Astros get their veteran lefty outfielder and keep Bourgeois

by clack on Jan 20, 2010 8:07 PM CST in News Comment 17 comments

The Astros signed lefthanded hitting outfielder Cory Sullivan to a NRI minor league deal. The Astros also said Jason Bourgeois, an outfielder knocked off the 40 man roster recently, accepted a minor league assignment.. So presumably Sullivan and Bourgeois could both compete for a back up outfielder slot on the Astros. Since Sullivan is a LHB who can take Erstad's role, you have to figure his chances of making the team are pretty good. Bourgeois, who is a Houston native, may have a tougher time making the team, but he could provide depth in Round Rock.

I recently commented that a quite a few LHB outfielders remained, and wondered whom the Astros had in mind. I remember seeing Sullivan's name on the free agent list and hoping he wouldn't be the Astros' target. Sullivan, a long time Rockies turned Mets reserve outfielder, has had a mediocre career. He is useful in limited roles, but you probably won't be satisfied if he has to start a lot of games. After looking at his stats again, I decided that my initial negative reaction might not be justified. Sullivan has some good points: he can take a walk, and he has a decent OBP for a career part time player. He also has some speed and the ability to steal bases. On the down side: he has no power and the defensive metrics indicate that he isn't a good outfielder. Although he is fast enough that he has played quite a bit of CF, UZR and Fielding Bible both indicate that he is slightly below average as a fielder. Sullivan's OPS generally has been in the .720 range, which is blah for an outfielder, but probably is OK for a part time player. It's an improvement over Erstad's offense last year. With new manager Mills' background as a coach in the Rockies' organization, I wouldn't be surprised if he played a role in this signing.

Bill James and Marcel have better projections for Sullivan than CHONE.

Bill James wOBA .325 Marcel wOBA .321 CHONE wOBA .306

Sullivan isn't a bad signing for a back up outfielder slot. But it begs the question whether the Astros would have been better off looking to some younger players to fill this role. Round Rock's Bogusevic profiles as perhaps a younger version of Sullivan. I understand why the Astros want to give Bogusevic more starting time reps in Round Rock. On the other hand, Bogey is nearing the age when he needs to make the major league roster before his prospect status fades.

0 recs | Comment 17 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Pretty similar player to Jason Michaels

I would expect him to make the big league team, and he should provide more depth to the bench. At least we’ll have plenty of fairly decent pinch hitters this year.

by OremLK on Jan 20, 2010 8:16 PM CST reply actions

Is it just me..

or did this guy kill us occasionally when he was with the Rox?

"So I'm ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face." -Yogi Berra

by hunterpencefan on Jan 20, 2010 8:48 PM CST reply actions

I was thinking the same thing. But I didn’t look it up. I’ll look when I get some time.

by clack on Jan 20, 2010 9:43 PM CST up reply actions

Well, nothing special about his career numbers vs. Astros: .283 BA and .696 OPS. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if he had a big hit to score an important run or something…which you and I may be vaguely recalling.

by clack on Jan 20, 2010 9:50 PM CST up reply actions

As I looked over his batting splits page....

the one thing I noticed is that Sullivan gets off to a good start during the baseball season. Over his career, he is a .949 OPS hitter in April/March.

He has a noticeable career platoon split. .729 OPS vs. RHP and .645 vs. LHP.

by clack on Jan 20, 2010 9:54 PM CST reply actions

i love rotoworld.com's quote

Astros signed OF Cory Sullivan to a minor league contract.

Sullivan was non-tendered by the Mets after hitting .250/.338/.382 in 126 at-bats. The 30 year old will contend for a backup outfield spot. The lefty isn’t a particularly good defender nor does he have any plate discipline, things that undoubtedly appealed to GM Ed Wade.

GOLD

by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Jan 20, 2010 10:29 PM CST reply actions

Regarding Jason Bourgeois...

Am I the only one hoping they let him play at second base at Round Rock? I know we have Jose Vallejo, but they could split time, maybe. Perhaps give Vallejo a little time in the outfield too, increase his versatility?

by OremLK on Jan 20, 2010 11:35 PM CST reply actions

There's this nice excerpt from Bleed Cubbie Blue

2009 Season In Microcosm: Cubs Lose Ugly 6-2 Game To Mets
by Al on Sep 5, 2009

NEW YORK — I drove all the way from Chicago for that?
The Cubs’ fading playoff hopes dimmed further Friday night in a 6-2 loss to the Mets that both teams tried really hard to lose. The Cubs were more successful in that losing effort.
. . .
All of this ruined an outstanding outing from Carlos Zambrano, who threw six really good innings and only allowed a handful of balls out of the infield. One of those balls, unfortunately, was Cory Sullivan’s home run off the RF upper-deck facade, making the score 1-0 in the second inning. There it stood till the Cubs managed to tie it up in the 8th on a bizarre play where three Mets fielders let Milton Bradley’s popup drop between them; Bradley hustled into second and eventually scored on Jeff Baker’s single

Astros fan for life

by Joe in Birmingham on Jan 21, 2010 12:07 AM CST reply actions

Because it's so accurate...

I had an MVP Baseball 2005 fantasy dynasty once (using 08 rosters though) and during my first offseason, the computer picked up Cory Sullivan as a fourth OF. Then boom, player progression somehow boosts him up to like 85 power and contact against both lefties and righties, I plug him in over Eric Byrnes, and he’s a 30/30 guy for the next two seasons I spent on that dynasty.

Okay, that won’t happen. But I’m cool with this move, I guess he becomes the Erstad type of guy if he makes the team, who shuffles around the OF to gives guys rest and an okay PH/PR option.

Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.

by jonthefon on Jan 21, 2010 4:01 AM CST reply actions

Defensive statistics

Let’s not forget that defensive statistics take the average rating of all outfielders, their is no set number that if you’re below this you’re bad or above you’re good. You are essentially are comparing the defense of outfielders to one another. Jacob Elsbury for example is considered a below average defender, but that’s compared to other outfielders in the league, not some set standard.

by timmy_ on Jan 21, 2010 7:37 AM CST reply actions

Sullivan’s below average defense is mostly confined to CF. He is better in RF or LF. The sample sizes are relatively small for LF and RF, though. The more extensive sample size is 2005 – 2007 in Colorado (almost 200 games started), and the expansive CF in Coors Field could have an effect on his negative numbers in that period.

I’m sure that his ability to play all three outfield positions was a consideration by the Astros in picking him over some of the better hitting LHB outfielders available as FAs.

by clack on Jan 21, 2010 8:13 AM CST up reply actions

But the set standard

is determined based on league averages for that season.

Why would statistics compare outfielders to anything but the entire population of all MLB outfielders? What exactly are you getting at?

And by the way, Ellsbury is an awful example of anything regarding UZR, his sample sizes are minimal and few players have had more volatile UZR marks than Ellsbury.

If you squint really hard, it almost looks like my name is Satchel Paige.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy

by Satchel Price on Jan 21, 2010 11:30 AM CST up reply actions

I don’t think the UZR or Fielding Bible defensive metrics are as meaningful if they are aggregated in all outfield positions. The outfielders in LF, CF, and RF are covering a different amount of ground; and the defensive metrics are calculated based on the separate zones within each of those positions. So, a player’s LF rating is based on the outs he made in LF zones when he played LF. So, it is natural to compare that players’ LF rating to the outs made in LF by other LFers. The only time I would pay much attention to a general OF UZR rating is if the sample size is too small at particular positions.

Generally speaking, a CFers’ defensive rating will improve when he asked to play LF or RF and is compared to LFers and RFers playing those positions. For example, Pence was a below average CFer. His UZR in CF was -4.1. The Astros figured he would be a good RFer though. And they were right. When he switched to RF, his rating improved to +6.5.

by clack on Jan 21, 2010 12:32 PM CST up reply actions

I wasn't questioning OF positional adjustments

I just was questioning timmy_’s understanding of defensive metrics. Obviously a center fielder will improve defensively by moving to an outfield corner, that’s just intuitive given the nature of the expectations at the different positions.

Obviously there’s little point in comparing the defense of center fielders to that of left fielders, and vice cersa. I probably didn’t make it clear that I meant that defensive metrics are relative to the metrics posted by the entire population of that position, which perfectly makes sense. The other guy seemed to be implying that there was some inherent flaw in that system of comparison.

If you squint really hard, it almost looks like my name is Satchel Paige.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy

by Satchel Price on Jan 22, 2010 9:44 AM CST up reply actions

Never meant to imply a flaw, just stating that one needs to keep in mind that the evaluation of defense is different. A below average ranking does not necessarily mean he’s a bad outfielder defensively.

by timmy_ on Jan 22, 2010 10:10 AM CST up reply actions

LHB outfielder

I noticed that Jim Edmonds had ask the Cards for a tryout. I know he’s older (39), but he has power and can still play outfield better than most young guys. I think we could have had him for a song.

by cashdash on Jan 21, 2010 11:44 AM CST reply actions

I thought about that, myself. But I just don’t think it would have happened. MLB teams apparently have concluded that Edmonds can’t play the outfield anymore. Nobody would sign him last year, and Edmonds attempted to market himself as a 1st baseman or DH.

by clack on Jan 21, 2010 12:34 PM CST up reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Search

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Current Series

3 game series vs Cubs @ Wrigley Field

Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes @ Chicago Cubs Bleed Cubbie Blue Monday, Sep 6, 2010, 1:20 PM CDT Wrigley Field Wandy Rodriguez vs Casey Coleman Sunny. Winds blowing out to left field at 15-20 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 80. Complete Coverage >
Tue 09/07		7:05 PM CDT
Wed 09/08		7:05 PM CDT

NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Cincinnati Red Reporter	79	57	.580	0	Lost 1
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	71	63	.529	7	Won 1
Houston The Crawfish Boxes	64	72	.470	15	Won 2
Milwaukee Brew Crew Ball	63	73	.463	16	Won 1
Chicago Bleed Cubbie Blue	59	78	.430	20.5	Lost 1
Pittsburgh Bucs Dugout	45	91	.330	34	Lost 2