woodsmall12
All-Star
Welcome your 2015 Houston Astros
Your Houston Astros are back and ready for another exciting year of baseball - The team as a whole has quite a bit of talent returning yet we are still in the developmental stages to reach our expectations - A young team surrounded this year by a few veterans in addition to a new coaching staff could be exactly what the city of Houston needs in order to win their first championship in franchise history!
Your Houston Astros are back and ready for another exciting year of baseball - The team as a whole has quite a bit of talent returning yet we are still in the developmental stages to reach our expectations - A young team surrounded this year by a few veterans in addition to a new coaching staff could be exactly what the city of Houston needs in order to win their first championship in franchise history!
Let's review the infield unit first ...
Infield
The infield is led by 2B Jose Altuve who is now starting his 4th season in the big leagues and is now considered the veteran on the team ... Altuve is a pitcher's nightmare as he can hit for average and is a base stealing threat ... and with the new coaching staff, the Astros plan to run in order to produce runs ... At 1B is power hitting right hander Chris Carter who yoked 37 home runs last year ... Chris will be expected to produce this year and he will need to work on minimizing his strikeouts (394 k's over the past two seasons) ... The big news breaking from spring ball is that #1 pick from 2012, Carlos Correa, has made the major league roster at the age of 20 ... Carlos will be starting at shortstop and he will develop on the biggest stage of baseball from here on out ... Correa is a 5 tool prospect so much will be expected ... Luis Valbuena who came over in the Cubs trade for Dexter Fowler will man the hot corner ... his left handed bat will be a welcome addition to an already right handed heavy lineup
Outfield
In yet another offseason move, Evan Gattis was aquired from the Atlanta Braves to add more power to the lineup - Gattis will man left field and possibly platoon at catcher from time to time ... The Astros 2011 first round pick George Springer will man right field with his power arm ... Springer now in his second season will need to raise his average in order to hold down the spot ... His speed and power could possibly keep him in the big leagues but his .232 BA last year is less than desirable ... Look for Springer to spend a lot of time in the batting cage this year ... Jake Marisnick will cover center field ... Jake came over in a trade with the Marlins last year after the Astros traded away Dexter Fowler ... The job is Marisnick's to lose as he will be in competition with rifleman Colby Rasmus ... Colby has big time power from the left side of the plate however his inability to stay consistent has relegated him to the bench coming out of sprint training ... a platoon could also be in the works for the CF job
Catcher
Jason Castro, 2008 1st round pick, will man one side of the battery ... His left handed stick will need to get back to the success he had in 2013 in order to see the field everyday ... his average took a big dip last year and his overall production fell off
Starting Pitchers
Southpaw pitcher Dallas Kuechel will be the ace of the staff this year ... he experienced his first winning season last year with a remarkable 2.93 ERA ... if the offense can produce with all of this youth this year, then expect Kuechel to be mentioned for Cy Young Award considerations ... right handed flame thrower Collin McHugh will hold down the 2nd spot in the rotation ... like Kuechel, Collin experienced success in the win column and had a team best 2.73 ERA ... he was also able to average 1 strikeout per inning ... Holding down the 3rd spot will be southpaw Brett Oberholtzer ... He struggled with control last year which is evident in his 5 and 13 record along with a .295 BA ... Brett had a strong spring and hopes to rebound from his disastrous 2014 ... RHP Dan Straily has been added to the 4th spot to allow some minor league prospects more time to develop in AAA ... In addition to Straily, journeyman Jeff Niemann has been added to the rotation in hopes of mowing down opposing batters and again to allow the young pitchers to develop in the minors for another year
Relievers
The key contributors in the bullpen are veteran relievers ... sidearm sinkerballer Chad Qualls, southpaw Tony Sipp, along with righthanders Josh Fields and Will Harris
Closer
The closer role will be filled by one of two candidates ... righthanded sidearm Pat Neshek who was signed this offseason after a dominating performance in St Louis last year ... a 1.87 ERA as a setup man is pretty impressive and one that could equate to a full time closer's role ... alongside Neshek will be Luke Gregerson who was also a free agent pickup this season ... Gregerson also finished last season with an outstanding 2.12 ERA in Oakland
Infield
The infield is led by 2B Jose Altuve who is now starting his 4th season in the big leagues and is now considered the veteran on the team ... Altuve is a pitcher's nightmare as he can hit for average and is a base stealing threat ... and with the new coaching staff, the Astros plan to run in order to produce runs ... At 1B is power hitting right hander Chris Carter who yoked 37 home runs last year ... Chris will be expected to produce this year and he will need to work on minimizing his strikeouts (394 k's over the past two seasons) ... The big news breaking from spring ball is that #1 pick from 2012, Carlos Correa, has made the major league roster at the age of 20 ... Carlos will be starting at shortstop and he will develop on the biggest stage of baseball from here on out ... Correa is a 5 tool prospect so much will be expected ... Luis Valbuena who came over in the Cubs trade for Dexter Fowler will man the hot corner ... his left handed bat will be a welcome addition to an already right handed heavy lineup
Outfield
In yet another offseason move, Evan Gattis was aquired from the Atlanta Braves to add more power to the lineup - Gattis will man left field and possibly platoon at catcher from time to time ... The Astros 2011 first round pick George Springer will man right field with his power arm ... Springer now in his second season will need to raise his average in order to hold down the spot ... His speed and power could possibly keep him in the big leagues but his .232 BA last year is less than desirable ... Look for Springer to spend a lot of time in the batting cage this year ... Jake Marisnick will cover center field ... Jake came over in a trade with the Marlins last year after the Astros traded away Dexter Fowler ... The job is Marisnick's to lose as he will be in competition with rifleman Colby Rasmus ... Colby has big time power from the left side of the plate however his inability to stay consistent has relegated him to the bench coming out of sprint training ... a platoon could also be in the works for the CF job
Catcher
Jason Castro, 2008 1st round pick, will man one side of the battery ... His left handed stick will need to get back to the success he had in 2013 in order to see the field everyday ... his average took a big dip last year and his overall production fell off
Starting Pitchers
Southpaw pitcher Dallas Kuechel will be the ace of the staff this year ... he experienced his first winning season last year with a remarkable 2.93 ERA ... if the offense can produce with all of this youth this year, then expect Kuechel to be mentioned for Cy Young Award considerations ... right handed flame thrower Collin McHugh will hold down the 2nd spot in the rotation ... like Kuechel, Collin experienced success in the win column and had a team best 2.73 ERA ... he was also able to average 1 strikeout per inning ... Holding down the 3rd spot will be southpaw Brett Oberholtzer ... He struggled with control last year which is evident in his 5 and 13 record along with a .295 BA ... Brett had a strong spring and hopes to rebound from his disastrous 2014 ... RHP Dan Straily has been added to the 4th spot to allow some minor league prospects more time to develop in AAA ... In addition to Straily, journeyman Jeff Niemann has been added to the rotation in hopes of mowing down opposing batters and again to allow the young pitchers to develop in the minors for another year
Relievers
The key contributors in the bullpen are veteran relievers ... sidearm sinkerballer Chad Qualls, southpaw Tony Sipp, along with righthanders Josh Fields and Will Harris
Closer
The closer role will be filled by one of two candidates ... righthanded sidearm Pat Neshek who was signed this offseason after a dominating performance in St Louis last year ... a 1.87 ERA as a setup man is pretty impressive and one that could equate to a full time closer's role ... alongside Neshek will be Luke Gregerson who was also a free agent pickup this season ... Gregerson also finished last season with an outstanding 2.12 ERA in Oakland