Astros Crawfish Boil: Thursday, January 12, 2023

Welcome to Thursday’s Boil.

Houston Astros News

Interview with Houston Astros Pitcher, Prospect JP France (si.com)

Houston Astros star Alex Bregman once revealed his childhood hero who inspired him to wear No. 2 (sportskeeda.com)

Arbitration deadline nears for Tucker, Valdez and Co. (MLB.com)

MLB News

Tigers to alter dimensions at Comerica Park for 2023 season (detroitnews.com)

A way too early top 24 MLB prediction (sportskeeda.com)
SportsKeeda pays Houston a lot of respect in this listing, which names our boys to five of their 12 American League roster spots.

Here’s why moved goal posts don’t help Yankees against Astros | Stone Cold ‘Stros #5 (Houston.sportsmap.com)

Baseball World reacts to report that MLB set a record for revenue in 2022, earning over $10.8 billion: “But I thought baseball was dying?” (sportskeeda.com)
What’s “Baseball World?” I need all the information.

MLB fans react to Boston Red Sox 2023 lineup: “Pathetic , in shambles, a disgrace to the city” (sportskeeda.com)

Stephen A Smith once wanted to keep Roger Clemens out of the Hall of Fame because of the pitcher’s ‘sheer stupidity ‘ (sportskeeda.com)

MLB Top-10 Relief Pitchers Right Now (s22927.pcdn.com)

Oops! All Astros: Logan Cerny

Logan Cerny is a six-foot-one, 185 lb. outfielder from Decatur, GA. Born on September 28, 1999, he was drafted in the 10th round of the 2021 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Taken out of Troy University with the 295th overall choice off the board, Cerny signed to his slot value, a $146,100 bonus. Of all the players taken 295th overall, only 12 have played major league ball. That includes Nolan Ryan (81.3 WAR). Troy University has produced six, led by Danny Cox (9.3 WAR).

After the draft, Cerny appeared in a grand total of 13 games between Philadelphia’s two lowest leveled affiliates due to a thumb injury, hitting .200 in 43 plate appearances. It’s hardly a lot to go on, but Houston thought Cerny showed enough promise that they traded Garrett Stubbs to the Phillies on November 19 for Cerny’s services. Cerny entered the 2022 season as the MLB Pipeline’s number 21 Houston prospect:

Cerny has 25-25 upside with bat speed and strength that creates legitimate pop from gap to gap. But he also comes with swing-and-miss concerns because he has a lot going on in his right-handed swing and a grip-it-and-rip-it approach. - MLB Pipeline

Cerny entered Houston’s system at the Low-A level with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. On April 9, he hit two singles and a home run, totaling four RBI in a 16-8 loss to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. On May 12, he came within a triple of the cycle in a 7-2 win against the Carolina Mudcats.

Despite the pair of three-hit games, Cerny struggled through the first 38 games of the season, hitting .175/.279/.350 over 165 plate appearances. He struck out 56 times during the stretch, while drawing only 18 walks. It was right about that time when Jeff Bagwell made a trip to Fayetteville. Rumour in the press box was that Bags had a conversation with Cerny regarding his plate approach.

Things picked up for Cerny after that. In his final 48 games of the season, he collected multiple hits 17 times. On June 9, in a 15-5 win against the Delmarva Shorebirds, he hit two singles and a home run with five RBI. On July 22, Cerny hit a double and three singles, scoring once and driving two in while Fayetteville defeated Kannapolis, 10-5.

Setting Game 39 as our arbitrary dividing line, Cerny had a second half proving that he belongs. He hit .318./.425/.572 over 207 PA, hitting 10 homers with 41 RBI. He struck out 54 times to 29 walks, a much better ratio than he had set earlier in the campaign.

Defensively, Cerny is a solid center fielder, playing 306 ¹⁄₃ errorless innings with four assists and zero errors. He also spent 166 frames in right (.950) and 142 ²⁄₃ in left (.952), showing some utility as a possible future full-time number four outfielder. In the meantime, he’s still got three levels of minors to get through. Look for him to start 2023 with the High-A Asheville Tourists.