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1) After a hot start, Pence has been rather ordinary over the past couple of months.

minorleaguesplits.com has his OPS for June at 803, but his OPS for July is 1027!!!!! Looks to me that he has broken out of those douldrums.

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I know losing Pence is hard, but outfielders are relatively easy to find.

I gotta disagree there. If you are talking within the system, Pence is the only legit OF prospect, not including Lane or Scott.

It seems like almost every Astro minor league OF except Pence, especially ones drafted high, is damn near awful.

If you are talking trade or free agent, you might be right, but the evidence in the Astro's case seems to conflict. Witness Preston Wilson.

In fact, our only two servicable OFs this year have been a second baseman and a first baseman. Wilson's OPS is 735, better than only 3 other LFs. I haven't checked Willy's lately, but is has gotta be in the godawful low 600s. Jason Lane. Below average.

So, in sum, if Burke plays 2nd and Lance 1st, we will have huge holes in our future OF. Pence is the only real prospect. To me, our lack of anything coming down the pipe makes him even more valuable.