Welcome back to the workweek. Here’s your Boil, with Chapter 85 of Everystros.
Another week without baseball is upon us, but not that many more.
It’s about time for it to be nearly about time for us to start thinking about there soon being some Spring Training. Until then, you have the Boil, and Everystros, and projections, and so so many rumors.
Houston Astros News
Brown focused on consistency with offseason work
Astros: A Series of Fortunate Events Led to Josh Hader!
Top 30 Houston Astros Prospects For Dynasty Leagues In 2024 (FantraxHQ)
Senseless Framber Valdez trade rumors are driving Astros fans insane (CTH)
AL West News
A’s — Gelof already making a difference at home
M’s — A new suitor for Cease has reportedly emerged
Halos — Shohei Ohtani delivers 2023 AL MVP acceptance speech in English (Fox Sports)
Mall Cops — Scherzer, deGrom provide injury updates
MLB News
Each team’s top projected player for the 2024 season — They’re projecting Yordan Alvarez as Houston’s top projected player, with 39 home runs, 113 RBI, and a 169 wRC+.
No. 22 prospect inks 6-year contract before MLB debut
NL East Notes: Fried, Garrett, Peralta, Mets (MLBTR)
Houston Astros Birthdays
C Hank Conger (36)
1B José Abreu (37)
RHP Brian Meyer (61)
Everystros LXXXV
105. Brett Myers (Bagwell score 29.87) is a six-foot-four right-handed pitcher from Jacksonville, FL. Born on August 17, 1980, he was a first-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980 out of Englewood High School.
Myers reached the majors with the 2002 Phillies, and played eight seasons for them (73-63, 4.40 ERA, 1183 2⁄3 IP, 986 K). On January 8, 2010, he signed as a free agent with Houston.
Myers pitched in 102 games, including 66 starts and posting a 21-26 record with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.280 WHIP. He saved 19 games, and walked 129 versus 360 strikeouts in 470 1⁄3 innings over two-and-a-half seasons.
In 2010 and 2011, Myers started 66 times over his 67 appearances pitching for Houston, with 43 Quality Starts. On May 21, 2010, he struck out seven over seven innings, holding the Tampa Bay Rays to one unearned run on six hits and four walks in a 2-1 Houston win.
On July 10, Myers pitched eight innings and gave up one run on five hits over eight innings to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1. On July 27, he struck out 12 and pitched a four-hitter, defeating the Chicago Cubs, 6-1. On August 28, he struck out six and walked one over six shutout innings, giving up six hits to defeat the New York Mets, 4-1.
On September 8, Myers struck out eight over seven three-hit innings to defeat the Cubs, 4-0. Five days later, he struck out 10 over seven innings, giving up one run on six hits in a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. On September 19, he pitched another seven shutout innings on six hits, striking out five in a 4-3 triumph against the Cincinnati Reds.
On June 17, 2011, Myers struck out six and pitched a four-hitter, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-3. On August 27, he struck out seven and allowed one run on two hits in seven frames, in a 2-1 defeat to the San Francisco Giants. On September 6, he struck out six and allowed one run on four hits over 7 2⁄3 innings in a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
For the 2012 season, Houston decided to use Myers as a relief pitcher, and he spent the rest of his time with the team serving as the Astros closer. This included 35 appearances by Myers along with 19 saves through the first 90 games of the season. On July 21, 2012, the Astros sent Myers with cash to the Chicago White Sox for Matt Heidenreich, Blair Walters, and PTBNL Chris Devenski.
Myers closed the 2012 season with the Pale Hose (3-4, 3.12, 34 2⁄3 IP, 21 K) and spent 2013 with the Cleveland Indians (0-3, 8.02 ERA, 21 1⁄3 IP, 12 K).
104. Charlie Morton (Bagwell score 48.25) is a six-foot-five right-handed pitcher from Flemington, NJ. Born on November 12, 1983, he was chosen in the third-round of the 2002 draft out of Joel Barlow High School by the Atlanta Braves. He ranks second out of the eight who eventually reached the majors out of the round, trailing only Curtis Granderson (47.2 bWAR). Taken 95th overall, he ranks third of the 19 who got to the bigs, led by Amos Otis (42.8 bWAR).
Uncle Charlie reached the majors for the first time in 2008 with the Braves (4-8, 6.15 ERA, 74 2⁄3 IP, 48 K), then pitched his next seven seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates (41-62, 4.39 ERA, 801 IP, 563 K) before spending 2016 with the Philadelphia Phillies, (1-1, 4.15 ERA, 17 1⁄3 IP, 19 K). On November 3, 2016, Philadelphia granted Morton’s free agency.
Morton signed with the Astros 13 days into his life as a free agent. He was an integral part of Houston’s rotation for the following two seasons, going 29-10 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.176 WHIP. He walked 11 and struck out 364 in 313 2⁄3 innings. He allowed his opponents to slash .221/.305/.371. He made the All-Star Team for the first time in his career in 2018.
July 25, 2017, Morton struck out nine over seven shutout three-hit innings in a 5-0 victory over Philadelphia. On September 23, he struck out five Angels over seven four-hit innings, allowing one run in a 6-2 win over Los Angeles. In Game Four of the 2017 World Series, he struck out seven and gave up one run on three hits over 6 1⁄3 innings, in an eventual 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On April 2, 2018, Morton struck out six over six shutout three-hit innings, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6-1. On April 19, he pitched seven three-hit innings striking out eight in 9-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. On April 30, he struck out 10 Yankees in 7 2⁄3 innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks in a 2-1 win over New York. On May 12, he walked zero and struck out 14 over seven four-hit innings, in a 6-1 win against the Texas Rangers.
On May 18, Morton struck out eight Indians over seven innings, allowing one run on four hits in a 4-1 victory over Cleveland. On June 26, he struck out 13 Blue Jays over seven shutout four-hit innings, in a 7-0 win against Toronto. On July 1, he pitched 6 2⁄3 innings and gave up two runs on six hits, striking out 11 in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. On August 6, he struck out eight over seven innings, giving up one run on three hits in a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
On October 29, 2018, Morton left Houston via free agency, and went on to play for the Rays (18-8, 3.33 ERA, 232 2⁄3 IP, 282 K), and the Braves (37-24, 3.77 ERA, 521 IP, 604 K). He’s signed with the Braves through the 2024 season.
103. Colby Rasmus (Bagwell score 70.67) is a six-foot-two left-handed centerfielder from Columbus, GA. Born on August 11, 1986, he was a first-round pick in 2005 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of Russell County High School. Rasmus was one-of-37 to reach the majors out of the round (out of 48 total). Taken 28th overall, he ranks fourth-of-39 to reach the bigs, a group led by Gerrit Cole (41.2 bWAR), Lee Smith (28.9 bWAR), and Charles Johnson (22.6 bWAR).
Rasmus reached the majors with the Cardinals in 2009 (385 games, .259/.334/.444, 50 home runs, 158 RBI), and also played parts of four seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (408 games, .234/.295/.433, 66 home runs, 194 RBI). Granted free agency after the 2014 season, Rasmus signed with Houston on January 20, 2015.
In 244 games over two seasons for the Astros, Rasmus slashed .224/.301/.420, going 179-for-801 with 33 doubles, two triples, 40 home runs, and six stolen bases in eight attempts. He drew 90 walks, struck out 275 times, scored 105 runs, and drove in 115. He also went seven-for-17 in two postseason series in 2015, with four home runs and six RBI.
On August 9, 2015, Rasmus hit a second-inning double and a ninth-inning three-run homer in a 5-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. On August 16, he hit a pair of solo home runs in a 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers. On September 20, he hit two homers for three RBI in a 5-1 victory against the A’s. On October 3, he hit a single and two solo home runs in a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
On April 9, 2016, Rasmus hit a pair of home runs with four RBI in a 6-4 win against the Milwaukee Brewers. On April 21, he hit two home runs for three RBI in a 7-4 loss to the Texas Rangers. Two days later, he hit a double and a home run for five RBI in an 8-3 win against the Boston Red Sox. The next day, he hit a two-out two-run game-tying ninth-inning home run in an eventual 7-5, 12-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox. On June 24, he hit three singles and a home run for two RBI in a 13-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.
After his time with the Astros, Rasmus played with the Rays in 2017 (37 games, .281/.318/.579, nine home runs, 23 RBI) and the Baltimore Orioles in 2018 (18 games, .133/.204/.222, one home run, one RBI).
102. Billy Hatcher (Bagwell score 31.42) is a five-foot-nine right-handed outfielder from Williams, AZ. Born on October 4, 1960, he was a 30th-round pick of the Montreal Expos in 1979 out of Williams High School, a second-round Astros pick in the 1980 January secondary draft out of Yavapai College, and a sixth-round pick in the secondary draft of 1981 by the Chicago Cubs. He was the only one to reach the majors out of the round, and one-of-three to reach after being taken 131st in the secondary draft.
Hatcher reached the majors with the Cubbies in 1984, and hit .238/.285/.355 with two homers and 10 RBI in 61 games over parts of two seasons. On December 16, 1985, Hatcher was traded by Chicago with PTBNL Steve Engel to Houston for Jerry Mumphrey.
From 1986 through 1989, Hatcher played for Houston, playing in 521 games and hitting .266/.318/.366. He was 507-for-1908 with 83 doubles, 14 triples, 27 home runs, and 145 stolen bases in 187 attempts. He drew 131 walks and struck out 231 times, scoring 279 times and driving in 195.
On April 26, 1986, Hatcher entered in the bottom of the ninth to pinch run for Jose Cruz, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored the walkoff run on a passed ball to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0. On June 8, he hit two singles, a double, and a home run in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. On June 24, he hit a first-inning single and scored, then reached on a fifth-inning error and scored in an 8-4 win over the Reds.
On July 21, Hatcher hit a first-inning double and scored, a third-inning single, a seventh-inning single with a stolen base and a run, and a ninth-inning leadoff single, later stealing second and scoring a game-tying run in an eventual 8-7 walkoff victory over the Montreal Expos. In Game Six of the NLCS, he scored a run in the first, singled in the fifth, hit a game-tying homer in the 14th, and added a 16th-inning single, as Houston’s comeback stopped one run short in a 7-6 loss to the Mets.
On July 5, 1987, Hatcher hit four singles with an RBI in an 8-2 win over the Phillies. On July 26, he singled in the first and stole second. singled in the eighth, and hit a go-ahead ninth-inning homer in a 5-2 victory against the Mets. On August 17, he hit two singles, a double and a solo home run in an 11-2 win against the Atlanta Braves.
On August 23, Hatcher singled stole a base and scored in the fourth, then hit a two-run go-ahead triple and scored in the seventh in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. On October 3, he hit a third inning single, a sixth-inning single and a stolen base, a game-tying RBI-single in the seventh, later scoring the go-ahead run in a 6-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds.
On May 20, 1988, Hatcher hit five singles with two RBI in a 5-3 win against the St. Louis Cardinals. On June 6, he hit an RBI game-tying double and later scored, then hit an eighth-inning single, stole a base and scored in a 10-4 win against the Dodgers. On June 18, he hit a third-inning RBI-triple and later scored the go-ahead run, doubled and scored in the seventh, then later hit an RBI-sacrifice fly in the same inning (Houston scored nine runs in the seventh) in a 14-7 win over the Braves.
On July 14, 1988, Hatcher hit a double and three singles in a 7-5 win over Philadelphia. On September 22, he singled in the first, singled and stole two bases in the sixth, and hit a go-ahead RBI-single in the seventh in a 3-2 win over the Braves.
On August 18, 1989, sent Hatcher to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Glenn Wilson. Hatcher went on to play the rest of the season with the Pirates (27 games, .244/.253/.326, one home run, seven RBI), two-and-a-half years with the Reds (320 games, .271/.319/.372, 11 home runs, 76 RBI), two-and-a-half years with the Boston Red Sox (255 games, .264/.312/.360, 11 home runs, 98 RBI), part of a season with the Phillies (43 games, .246/.271/.343, two home runs, 13 RBI), and just a few games with the Texas Rangers in 1995 (six games, .083/.154/.167). SABR Bio
101. Cliff Johnson (Bagwell 57.73) is a six-foot-four right-handed first baseman from San Antonio, TX. Born on July 22, 1947, he was a fifth-round pick in 1966 by Houston out of Wheatley High School. He was one-of-seven to reach the bigs out of the round, led by Dave Cash (25.6 bWAR). He was one-of-19 to make it to the majors after being chosen with the 83rd overall selection, a group led by Barry Zito (31.9 bWAR).
Johnson got to the majors with the Astros in 1972, and played parts of six seasons with them. In 376 games, he hit .256/.370/.471, going 255-for-997 with 51 doubles, four triples, 52 home runs and one stolen base in three attempts. He drew 167 walks and struck out 205 times, scoring 142 runs and collecting 172 RBI.
On June 8, 1974, Johnson hit a game-tying solo home run in the eighth inning, then hit a game-tying RBI-single in the 12th inning of a 6-5 loss to the New York Mets. On June 15, he hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning of an 8-7 win over the Chicago Cubs. On July 3, he hit a pinch-game-tying-two-run ninth-inning home run in an eventual 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves.
On August 7, Johnson hit a go-ahead pinch-hit two-run ninth-inning home run in a 6-4 win against Atlanta. On August 28, he hit a solo home run in the 10th inning of a 3-2 win against the Mets. On September 29, he drew a walk and scored in the fifth, hit a sixth-inning single, and hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth-inning of a 9-6 win over the Braves.
On April 20, 1975, in the top half of a doubleheader against the Reds, Johnson hit a pinch-game-tying two-run double in the ninth-inning of a 5-3 loss to Cincinnati. On May 31, he hit a go-ahead eighth-inning two-run double in a pinch-hit appearance, and later in the inning drilled a two-run homer in a 15-3 win against the Phillies. On June 15, he hit a go-ahead grand slam in a ninth-inning pinch appearance, in an 8-7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals.
On June 21, Johnson hit a sixth-inning two-run game-tying shot then singled in the eighth inning of an eventual 7-6, 14-inning loss to Cincinnati. On August 11, he hit three singles and a double with two RBI in a 7-2 win over the Cardinals. On August 20, he hit a sixth-inning home run, then hit a single in the eighth and finished the game with a walk-off RBI-double in a 5-4 win over the Mets. On September 26, Johnson hit a fourth-inning single, and a ninth-inning go-ahead two-run homer in a 2-1 win against the Dodgers. Two days later, Johnson hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning of a 4-2 win over the Dodgers.
On May 9, 1976, Johnson hit two singles, a double, and a home run with three RBI in a 10-5 win over the Cardinals. On May 30, he hit three singles and a double with one RBI in a 16-5 win over the Braves. On June 29, he hit a two-run go-ahead eighth-inning triple in a 4-3 win against the Giants. On July 8, he hit an RBI-double in the first, an RBI-double in the fifth, and a seventh-inning RBI-double in the seventh inning of a 7-6 win over the Montreal Expos.
On September 7, Johnson singled in the sixth, then hit a go-ahead two-run seventh-inning double, later scoring a run in a 10-5 win over the Reds. On September 19, he hit a fourth-inning home run, then added an eighth-inning go-ahead RBI-double in a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. On October 1, he hit a go-ahead seventh-inning two-run single, the eventual game-winning hit in a 5-4 triumph over San Francisco.
On April 15, 1977, Johnson hit a game-tying fourth-inning two-run homer and singled in the seventh inning of a 4-3 loss to Atlanta. On May 17, he hit a pair of home runs with three RBI in a 5-2 win versus the Cardinals. On June 15, 1977, the Astros traded Johnson to the Yankees for Mike Fischlin, Randy Niemann, and PTBNL Dave Bergman.
Johnson went on to play until mid-1979 with the Bombers (160 games, .239/.353/.463, 20 home runs, 56 RBI), later also playing with the Cleveland Indians (126 games, .254/.333/.464, 24 home runs, 89 RBI), the Cubs (68 games, .235/.335/.429, 10 home runs, 34 RBI), the Oakland Athletics (157 games, .251/.327/.435, 24 home runs, 90 RBI), two hitches with the Blue Jays (400 games, .273/.372/.466, 54 home runs, 202 RBI), and the Texas Rangers (82 games, .257/.330/.443, 12 home runs, 56 RBI).