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Around SBN: More Televised Winter Baseball, Please

Astros select LHP Gil de la Vara; trade for catcher Palmisano

Sorry to be late on this, I was cloistered in the library and it didn't occur to me to check on this until now.

La Vara (24) has been solid at low levels of the Royals system, throwing 77 IP between high-A and AA last year.  In his 33.2 IP at AA last year he posted a 3.38 FIP with 5.79 K/9 and a 1.40 K:BB (from fangraphs).

The Orioles used their pick to select Lou Palmisano (26) from the Brewers system and traded him to the Astros, though I've yet to see any details from the transaction.  Palmansano posted a .334 wOBA is 72 high-A ABs last year and a .365 wOBA in 29 in the rookie league (again, fangraphs).  Palmisano looks to have retooled as a catcher and is repeating levels, so I don't put too much stock into these numbers.

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Other Pickups/Losses

In the minor league phase, we also picked up 1B/OF Drew Locke from the Dodgers. He’s been in Hi-A ball for a while, despite hitting for both average and power, probably because of a high strikeout rate.

Some Astros farmhands got scooped up by some other teams:
Rafael Quintero went to the Pirates
Johnny Ash went to the Brewers

by AstroAndy on Dec 11, 2008 1:23 PM CST reply actions  

Palmisano

has been a catcher his whole pro career, but he had a knee injury (torn cartilage) early this year that required surgery. He was out for a few months, and though he wasn’t ready to catch just yet, he was well enough to DH, so they worked him up through the ranks again.

by AstroAndy on Dec 11, 2008 1:36 PM CST reply actions  

Well that makes me feel better about he defensive abilities

Hopefully he’ll keep strong numbers now that he gets out of the low levels.

The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

by Stephen Higdon on Dec 11, 2008 1:45 PM CST up reply actions  

Either that, or work out a deal with their original ballclub. Considering Palmisano OPS’d over 1.000 in the AFL this year, and Bobby Heck knew him pretty well (from his time with the Brew Crew) he’s probably got a better chance at sticking.

I think La Vara might be one of those guys who is stellar in one outing and crap in the next. And in the AFL, he seemed to do really well when playing against the Astros AFL affiliate, never giving up an earned run to the Scottsdale Scorpions. But those 4 ER games against the other teams…

by AstroAndy on Dec 11, 2008 2:36 PM CST up reply actions  

Wade confirmed that Palmisano is someone Heck knows well...

Heck says he is a tough, hard nosed player. Wade said he will have a chance to compete for starting spot with Quintero. As for LaVara, Wade said something on the order “always try to add lefthanded pitching.”

by clack on Dec 11, 2008 6:43 PM CST reply actions  

As Christina Karl remarked at BPro on the Lumsden signing

Perhaps the most treasured commodity in baseball is a left handed hominid who can throw a ball above 90 MPH.

The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

by Stephen Higdon on Dec 11, 2008 7:09 PM CST up reply actions  

Make that Karhl

My bad.

The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

by Stephen Higdon on Dec 11, 2008 7:38 PM CST up reply actions  

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