The Killer B's: Joel Blank & Jeremy Branham
Astros Voice Todd Kalas on Kyle Tucker Returning to Right Field
This iHeart Radio Station is brought to you by Vitamin Water. Don't sweat technique! You're listening to the killer beat with Joel Blanket Jeremy Branham on ESPN 97 5 and 92 5. Broadcasting live from the Veritex Community Bank Studios. Let's go straight out to the HRMP guest line being joined by the voice of the Astros Todd Callis brought to us by Gulf Coast Chevy Buick GMC in Angleton. Start shopping for new vehicle at lancezcars.com. TK, thanks for taking a few minutes as you're out in the West Coast. Still on the plan for Tucker to play right field tonight? That's what I believe. Yeah, I haven't seen the lineup yet, but Joe's team to indicate Joe's spot if you indicate that that's what the plan was for today. TK, we were just talking about that. When you look at that, and you think about how he's not quite 100% yet, and you've got you know, you've got a situation where you know, you've got the angels, you've got the Padres, then you can come back home. I was just saying that to me personally, I wouldn't be trying to rush him back into the outfield. He looked like in a pinch ran for him that he's still not running yet 100%. I just wonder if that's not just a little risky to kind of put too much on him by playing the outfield too. Yeah, I think at some point, you have to figure out what you have, and you can't wait till the postseason. So I think you have to see what's going on with Tucker out there. Obviously, they've reached a point where they feel like he is good enough to play in the outfield. It's not the deepest outfield, it's also not the smallest outfield. It's probably a little leaning towards a bigger outfield than average, but it's certainly not as big as left field you're an anon. So for me, I think you got to figure out what you have, and you can't wait too much longer. And especially on a day like today where Kukuchi pitchy, they like to match up character with Kukuchi. Don't give you the flexibility of either having your non-of your DH, and then playing yiner first or having yiner the DH, you need that DH stop. Todd Kalis joining us on the HRNP guest line. This team continues to be snakebit with injuries. You had Jose Altuve leaving the game the other day, reports on him is that maybe they died a bullet, maybe he's fine. And then Chas McCormick, who's had a real struggle of a year, seemed like he was finding it. Seemed like he started to turn it on a little bit and then breaks a bone in his hand. Have you seen a season where a team has been so snakebit with injury? Yeah, it's been pretty wild. They just haven't had the core four guys together the whole year. So that's been tough. And obviously, the pitching staff has had a crazy amount of injuries. Originally, since all those guys went down, the six man rotations have been pretty solid. Knock on wood, they stayed intact and needed that because there's really not much stuff behind the six you have up here at the big league level. So the chat situation was just really unfortunate. It was a play that, you know, was in the corner. We didn't even see it initially. I didn't know he initially heard himself. And then it was good to put a foul ball that he went a little too abruptly for in that corner and admit to make part. So one of those years for Chad that he couldn't get anything going all year long when he finally did. He gets hurt because I'm really, really disappointed. TK, you mentioned the pitching. And now we know that lately, Arageti, he had the blow up. Verlander hasn't been Verlander. You look at the matchups for this weekend and I start to wonder, is there not almost an audition going on between now and the end of the regular season where you're going to see what Arageti does in his last couple starts? You need to see what Verlander is going to do in his last couple of starts. And we had kind of penciled in that Blanco's the guy going to the bullpen, but Blanco back in the starting rotation, if he's dealing again, is there a chance that he's a guy that kind of gets back into the discussion about a potential playoff starter depending on, you know, how long the series is? Yeah, I think it is. I think it's a three-man competition. I think you've got to look at Prober as your one and Hunter as probably your two with Kakuchi right in there as well. So I think both three are probably going to be your likely first three starters. And then I think it's a competition, a likely mention between J.D. and Arageti and we're now blocking. I really think he's last two weeks or three days looking at the tournament to get that four-star. Things can obviously change between now and then. And, you know, maybe Kakuchi or Hunter struggle to the point where they don't think that, you know, that they're locked in the postseason. But I think that right now, those three are good to go. The Prober, you say, and Hunter, but I think that four spot is up and down, based on what happens here. How weird is it to be pulling for the Rangers this time of year? Crazy. Although yesterday, yesterday was kind of cool because it was tomorrow rocker. And so, you know, that guy's kind of a stud and it's fun to watch a young guy in his big league debut. We've got all the potential in the world. So that one was a little easy. I'm a cheering for the ground tonight or server tomorrow. I'm just glad we have a game at the same time. So I have to worry about it. Have we pretty much written off the fact that as much as it looked like New York and Cleveland, we're going to be within the realm that right now you just stay hyper focused on handling your business, make sure you win the division and solidify the fact that you can set up your pitching and get into a wild card series? I was thinking about that on the best ride because we're the long best ride over here to the state. I'm thinking about that on the bus ride because I feel like it kind of, the train has left. Again, things can change here in the next week and a half where all of a sudden they get within a couple and now you have hope. But I wonder, to me, I'd be curious how they've played if there are, let's say, two or three games back going into that last series against Cleveland. Do they play it all the way out where they use a Hunter Brown and a Frobber Valdez, the last two games and not have them available in the postseason? To me, that would be a big risk and I don't know how the Astros would play it. But at this point, you know, five and a half back with only a couple of weeks, two and a half weeks left to play. It seems like that train has left. But again, things can change knowing you have three games left week, Cleveland at the end. I almost wish that they don't have that opportunity because I don't want, I don't want it to pitch Hunter and Frobber the last two days and then not have them available for the first round of the wild card series. Yeah, it'll be a tough decision that they have to make. And we'll see a lot of baseball to be played between now and then. That'll make that decision easier, of course. Angels, the start of the series tonight. It's been a tough first year for Ron Washington. Of course, lost trout for a good chunk of the season. Now, what are the Astros getting in the Angels this weekend? They're getting a lot of new names. I know our advanced team is working hard on the plane and earlier today, trying to get ready for this team because today's guy they've never seen before, the first born and raised the Italian picture. Don't know if you get three stand out of Gary. The guy on Sunday, the new guy, 20-year-old Eden Dana, who's one of their top prospects. And then on their position player side, they have three or four guys that have made their debut in the last few weeks. So it's going to be a completely different team than we've seen in the past. They have a few guys you'll recognize, but more than any other team this season, eight-month bunch of new guys that nobody's ever heard of. So I don't know what to expect, I guess, from the way they answer it. I think their team is beatable. They're the only team that's been eliminated other than the White Sox and the American League. I think they're stepped down from Oakland. So hopefully playing them seven times in 10 days, they win at least five of those games. TK, we've seen a couple of hiccups. Again, the back end of the bullpen. We see that it seems like we know what the order that they want is supposed to be going reverse order, that you still, you want Hader and you want Presley and you want to Bray you. Neris has been okay. Taylor Scott looked like for a time there that maybe he's had a lot of innings and he needed a little break. But how do you see how imperative is it now that we talked about the starters, we talked about Tucker, but how imperative is that then now a spot of starts to kind of figure out and solidify his pecking order at the back of the bullpen and pretty much throughout that bullpen. Yeah, I think he's got a pretty good idea right now. I think he kind of mentioned that he still likes Presley in the eighth, and he likes Hader in the ninth, and then that seven inning has been mostly Brian Abreu. Obviously, he can mix and match with Hector Neris and Taylor Scott in those innings as well. But he likes those guys in the fifth and maybe seventh of Abreu has been used up. But then he has a lot of comfort in those five guys. And now Taylor Ferguson and Brian saying the guys that are lucky that he's come in and get a spot in the lineup if they're overloaded with lefties as well. I think Joe's really comfortable with where his bullpen is right now, but going back to something we talked about earlier, if you're really stressing to try and catch Cleveland that last weekend, you know, not only does that change possibly the calculus in your starting rotation, but it could also change your bullpen dynamic of those guys just throwing a couple of games because Stuart regained in that period of getting clean on the game. The series in the wildcard would start on Tuesday if you don't get yourself the food. Yeah, that's some things that they're going to have to think about. TK, we appreciate the time. Have a great call this weekend. Appreciate you guys. I always talk to you in a week. Hopefully, they'll be a little bit closer to where they are now to get that AOL. Yeah, that'd be good news. Todd Callis, conversation brought to you by Gulf Coast Chevy Buick GMC in Angleton. Start shopping for your new vehicle at lancezcars.com. This iHeart radio station is brought to you by vitamin water. Owning a rental property sounds like a dream until you realize how much work goes into getting it ready. Determine a competitive rent price, market the property, schedule the showing screen tenants, draft a lease at a rent collection, handle maintenance request, maintain communication. Whew. Sound complicated? Runner's warehouse is here to take the hard work off your rental to-do list. Qualify tenants? Check. Rent collection? Check. Maintenance coordination? You got it. Go to runnerswarehouse.com for a free rental analysis to find out how much your home can rent for. 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