Truth be told, when the Houston Astros first signed Scott Feldman, I was skeptical. Still am a little bit. The more I think of it, the more I like the signing. When news of it first broke on twitter, there was a bit of a mixed reaction. If fact, mine was something like “NOOOOOO!!” I wasn’t a fan of the money, nor was I too thrilled about the years on the contract. The Yankees, Orioles, Twins, and Astros were all interested in the former Oriole. However, it was the Astros who locked him up for 3 years, 30 million dollars.

By Lee White (Astros Correspondent)  Follow @Lee_White73

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Feldman isn’t a high profile signing, but he certainly makes the Astros better today than they were yesterday. He isn’t going to change this franchise, but he certainly adds some wins to the Astros this year.

Last year with the Chicago Cubs and the Baltimore Orioles, Feldman went 12-12 with a 3.86 ERA. According to Steamer, a FanGraphs projector, projects that Feldman will go 12-11 with a 3.91 ERA.

Scott Feldman Start

His FIP (fielding independent pitching), which measures what a pitcher’s ERA would be if the performance on balls in play were league average, is projected to be 3.67. Oliver, another FanGraphs projection, projected Feldman to finish with a record of 10-8, an ERA of 3.61, and a FIP of 3.97. Oliver projects his WAR (wins above replacement) to be 1.6, while Steamer projects his WAR to be 2.6.

The more I think about this trade, the more I like. Feldman’s strikeout to walk ratio is creeping up to about 3/1. Feldman isn’t the most spectacular signing, but he is effective.

He eats innings, he gets groundballs, he doesn’t walk many. Overall, this signing isn’t a spectacular deal for the Astros, but it is a decent one.

Just who is Dexter Fowler? For his career totals, he has a 3 Slash Line of .298/.395/.880 in Coors Field, and his Road numbers are .241/.333/.694. Having said this he will definitely help out the Houston Astros with their offense. The Rockies also won’t have to pay him for his 3rd Year of Arbitration (Super 2). Fowler stands to see a raise based on his 2013 salary of $4.25 MIL. Shout out to Ryan Dunsmore (@d_more55 on twitter) of the Crawfish Boxes for photoshopping Dexter Fowler into an Astros uniform.

Reaction To the Dexter Fowler Trade Four Days Later

The Houston Astros have been saying all off season that they would make changes to the roster. Like most people, I didn’t really expect much.

The Astros started off by signing Peter Moylan to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. That was the type of move I was expecting the Astros to make.

However, two days ago, the Astros shocked me, as well as many others, when they traded for the Colorado Rockies’ center fielder, Dexter Fowler.

The Astros traded starting pitcher Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes for Colorado’s Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL. As far as this trade goes, my initial reaction was excitement.

The Astros fleeced the Rockies, at least in my mind. As most of you know, I’m a huge fan of Jordan Lyles. I have thought that he could turn it around in Houston.

I still feel he can turn it around, but I’m not sure Houston was the place. Not sure how well Colorado will treat him either.

I waited a few days before I wrote this article, mainly because had I wrote it three days ago when this trade went down, there would have been a lot of excitement and loud noises.

I’m pumped for this trade. You should be too. Dexter Fowler is a very nice asset for the Astros. Over the course of 162 games, Fowler will give you a slash line of about .270/.365/.423.

He’ll average around 15 home runs per year, as well as 20 stolen bases. A lot has been made of Fowler’s defensive “woes.” I’m not exactly sure why.

As far as fielding percentage goes, Fowler has a fielding percentage of .986 over his six year career.

While we watched Brandon Barnes make spectacular diving catches in center field, for what seemed like all season long, his fielding percentage wasn’t much better than Fowler at .989.

Many people have had their very on reaction to this trade.

Since the smoke has cleared, Richard and I have discussed this trade, and will give you our reactions to this trade not that our excitement level has gone down a bit.

First off, what was your initial reaction to the trade?

Richard Perez (RP): As with any trade where one of the most likable players are involved, I was extremely disappointed to know that two of our very likable players were gone. I was more upset that Brandon Barnes was out, but with acquisition of Fowler, it was a little easier to take. As far as receiving Dexter Fowler, I was also surprised that Colorado would be willing to give up somebody like that. In my opinion, Fowler is one of the better lead off hitters in the game, on of my favorites along with Shin-Soo Choo.

Lee White (Me): As mentioned earlier, I’m disappointed in the fact that the Astros no longer have Jordan Lyles. At age 23, he still has a ton of time to grow. He has solid stuff, but couldn’t figure it out. Due to the fact that he was rushed, I think his mindset may have changed. Houston just wasn’t right for him, but I’m not sure Colorado is either. As far as acquiring Fowler, I was pumped. Still am. The Astros traded a fourth outfielder and an under-performing starting pitcher for Fowler and a PTBNL. My favorite part of this trade is the fact that the Astros finally have their true lead off bat.

Realistically, what expectations do you have for the Astros’ new center fielder?

RP: Speed. Lots of it. I know Barnes was very well versed out in center, I just hope Fowler can learn how to play the unusual center field of Minute Maid Park. In my mind, I thought back to when Willy Tavares was Houston’s speedy center fielder. I expect good things to come of Fowler.

Me: Realistically? I expect him to get on base, and once he is on there, the Astros will send him in motion. Fowler is the type of player, in my mind, who will be pretty balanced. He isn’t going to hit for an extremely high average, isn’t going to crush long balls all day everyday, but he will certainly hit for an average around .260-.265, probably 10-15 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. He could possibly rack up more stolen bases, just depends on if the Astros put him in motion as much as I would.

In terms of statistical numbers, do you think his home run numbers were inflated by the high altitude of Coors Field?

RP: Everybody says numbers are inflated in Coors Field, but I tend to not believe that, especially in this case. If you look at his home run numbers of the last three years, he only had 30 total home runs. However, his extra base hits are his best statistic. I’d say his speed is more to thank than the thin air in Denver.

Me: Saying his numbers may have been inflated by high altitude in Colorado bugs me. They weren’t. Not to mention, Minute Maid Park can be a bit of a boom box too. As Richard says, it’s not as if he was hitting 30 home runs a year. If he were, it might be a different story, but I expect Fowler to hit around 15 home runs in the upcoming season.

If you had to guess, what would be the next move that the Astros make, and will it be a free agent signing or another trade?

RP: Given the circumstances, I’d say the Astros trade one of their outfielders, possibly JD Martinez if he doesn’t get taken in the Rule 5 Draft. I’m not sure where he would get shipped, but I’d say that a trade is more likely than a free agent signing, and it could happen before the Winter Meetings on the 12th.

Me: With the signing of Scott Feldman today, and the Dexter Fowler trade three days ago, I think the Astros sign their next player. Preferably a relief pitcher. Maybe a return of The V, Jose Veras, in Houston? There are also a couple of players he weren’t tendered contracts that the Astros could make a run, and those include Andrew Bailey and John Axford. Either of those would be nice in Houston.

Dexter Fowler is one of 3 Rockies who routinely sported an OPS over 1.00 at Coors Field over the last few seasons. The man blazed out of the gates in the first few weeks of the 2013 campaign with 6 HRs (2nd in NL at the time) and Slugging PCTG at .723 (4th in the NL at the time.) Fowler topped out last year at a high OPS – generated mostly because of the confines of Coors Field as his home park .

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners ***

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A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Astros Correspondent’ Lee White for preparing today’s featured article. Lee is currently a writer at strosbros.wordpress.com.

He has been an Astros fan his whole life and has a deep knowledge about the team as a whole. Lee currently goes to college about an hour away from Houston.  Lee has attended countless games at Minute Maid Park. 

Feel Free to follow Lee on Twitter  Follow @Lee_White73

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