we'll get through the season on top.
And I have full confidence in this team, our coaching staff,
and I know our fans are back in us. So look,
we're ready to go. It's just that we just got
(14:11):
to get hot. Right now. We're hovering right there and
there five hundred. And as I always say, you get hot,
you're at five hundred. You get hot, you run off
five in a row, seven in a row. Before you
know you're five games over. You're seven games over, and
good things are happening. Yeah, no time, We have to
keep grinding.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Yeah, No, twelve and twenty four start this year, which
is a good thing. Real quick data update on Spencer Araghetti.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, freak accident. You know, he's being evaluated. You know,
it looks like you know, it's gonna be some time,
and we're gonna still need some time to get the
full evaluation. But at least it's gonna be you know,
I would say, you know, six weeks or so. You know,
hopefully some guys feel a lot faster and you know
(14:56):
they can come back a little sooner. But look, ultimately
it's one of those freak accidents. And man, it really
it really hurts you lose the starter. Yeah, it really
really hurts.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
How does that rotation look now though? How do you
move it around real quick? I don't want to keep
you much longer. How do you move it around with
Spencer out?
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, there's a chance that we're gonna put Gusto in
there to fill that spot. You know, he's been a
starter for us. We we broke camp with him in
the pin, but we knew at some point we're gonna
have to build him back up because we had some
of our bullpen guys that were down, like Fort and Whitley,
and so we just were probably you know, he would
have been the first guy coming up from Triple A,
so it probably slide Gusto into into that start, you know,
(15:41):
and then uh, you know, we we'll shape up with
Valdez Brown, you know, Gusto Blanco, West Netsky west. Netsky's
throwing the ball very well. So he's been that pleasant
you know, surprise that you talked about if you talk
about a guy is from the pitching standpoint that really
has stepped it. He's been really good up to ninety seven,
you know, which is really really good. So it looks
(16:04):
great with the scouting guy too. So look, we were
still in pretty good shape, you know. You know, we
don't want anything else to happen, but we feel like
we're still pretty good shape. And look, sometimes these guys
will get hurt, they come back, they'll be a shot
in the arm later and they'll help you ride it
out all the way to the end. So we'll make
the adjustment and we'll be fine in a rotation.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Yeah, go still gives you a little bandwidth and versatility,
which is nice, Dana. Great stuff, man. We'll see when
you get back home, and we look forward to next
week's conversation.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Thanks you, Bud, Absolutely always good talking to you. Hanging
their ask So fans, we're coming there.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
You go appreciate that standing brown. We'll come back finish
up next
We're va for the Sean Salisbury Show continued. I know
we can break it up and you know, forty game increments,
fifty game increments, however we want to do that. But
eleven games in just kind of sitting back, even if
it's just a fan, but you're you're immersed into this
thing overall evaluation. Eleven games in about your team right now?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, look, I think that you know, the team is
holding on strong. You know, we've had a couple, you know,
times where we didn't get that good of a start.
Bullpen's been pretty good, the bats still hasn't gotten on
all cylinders yet, you know, and we've been playing pretty
good defense. So look, overall, you know, we're right there,
(00:46):
just one game under five hundred, eleven games in two
and a half out, and you know, good things are coming.
So we feel really good about this club.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hey, Dana, we've talked about defining rules and then obviously
the the p word ofduction from those guys that you've
defined roles for. You mentioned the bullpen has been pretty good.
When do you know during a season, is it a
feeld thing? Is it looking at the numbers alone analytics part,
do you say this is the guy whose long release.
These are the three guys who take care of this
(01:14):
is our seven, eight to nine. We know who eight
and nine is. But when do you know that seven solidified?
Is it a game to game thing or is it
a that's our guy? And how long does it take
before that trust in that in the bullpen and there's
certain roles defined, how long does it take before it
hits Yeah, So you look.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
At you look throughout the entire industry. You know, teams
are always clubs are always evaluating at players. And when
you look at our pen, you know you're finding out
guys are developing, you know, like Gusta's really stepped it
up for us. You know, King has been really good,
Oakert's been really good. And so you continue to let
(01:54):
these guys compete and you find spots for them where
they can have some success, whether you match and lefty lefty,
righty righty. You know that's that's what you continue to do.
As you mentioned, the two back end guys are pillars
back there, and as we continue to go through this,
we're seeing guys develop right before our eyes. And so look,
(02:17):
we feel like we've got a good group. The pen
has been pretty much locked down, and look, when we
get on all cylinders with the bat and the rotation,
I think that's when we're going to run off, you know,
seven in a row, ten in a row, that kind
of thing.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Dana Brown astros GM for his weekly nine thirty visit
here on Wednesday, joins us here on the Seawan Salsby
showing Sports Talk seven to ninety speaking of Taylor Scott specifically,
was really good for you guys last year. Did some
great things at a time when you need him, kind
of like we've mentioned Ronel Blanco in the starting rotation
doing stuff that, like man was really good for us well,
eleven games in a little over three innings and has
(02:53):
not had his best stuff. Dana, how is important? How
important is it for you and Joe and the team
to trust what you see eleven games into a season
that he is going to turn it around, not only
for your team but for his psyche. How important is
it to trust early and let him pitch in high
leverage situations, to pitch through the trouble.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah. Look, so when you talk about a guy like Scott,
you know he's got really good stuff. You know, he's competitive.
He gave you a good year last year, and sometimes
guys lose confidence, but you know, you you stick with
them and you try to put him in spots where
they could succeed. And so I think we'll continue to
build him up and build his confidence. And you know,
(03:36):
the stuff still looks pretty good from a scouting eye,
you know, and from data wise, he still looks pretty good.
You know. It's just you've got to make pitch certain
pitches at certain times, and you have to trust your stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Pitchers go through this all the time, you know, where
they lose, lose some confidence and then you know they
just have to restore it a little bit. But make
no mistake, we think he's going to be one of
our are you know pillars down down the stretch in
the middle of our bullpit?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
To you, has he lost confidence? Danny? You're in We
talk about you being around hanging when you feel like
a guy's done that, you kind of go around and
rub shoulders with him and tell him to stick with it.
We've had this conversation about other players. Where is he
when you look into his eye and when you when
you see him, where's his confidence level right now?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah? I just think it's the confidence and trusting your stuff,
not so much the mental confidence. Just trust your stuff.
Remember that your stuff can play at the major league level.
Don't try to nibble, you know, don't try to pitch
on the edges all the time. You know, oftentimes you
got a challenge the hitter. You got to get in
the zone early, and you have to avoid those walks
and avoid falling behind. And you fall behind. Look, this
(04:45):
is the big leagues. If you fall behind, these major
league hitters will make you pay. And so I think
it's more, Hey, trust your stuff, you know, regain your
confidence in your stuff, and remember that your stuff is
the same. Just go in his zone and you're going
to be fine. And I think he's starting to understand that.
And you know, look he's seeing some of his you know,
(05:05):
other teammates that are really having some success right now,
and he could help build off that.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Danny, you've been one of Baseball's before you came here Atlanta,
in here, one of the you know, cut your teeth,
but being a great talent evaluator and seeing it and
now's a GM role doing all the things you have
to do there plus seeing talent. So let's get to
Yan Das you told us, on this show that he
was the future at catcher when Maldy was here and
you were spot on, which allowed you guys to move
Corey Lee. All right, So here we are now in
(05:32):
a wonderful year last year, a guy that's reeling a
little bit. Take yourself out of the GM role. You
and I are sitting in the ballpark and we've watched
eleven games. What's your swing evaluation for Yaner Das right now,
not counting last year, what you're seeing eleven games in
this year?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, I think you put your arms around them and
you sit and talk to them. You pull them to
the side and you say, look, you know you can
hit at the big league level. We already know that.
What you have to do is just get a good pitch,
be patient, don't try to do too much. Oftentimes the
players will try to do too much and they'll come
out of themselves and they'll come out of their wing,
and you know, and I think it's one of those
(06:12):
cases where he's trying to do too much. And I think,
right now, if we could just get him to look
be disciplined, don't chase make the picture, come into the
strike zone, don't try to do too much. I think
that's the speech we would give him because he's trying
to do too much. Look the kid to ninety nine
last year with a bunch of home runs, and he
(06:33):
knows he's got a good ops and all those good
things when you talk about the numbers. But you know,
sometimes it's as simple as simplifying it and saying, look,
look for a strike and do damage. Lay off the
off speed, lay off the stuff that's out of the zone,
don't get the picture to get you to expand his
(06:53):
own And I think that's that's where our speech is
right now for him. And that's kind of like how
I see it. I think he's gonna heat up, no
doubt about it. This guy's way too talented of a
hitter and so uh. You know, frustration grows when guys
start off slow and they struggle, but you just have
to keep them mentally mentally strong.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Dana, what kind of guy numbers wise, Like, let's just
play pay it forward a decade from now. What kind
of consistent numbers guys at the plate average RBI? Who
is he home runs? What kind of guy when you
said here's the numbers I expect from yiner, what do
they look like.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yeah, I mean I expect Jiner to you know, hit
somewhere near two eighty to three hundred, you know, twenty
plus home runs with an over an eight hundred ops
at the catcher spot. Right, He's done that and people
will doing that. Did it in twenty three, did it
in twenty four, and we feel like he'll do it
in twenty five. You know, it's not you know, look,
(07:51):
those are attainable numbers, and he's already you know, shown
that he could do that, and so you know, that's
pretty much who he is. You know, he's a guy
I can hit, you know, somewhere in that sixth sixth
slot and you know, do some damage. And so we
know that it will come. You know, Oftentimes, as I
mentioned before, the hitters are a little bit of head
of the pitchers are a little bit ahead of the hitters,
(08:14):
and so you know, guys are still getting a timing right,
they're still locking in on the zone. And so I
would expect good things coming from yer.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Danny. You've watched young talent flourish Ronald Acun you you've
seen it happen here as well, guys, Jiner being one
of them when he got the job, full time. So
let's talk cam Smith and just from you know, we
get questions on this show and I always break one
to you about Okay, help us with this because you're
more expert than we are. Can Cam Smith be? And
(08:43):
I know that Joe puts the lineup and you've always
deferred to that saying Joe makes the lineup decisions. But
from your from your evaluation standpoint, can a guy get
better on the major league level at his age playing
once every three days or once every other day? Should
do we need five hundred at bats as a rookie
for us to see who camp Smith is.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah, they answered the first question. Guys do get better
at the major league level. It happens every year every
time guys developed, you know, they get up there when
they're young. I think camp Smith's gonna be all right.
He's still controlling the zone, you know, pictures that they've
been pitching him pretty tough. I think last last night's
triple was a, you know, a big stepping stone for
(09:24):
him because he was going through a down period. I mean,
sometimes we have to realize these guys, they struggle when
they come up to the big leagues. You know, I
remember when Bregman first came up, he struggled a little bit.
Tucker first came up, He struggled a little bit. They
were right in the same area. Uh. You know, in fact,
I think Bregman was like one for twenty eight or
something like that. I mean, yeah, yeah, he's dig to
(09:48):
young players. And you know, make no mistake, this guy
competed at a high level in college. He got some
minor they get back. He came into camp. You know,
he made this team because he played hard and played well.
He's really developing in right field and you know, getting
him in there with the action and is Look, understand
that you have the talent to play at the major
(10:09):
league level. We've seen a lot of young players come
up and do well, and you know, we think that
this guy can really turn the corner. And at some point,
you know, you guys will see that, oh wow, he's back.
So he's getting there and he's buying in, you know,
to what he needs to buy into to get to
hit at the big league level. But make no mistake,
(10:29):
we feel really good about cam Smith in the future here.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah, I love him. I think his energy's off the
charts and he adds something that that did, and I
think there's a mental toughness from my vantage point, but
you know, better than I. Okay, eleven games in, has
there been somebody that say, wow, this is a pleasant
surprise for us already that you're saying, damn, we're getting
more out of him than I actually even expected. Who
is that body?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Well, look, we rogers got off to a pretty good start.
You know, he you know, he took a last night,
but you know he's he's been swinging the back pretty well.
And and so with us needing some you know, some
offense at second base by one once we put two
Vay and left, you know, we really feel like this
guy could turn the corner and get back to you
(11:17):
know what he was. You know a few years ago,
you know when he hit over to eighty one a
gold glove, he was a you know, he was within
the top five picks in the draft. I think it
was like third in the in the country. So this
is a talented player that kind of lost his way
a little bit, and he's you know, he's headed in
the right direction. And you know, he got off to
a pretty good start with us. As I mentioned, he
(11:38):
went oh for last night. But this guy's got a
chance to turn the corner and be a nice piece
for us, you know at the second base position.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Data and I talked last year about you know, small
ball can be a really good thing when you're not
driving it and getting slugging everybody. Now that's what we're
looking for. But back to back nights, even though one
got you got beat by a bunch good moving him
over and then you execute the bunt, and then last
night the same way. I mean, well, I know we're
not getting caught up in the butt thing. Small ball
matters and moving runners over. That had to be a
(12:07):
pleasant for you to see that you can win that
way as well.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah, small ball was big. I thought it was a
great win last night. It was a team win. We
pretty much had to use our entire bench. That's what
it's all about. You know, you go deep into these games,
especially when you go in the extra innings, you know
somebody's gonna have to come out and be the hero.
And last night, you know, Tartini came up with a
big hit. You know, we got cam they had to
(12:32):
triple those two guys provided the RBIs. It was a
total team effort. The bullpen was really good. They came
in and shut the door, and so look, that's a
big team win, a big confidence builder. You know, we
got a good one to night this afternoon, and hopefully,
you know, we'll get to five hundred today and go
home at five hundred and get a chance to come
(12:53):
in there and win some games at Dyking Park.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Should there be a soul in Houston worried about Jordon's
power or is that going to just come in bunches
like we usually expect to see it.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yeah, we know home runs coming bunches all the time.
I wouldn't worry about Jurdon's power. Look, if you're worried
about Euranon's power, I think you probably sport. This guy
got as much power as anybody in this game. I
mean this guy can power, light, power, power. I mean
this guy hits balls really far. I'm not worried about
(13:27):
his power. I think he's he's going to be fine. Uh.
You know, he got off to somewhat of a slow start,
got a big home run the other day, you know,
and you know they've been pitching him tough. I've been
running from him and he's taking his walks. You know,
It's just it just goes to show like, Look, it's
a long season for a reason. You know, you guys
have heard me say multiple times on the show. It's
(13:50):
a it's a marathime, not a sprint, you know. And
this is not for the faint at heart. You know,
you have to continue to grind, continue to do things right,
continue to do things right that helps you win ball games.
And you know, we'll get through the season on top.
And I have full confidence in this team, our coaching staff,
and I know our fans are back in us. So look,
we're ready to go. It's just that we just got
(14:11):
to get hot. Right now. We're hovering right there and
there five hundred. And as I always say, you get hot,
you're at five hundred. You get hot, you run off
five in a row, seven in a row. Before you
know you're five games over. You're seven games over, and
good things are happening. Yeah, no time, We have to
keep grinding.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Yeah, No, twelve and twenty four start this year, which
is a good thing. Real quick data update on Spencer Araghetti.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, freak accident. You know, he's being evaluated. You know,
it looks like you know, it's gonna be some time,
and we're gonna still need some time to get the
full evaluation. But at least it's gonna be you know,
I would say, you know, six weeks or so. You know,
hopefully some guys feel a lot faster and you know
(14:56):
they can come back a little sooner. But look, ultimately
it's one of those freak accidents. And man, it really
it really hurts you lose the starter. Yeah, it really
really hurts.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
How does that rotation look now though? How do you
move it around real quick? I don't want to keep
you much longer. How do you move it around with
Spencer out?
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, there's a chance that we're gonna put Gusto in
there to fill that spot. You know, he's been a
starter for us. We we broke camp with him in
the pin, but we knew at some point we're gonna
have to build him back up because we had some
of our bullpen guys that were down, like Fort and Whitley,
and so we just were probably you know, he would
have been the first guy coming up from Triple A,
so it probably slide Gusto into into that start, you know,
(15:41):
and then uh, you know, we we'll shape up with
Valdez Brown, you know, Gusto Blanco, West Netsky west. Netsky's
throwing the ball very well. So he's been that pleasant
you know, surprise that you talked about if you talk
about a guy is from the pitching standpoint that really
has stepped it. He's been really good up to ninety seven,
you know, which is really really good. So it looks
(16:04):
great with the scouting guy too. So look, we were
still in pretty good shape, you know. You know, we
don't want anything else to happen, but we feel like
we're still pretty good shape. And look, sometimes these guys
will get hurt, they come back, they'll be a shot
in the arm later and they'll help you ride it
out all the way to the end. So we'll make
the adjustment and we'll be fine in a rotation.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
Yeah, go still gives you a little bandwidth and versatility,
which is nice, Dana. Great stuff, man. We'll see when
you get back home, and we look forward to next
week's conversation.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Thanks you, Bud, Absolutely always good talking to you. Hanging
their ask So fans, we're coming there.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
You go appreciate that standing brown. We'll come back finish
up next
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